(c)iStock.com/Jonathan Maddock
US cloud provider Datapipe has announced it is acquiring Britain-based managed cloud firm and AWS partner Adapt in an attempt to expand the firm’s European presence.
The firms took the unusual step of issuing two separate press releases to cover the same news. From the Adapt side, the company noted the move to Datapipe was a ‘non-disruptive addition’ due to the firm’s similar roadmaps and propositions.
“Adapt and Datapipe both have cultures that focus on proactive, high touch customer service and a commitment to customer-specific solutions designed to meet clients’ individual business challenges,” said Robb Allen, Datapipe CEO. “Our similar approach to guiding clients on their cloud journey makes the acquisition a natural fit for us and will increase our scale and service capabilities in the United Kingdom, and the broader European market.”
Looking at the acquisition in a wider context, however, it shows demand for UK tech businesses in a post-Brexit landscape. Recent research and analysis has been less than kind to Blighty after the referendum vote to leave the European Union in June. A note from consulting firm BroadGroup earlier this month argued that while demand for European data centre space continues to rise, Brexit could send UK ambitions off-kilter, although Amazon Web Services (AWS) recently confirmed its plans for a UK data centre remain on track.
It was a similar story from analyst house IDC in July, praising EMEA infrastructure but warning of a UK downturn. This facet was inferred by Adapt CEO Stewart Smythe. “We are seeing emerging customer requirements for a tactical and strategic presence overseas, so it makes sense for us to advance the UK’s capability in a global market rather than create more bulky domestic organisations,” he said.
“UK-only consolidations in our space can get very messy and can be short-sighted. We have chosen a far more exciting path.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
