Commenting on the acquisition, Adrian Thirkill CEO at GCI stated, “We are delighted to make this further investment in our Cloud and Unified Communication (UC) solutions portfolio. Outsourcery has some great underlying characteristics: it has some very talented people, a strong Skype for Business capability, an impressive customer base, some well-engineered platforms and lots of potential. We see this as a really nice fit for GCI and are pleased that we managed to secure the deal.”
Thirkill, pictured above, added, “Today is about acknowledging the quality of the attributes that will go forward with GCI - attributes that will be immeasurably bolstered by our own delivery infrastructure, our proven management team, and experience hard-earned over 15 years at the coalface.
To be clear, this acquisition is not a capability purchase: we already have considerable expertise in the Cloud and UC space including tens of thousands of Skype for Business seats deployed across the UK and Europe via our direct and indirect sales channels. What it does do is build upon an already strong foundation and raise our profile in the market - a market reported to be growing at five times the rate of traditional voice services. Most importantly, this acquisition also provides assured continuity of service for all of Outsourcery’s customers, resellers and partners.”
Thirkill added, “On the subject of partners, this deal is also about reaffirming our commitment to some of our own key partnerships - Vodafone, Microsoft and Virgin Media Business. GCI is already a Vodafone Platinum Partner through our forward-looking London-based Commsxchange operation and this acquisition provides the opportunity to broaden and develop that collaboration. Our Vodafone Platinum Partner status also complements our Microsoft Gold Partner status and our Virgin Media Business Strategic Partner status. Collectively these accreditations provide a rounded and uncommon depth of experience and assurance. It’s a capable blend which positions GCI nicely in the ascending UC market.”
Wayne Martin, GCI’s founder and chairman added, “This is another well-considered step in GCI’s journey: a journey that started more than 15 years ago and now sees GCI with a nationwide presence from London to Glasgow, a joined-up portfolio of fully managed IT services, and customers across multiple sectors who span the spectrum from small businesses to 700 site organisations.
GCI’s raison d’etre has always been about building an integrated, disciplined and tech savvy organisation able to take customers on a consultative transformational journey: the transition from old technology stacks to next generation benefits. Traditional voice just isn’t cutting it any more. UC is the new kid on the block and the benefits in terms of productivity gain, collaboration enhancements and the avoidance of time (and cost) routinely frittered away on trains, planes and automobiles is a message that’s really starting to hit home. So, in all this is another nice milestone for GCI and the acquisition primes us perfectly to be a leading player in the UC space.”
Group Enterprise Product Director at Vodafone Jeni Mundy said, “GCI is already a Platinum Partner of Vodafone in the UK and we are confident in their ability to deliver. Maintaining continuity of service to our clients has always been paramount to us and we believe that this is the best option to achieve that objective. GCI will provide an excellent foundation for the service to our clients and will support the future development of the service.”
Scott Riley, Chief Strategy Officer at GCI who immediately assumes day-to-day management of the Outsourcery operation and its full integration within GCI, commented, “Outsourcery has made a name in the market for being expert in Cloud and UC, particularly Skype for Business. This acquisition, when combined with our own Microsoft Centre of Excellence, gives us the ability to accelerate our penetration of a market forecast for double digit growth through to 2020. That alone is an exciting prospect. So too is the knowledge that Outsourcery has some great customers and some great people to bring to the GCI family. Regarding Skype for Business, regardless of whether its on-premise, Cloud-based or within Office 365 we’ve got it covered. There aren’t too many MSPs out there who can truly lay claim to that, or who will have GCI’s mix of experience, scale and agility.”
In closing, Gurinder Sunner of BGF (GCI’s equity partner) added, “GCI was one of our first investments over 4 years ago. The acquisition of Outsourcery’s assets builds nicely on an existing capability and will help GCI develop a commanding position in Unified communication.”
Comms Business Magazine will be publishing today an interview with GCI CEO Adrian Thirkill on the reasons behind the acquisition and the company's plans for the future.