MTI acquires GSS

Global Secure Systems (GSS), the security services reseller, has sold up to storage integrator MTI – EMC's third largest partner across EMEA – giving it the comfort of of a more financially secure parent.

"In today's market, to do the business that we want to, we needed a certain scale. And it's a tough environment, so there is a benefit in becoming part of a bigger organisation," GSS boss David Hobson told The Register.

The firm's last set of financials for calendar 2009 showed sales up 16 per cent to £8.6m, and an operating loss of £315,000, compared to an operating loss of £319,000 the year before.

Hobson revealed sales in 2010 has climbed to £9m, but declined to discuss the bottom line or the amount paid for GSS by MTI.

Earlier this year, GSS shed some sales and back-office staff to counter the slowdown in the public sector, a market that is obviously still sluggish, but it said compliance and stricter regulation continue to raise the profile of security.

MTI chief marketing officer Aad Dekkers, said GSS would fill a security-shaped hole in its portfolio.

"We focus on cloud infrastructures, traditional data centres with consolidation, virtualisation and standardisation, but we see more demand for security, and believe that in the execution of our strategy we missed security," he said.

Dekkers said there was some overlap in the customer base, but that the "majority" of clients were new to each organisation.

Results for the year ended 31 March 2010 show MTI turned a profit of £581,000 compared to a £139,000 loss the year earlier, as sales grew more than 40 per cent to £15m. ®