ST Telemedia has acquired majority control of 2nd Watch, a Top 100 Public Cloud MSP that's best best known for its Amazon Web Services (AWS) business practices. 2nd Watch also has a growing Microsoft Azure focus.
ST Telemedia (STT) is a strategic investor focused on infrastructure technology, data centers, communications and media businesses. 2nd Watch, founded in 2010, is based in Seattle. The acquired business is an AWS Partner Network Premier Consulting Partner and a Microsoft Azure Gold Partner.
Existing 2nd Watch shareholders (such as Madrona Venture Group, Columbia Capital and Delta-v Capital, amongst others) each maintain minority ownership stakes in the company.
STT Acquires 2nd Watch: Executive Perspectives
The deal gives 2nd Watch the ability to accelerate its international expansion and deliver a broader set of infrastructure software solutions, the company said.
Stephen Miller, president and Group CEO of STT, commented on the deal:
“ST Telemedia has extensive experience in helping companies accelerate their global scale and reach and successfully operate in multiple regions. We have been solidifying our capabilities across the cloud space and are excited to take a majority position in 2nd Watch. Combining our infrastructure technology portfolio with our position in data centres, STT has a unique presence in the global cloud IT ecosystem to ignite adjacent growth across our portfolio.”
2nd Watch CEO Doug Schneider added commented:
“The alignment of 2nd Watch with ST Telemedia will be one of the most significant events in our space to date. This partnership will allow us to continue to provide world class services to our existing clients and also provide us the fuel to expand our services across the globe under the 2nd Watch brand. Customers truly benefit because it provides greater options worldwide for service delivery from our team of experts."
The deal is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
Cloud MSPs: Mergers, Acquisitions and Investments
MSPs focused on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Azure remain in merger, acquisition and investment mode. Key deals ChannelE2E has tracked include:
- March 2019: Mission, a Top 100 Public Cloud MSP & Amazon Web Services (AWS) partner, scored $8 million line of credit for cloud services customer optimization. Private equity firm Great Hill Partners of Boston, Massachusetts invested $75 million in Mission in November 2017.
- April 2019: Dell Technologies Capital invested in Faction, an MSP that supports VMware Cloud on AWS.
- June 2018: Cloud-centric MSP Green House Data merged with Infront Consulting Group, a Microsoft Azure and applications partner.
- June 2017: Uniserve acquired Xanity Cloud Solutions, an MSP with Microsoft Azure Pack expertise.
- May 2017: Claranet received $103 million in funding. MSP expertise includes DevOps, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform & Microsoft Azure.
Five types of MSPs typically support public cloud infrastructure like AWS, Azure and Google Cloud Platform, Google says.
Additional insights from Joe Panettieri.
