Avanade, the technology and managed services provider that was founded in 2000 by Accenture and Microsoft, has signed an agreement to acquire Azaleos, a specialist in remote monitoring and management services for Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint and Lync. Terms of the proposed deal have not been released but all being well it should close within 30 days.
The intention is to extend Seattle-based Azaleos’ capabilities to Avanade’s multi-national customers, bulking up the services available, which is a sensible move. As cloud adoption progresses (public and private), the value of proactive monitoring services will become more apparent in relation to optimisation and service levels. The company also packs in valuable mobile device management (MDM) services. The overall plan is to “explore new managed services offerings of additional Microsoft technologies.” With Windows 8 and Surface out, a version of Office tailored to Windows 8 Phone, Office 365 available, and more ERP functions slated to be available in the cloud, there is plenty of scope for service expansion. The only niggle is that Azaleos partners with AirWatch for MDM. This relationship and the available MDM facilities could change, so needs to be monitored. Avanade has the tricky task of optimising its ‘special’ relationship with Accenture and Microsoft, while not being constrained by them (see The Point of Avanade) but it seems to be managing it well enough, and they have seen enough value to maintain their investments.