ITsavvy has acquired Technology Resource Advisors (TRA) K-12 computing division, tapping further into the Google Chromebook market that has seen rapid growth across education sectors as the COVID-19 pandemic shifted classroom learning into the virtual realm.
“Virtual learning today combined with artificial intelligence tomorrow is going to significantly change the nature of how students learn,” Munu Gandhi, ITsavvy president and COO, told CRN. “We think that our ability to be at the forefront of educators, students and technology will enable us to continue to evolve this platform to serve the ecosystem and then deliver to this rapid change that we believe is coming.”
Historically, Illinois-based solution provider ITsavvy just sells hardware, and sometimes manufacturer warranties, to K-12 clients.
Milwaukee-based TRA built something very unique and exclusive in the Chromebook space, Gandhi said. But the end-to-end process from the warehousing and the depot “was super extensible” to laptops and tablets. And with some investments, Gandhi sees expanding those services to commercial and public sector clients.
With the two companies combined, transactions will enable them to deliver end-to-end device-as-a-service capabilities, double ITsavvy’s Advanced Solutions Group and enhance distribution and relationships with OEM partners.
With the platform TRA built, and because they own that relationship and that lifecycle, they sell the hardware, image it and deploy it through the full warranty over a three to four-year span. And then they buy the hardware back, Gandhi told CRN.https://c2c9c5a39285d92206b7becd233e3029.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
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“So we own that relationship, and now we’re maintaining connectivity with them for the three or four years,” he said. “We have a significant K-12 presence, and we knew that we would effectively be able to attach ChromeCare to each and every one of those clients.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We love their culture. We love the people that they have on the team and we really love this ChromeCare warranty platform they have built,” he said of TRA. “They are the industry leader, and the passion they have for client service from the front-end sales team all the way through the back-end operations was just kind of palpable,” he said. “It not only accelerates our revenue growth, but it actually makes us much more relevant to our clients.”
Eighty TRA employees will be coming on in the acquisition with a combined total of 300 team members.
“With the rapid growth of our K-12 Computing division the past few years, it became clear to me that our clients would benefit greatly from access to deeper and broader technology offerings beyond the end user device,” Jason Schmitt, TRA CEO, said in a statement. “ITsavvy was the clear choice to fulfill this vision because of their robust technology stack and their exceptional track record of client satisfaction which is a result of their corporate values. TRA’s K-12 Computing clients and employees will benefit greatly from the power of ITsavvy.”
TRA’s Managed IT Services practice which focuses on private sector businesses and non-profit organizations with 20 to 250 employees in the Milwaukee area has been rebranded as Risetech Partners and will be led by Jason Schmitt.
Gandhi said the client conversations ITsavvy continues to see is that IT leaders in organizations are being asked do more, to move faster, and to serve both the front and back office functions of their company. Technology teams are getting the investments that they need from their business, but they don‘t have manpower or the know how, he said.
“What they keep telling us is, ‘We need a solutions provider that has the ability to accelerate time to value in delivering those business outcomes,’” he said. “That‘s a critical reason why we think we’ve been winning against the competition. This acquisition specifically allows us to deliver that end-to-end service for our clients which allows us to execute quickly, deliver those business outcomes and to do it very efficiently.”RELATED TOPICS:
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