Big M&A Update: AT&T, Polycom, GTT

Consolidation in telecom and IT is having a big impact on the agents, VARs, MSPs and other types of channel partners that sell these companies’ products and services.

Over the past two months, we saw AT&T bolster its security position with the purchase of AlienVault. After a long history of its own acquisitions, Polycom sold to Plantronics for a big sum. And analysts were left scratching their heads when Broadcom said it would buy CA Technologies – a seemingly incompatible business – but time will tell.

Those are just a few of the new mergers and acquisitions – as well as key updates to some that were previously announced – from June and July that are featured below in our gallery. Scroll through to catch up on all of the wheeling and dealing, as well as how this M&A activity could impact the channel and your business.

Looking for more M&A? Click here to see the biggest channel-impacting mergers and acquisitions from April and May. And you never have to wait for one of our roundups. We have a page dedicated to all of the moving and shaking that’s affecting partners.

Follow executive editor @Craig_Galbraith on Twitter.

AT&T-AlienVault

AT&T is beefing up its security lineup with the purchase of AlienVault, scheduled to close later this quarter. AlienVault offers unified security management and what it calls the “first and largest open threat intelligence community.”

Those capabilities are expected to fit with AT&T's portfolio, which includes threat detection and response. AlienVault's offering will complement AT&T's edge-to-edge intelligence capabilities, the carrier said.

Learn how else this security team-up can benefit customers and partners.

Plantronics-Polycom

Plantronics wrapped its $2 billion acquisition of Polycom, creating a new powerhouse that will sell handsets, software, desk phones, analytics, and audio and video conferencing. The main goal is to capture a larger portion of the $40 billion unified communications and collaboration industry.

Plantronics says it's now able to offer a more efficient "commercial engagement" and a more integrated approach that complements the products and services partners already are selling.

Click here to learn why at least one analyst is bullish on the acquisition.

GTT-Interoute

GTT put the finishing touches on its $2.3 billion acquisition of Interoute, which operates one of Europe's largest independent fiber networks. This was GTT’s first acquisition outside of the U.S. since it announced plans to buy Hibernia Networks in 2016.

Adding Interoute gives GTT a larger base of key multinational clients balanced across regions and verticals, the company said. It also strengthens the company’s leadership in SD-WAN.

Click here to get more info on the now-closed deal.

Broadcom-CA Technologies

Many analysts were quick to jump on Broadcom's announcement that it would make a $19 billion bid for CA Technologies. Wall Street wasn't kind, either, as the company's stock fell 19 percent the day the news broke.

Channel Partners contributor Michael Finneran was confused initially because of the “total lack of synergy between the two parties” and after further consideration told us “it makes even less sense.”

“Broadcom sells chips to equipment manufacturers (and) CA sells mainframe infrastructure software to enterprises,” he said. “Not only are there virtually no complementary features between their product lines, distribution channels, customer bases — the two businesses have nothing to do with one another!

Broadcom's president said the deal represents an “important building block as we create one of the world’s leading infrastructure technology companies.”

Read the full story to decide who's right.

Dell Going Public Again

If you'd been asleep for the past five years, Dell being a public company wouldn't be news.

Michael Dell said on July 2 that Dell Technologies, after going private in a $24 billion leveraged buyout in 2013, will again operate under Wall Street's watchful eye. Dell himself will continue to be chairman and CEO.

Without getting too deep into financial detail, the move is facilitated by Dell buying out shares of VMware tracking stock — a common stock issued by a parent company that tracks the performance of a particular division without having claim on the assets of the division or the parent company.

Go here to find out more about what Michael Dell was thinking.

LiveAction-Savvius

Network management, visualization and analytics provider LiveAction is buying Savvius, the network performance and diagnostics firm. The combined company wants to create a next-generation network management platform.

LiveAction has been a Savvius user in the past. The vendors say their products also are often used by the same customers, primarily in the midmarket and enterprise.

The acquisition allows Savvius to accelerate the development of its Omnipliance, Omnipeek and Insight products while fueling LiveAction’s visualization engine with new capabilities and broader coverage of enterprise networks, the companies said.

Learn more here.

Druva-CloudRanger

Druva, known for its cloud data protection and management platform, bought CloudRanger — the first acquisition in its history.

