During drinks and secret negotiations at the recent IT Nation 2015 conference, Internet & Telephone finalized plans to buy Jenaly Technology Group -- a well-known MSP built and grown by MJ Shoer. Here's the story behind the deal -- announced today -- directly from Internet & Telephone CEO Paul Cissel and Shoer.
In a podcast interview (above), Cissel and Shoer describe their common business cultures, their complementary IT services and the expanded regional reach Internet & Telephone gains from the deal. They also describe how the deal has been communicated to employees and staff ahead of today's December 1, 2015 announcement.
Before and After the Deal
Internet & Telephone is a privately-held Internet, telecom and IT service provider serving more than 600 business clients. In addition to IT support, I&T offers comprehensive telecommunication services including hosted telephones, VoIP, and Cisco phone systems. The company has locations in Massachusetts (Boston and Methuen) and New Hampshire (Portsmouth).
In contrast, Jenaly provides outsourced IT services to SMBs and is headquartered in Portsmouth. The company is perhaps best described as an MSP (managed services provider) that also provides consulting services. CEO MJ Shoer transitions to CTO at Internet & Telephone, and all Jenaly team members join the new parent company.
Proactive Communications
MJ ShoerThe actual deal was signed in mid-November. As part of the agreement, Cissel and Shoer pieced together a six-page action plan -- including internal and external communications, platform integrations and more. All employees and Jenaly customers were informed of the deal -- personally and directly -- ahead of the public announcement today.
Over the next few months, Internet & Telephone and Jenaly will integrate a range of IT and business platforms across their organizations -- including PSA (professional services automation), RMM (remote monitoring and management) and plenty more. Among the big priorities: Making sure billing services and overall customer support remain top-notch in December and thereafter.
This business deal is the latest in a growing list of M&A combinations involving VARs, MSPs and IT service providers in recent weeks. Among the recent examples:
- Presidio yesterday acquired Sequoia Worldwide for hybrid cloud expertise.
- Multiple Microsoft Dynamics VARs and IT consulting firms have been acquired in 2015.
- Private equity firms have been buying up IT service providers and VARs.
- And emerging cloud service providers have acquired MSPs for regional and technical reach.
