Managed Services company GCI, which bought Outsourcery six months ago, has bought UK-based Unified Communications specialist Freedom Communications for an undisclosed sum. It is the organisation’s 5th acquisition in under 12 months.
Commenting on the acquisition, Adrian Thirkill, CEO at GCI says, “2016 was about setting the framework for growth and preparing GCI to catch the moment as next generation managed IT services transition from adolescence to mainstream business transformers. Freedom’s heritage and skills as a Unified Communications Systems Integrator, and its focus on transitioning customers from old world to new, is perfectly aligned with our own growth strategy and is a great fit for us.”
In terms of strategy, Adrian Thirkill continued, “We are backing the big four of Unified Communications, Cloud, Compliance & Security - underpinned of course by next generation Infrastructure & Networking technologies. On that note, alongside its considerable experience, Freedom Communications adds another 40,000+ Skype for Business seats to our Microsoft UCaaS arm taking GCI to more than 180,000 Skype for Business seats overall. This quietly elevates GCI to the top tier of UK service providers capable of delivering and supporting Microsoft Skype and Cloud PBX at scale - and across multiple sectors.”
Pat Botting, Managing Director at Freedom Communications says, “Our investment and growth alongside an almost unique, holistic go-to-market model coupled with GCI’s comprehensive managed service and cloud solutions make this acquisition the most significant that the UK Unified Communications (UC) market has seen to date.”
Commenting on the acquisition Clare Barclay, General Manager at Microsoft UK says, “Freedom Communications is of course already well known to us as a leading Microsoft partner and has a great track record. The collective strengths and learnings across the blended GCI, Outsourcery, Freedom Communications operation means that customers are in a great position to benefit from its expertise in Microsoft Office 365, Skype for Business and Azure.”