The purchase makes the Druva Cloud Platform able to support cloud-native, unified coverage for data protection and management for enterprises both on premises and in the cloud.

" ... It helps us complete our vision around providing that end-to-end capability from on-premises to businesses that are operating within AWS,” Dave Packer, Druva's vice president of products and alliances marketing, told Channel Partners.

Click here for the full scoop on this acquisition.

SolarWinds-Trusted Metrics

In another acquisition shaking up the security landscape, IT management software provider SolarWinds bought Trusted Metrics, the provider of real-time threat monitoring and management software.

The purchase adds security monitoring to SolarWinds’ IT management portfolio. The new security software product, SolarWinds Threat Monitor, is an automated tool designed to reduce the complexity of threat detection for IT operations teams, as well as for MSPs and MSSPs.

Financial details regarding the acquisition were not disclosed, but we have more detail about the acquisition here.

Showpad-LearnCore

Showpad is spending $50 million on LearnCore, the provider of sales training and coaching software.

It appears to be a natural fit for Showpad, the integrated sales-enablement platform. The buy will give the company another tool in its belt to "empower sales and marketing teams to deliver the best buyer and seller experience on the market," Showpad said.

Both Showpad and LearnCore partners have the opportunity to continue to partner with just one solution, or expand and support both.

Learn more about partner benefits.

Ensono-Wipro

Hybrid IT services provider Ensono – No. 4 in the 2018 Channel Futures MSP 501 rankings – closed its acquisition of Wipro's hosted data center business in the U.S., Europe and Singapore. The purchase of similar assets in India will close later this year.

It's the third acquisition for Ensono in less than three years. The latest nearly doubles the size of the company, expanding its client portfolio and increasing its annual revenue to more than $550 million. 

“This acquisition is a strategic move to expand our global presence to offer clients more options and access to a larger group of talented associates that will help drive faster transformation and innovation for our clients,“ said Jeff VonDeylen, CEO of Ensono.

Read more about this $405 million deal.

Hitachi Vantara-Rean Cloud

Hitachi Vantara, a subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. that formed last September, is buying Rean Cloud, a cloud SI, MSP and developer of big-data, machine-learning and IoT applications. Rean Cloud also is a premier AWS consulting partner and silver Microsoft Azure partner.

The acquisition, Hitachi Vantara says, reinforces its ability to accelerate enterprise adoption of multiclouds and strengthen its ability to manage and operate traditional applications as well as emerging workloads in artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Get more detail on the purchase here.

One Ring Networks-Skyriver

One Ring Networks, a connectivity provider that set up shop in Georgia in 2005, completed its acquisition of Skyriver, giving it a substantial presence in several major California markets. With the purchase, One Ring plans to introduce its fiber internet, managed IT services and hosted PBX services to Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Riverside/San Bernardino.

“Skyriver partners see their footprint grow from California to Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Houston, as well as smaller cities east of DFW,” said Kris Maher, One Ring’s vice president of sales. “Perhaps more significantly, Skyriver’s partners will now be able to offer additional data and voice services including fiber, hosted PBX, unified communications and managed services on top of their well-known fixed wireless solution."

Click here to read more about partner benefits that come with the acquisition.

NexusTek-Zumasys

NexusTek, the IT services and consulting firm, acquired Zumasys' cloud hosting, infrastructure and managed-services business units.

Zumasys Cloud, now part of NexusTek, hosts critical applications for tens of thousands of users. NexusTek’s IT services include help desk, cloud services, cybersecurity services, IT consulting, server monitoring, VoIP and Microsoft Dynamics.

NexusTek’s CEO told Channel Partners with the expansion to the West Coast and the associated increase in NexusTek’s customer base, “our partners will have the opportunity to showcase their applicable solutions.”

There's more for partners to know about this deal.

Gigamon-Icebrg

Gigamon, the cybersecurity provider, adds data collection, processing and analytics capabilities with the purchase of Seattle-based Icebrg.

Gigamon says the combination of network traffic visibility from its platform and Icebrg’s detection and triage of threats allows enterprises to reduce risk and keep pace with the rapidly evolving threat landscape. Financial details of the deal weren't disclosed.

The team-up will extend the portfolio a partner can offer to new and existing customers to include a “compelling new security solution,” said Phil Griston, Gigamon's senior director of partner marketing and development.

That's not all he said. Read it here.