Colt Technology Services gobbles ThinkGrid

Colt Technology Services has swallowed cloud minnow ThinkGrid for an undisclosed sum to tap up its network of 300 resellers and software developers and the small biz firms it counts as customers.

Incorporated in 2008, London-based ThinkGrid provides a cloud platform for channel firms to resell infrastructure-as-a-service kit including VDI, hosted unified communications, disaster recovery systems and backup tools.

Falk Weinreich, veep of sales at Colt, told The Channel there was "no overlapping" between the companies' respective portfolios or customer bases.

"We have a good reputation in SME but this is more for internet access and voice services, we don't have that same reputation with cloud services," he said.

This is because Colt sells data centre, voice and data and VPN services to mid-sized firms via larger systems integrators.

Colt dumped "telco" from its branding in 2010 as it built a cloud and managed services business in a bid to offset falling voice revenues. In the process it lured senior figures from the IT space including Computacenter stalwarts Simon Walsh, Matthew Yeager and Julie O'Hara.

Weinreich said the major attraction in the deal is ThinkGrid's SME-focused channel partners (200 in the UK) and its distie deal with Ingram Micro.

Colt currently works with Avnet target Magirus in Europe.

He said the plan is to push its VPN, IP and data centre services through ThinkGrid's channel into the SME customer base.

ThinkGrid CEO Rob Lovell will be staying with the firm along with his 37 employees. ®