CSPs, Mergers and Acquisitions, Mergers and Acquisitions, Content

Pax8 Acquires Microsoft Azure Cloud Partner Wirehive

Cloud marketplace provider Pax8 is acquiring Wirehive, a UK-based cloud hosting and consultancy company that supports Microsoft Azure cloud resellers. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This is M&A deal number seven that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2021. See all technology M&A deals for 2021 and 2020 listed here.

Related Update, January 6, 2021: Pax8 raises $96 million for cloud marketplace expansion

Wirehive positions itself as the "UK's only Microsoft Indirect Provider dedicated specifically to helping agencies build and sell digital products on Azure and other Microsoft cloud technologies." Wirehive also offers managed services for Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform.

The Pax8-Wirehive deal comes as thousands of MSPs worldwide seek to understand how they can expand beyond Microsoft Office 365 into the Azure cloud infrastructure and platform as a service (IaaS and PaaS) markets. Numerous CSPs, distributors and upstarts -- names like D&H Distributing, Ingram Micro Cloud, Nerdio and Sherweb -- are seeking to assist MSPs with that journey.

The Pax8-Wirehive deal appears well-positioned to assist U.S. and European partners with those next steps into cloud services -- particularly cloud orchestration and automation capabilities, ChannelE2E believes.

Similar to Amazon's long-term Everything Store strategy for consumers, Pax8 has focused on building an expansive online marketplace that allows IT professionals to buy cloud products.

Pax8 Acquires Wirehive: Expanded Technology Reach

John Street, CEO, Pax8
John Street, CEO, Pax8
Robert Belgrave, CEO, Pax8 UK

In a prepared statement about the deal, Pax8 CEO John Street said:

“Wirehive adds an incredible amount of value to the Pax8 business, enabling us to diversify our technology portfolio, provide more innovation to our partners, and capitalize on worldwide digital transformation. The acquisition will enable both organizations to unlock new ways to automate cloud orchestration and optimization and expand our ability to simplify cloud strategies for IT professionals.”

Added Robert Belgrave, CEO at Wirehive:

“The values, culture, and synergies between Pax8 and Wirehive are strong as we have a common goal to help businesses modernise with cloud technology. This acquisition will prove to be transformative. With Pax8, we can grow and scale at a faster rate while optimizing business operations and expanding opportunities to our customers.”

Pax8 Pro Cloud Automation for Channel Partners and MSPs

Pax8 has also been busy on the R&D front. The company in November 2020 unveiled Pax8 Pro -- a cloud monitoring and management technology designed to help partners with cloud automation and simplified Software as a Service (SaaS) lifecycle management.

Additional insights from Joe Panettieri.

Sharon Florentine

Sharon manages day-to-day content on ChannelE2E and serves as senior managing editor for CyberRisk Alliance’s Channel Brands. She also covers enterprise-class technology companies, strategic alliances and channel partner strategies. Sharon is a veteran tech journalist and editor with more than 25 years experience in the industry, and has previously held key editorial, content and leadership positions at Techstrong Group, CIO.com, Ziff Davis Enterprise and CRN.

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