Mergers and Acquisitions, Mergers and Acquisitions, Content, Private equity

MSP M&A: Node4 Acquires Microsoft Azure Cloud Partner Risual

Jigsaw puzzle with copy space.

Jigsaw puzzle with copy space.

Node4, backed by private equity firm Providence Equity Partners, has acquired Risual, a Microsoft Azure Expert MSP in the United Kingdom. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This is technology M&A deal number 601 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2022. See more than 1,000 technology M&A deals involving MSPs, MSSPs & IT service providers listed here.

Node4 Acquires Microsoft Azure Partner Risual

Node4, founded in 2004, is based in Derby, UK, with other locations in London, Northampton, Leeds and Reading. The company has 345 employees listed on LinkedIn. Node4's areas of expertise include cloud, colocation, SIP, hosting, managed hosting, VoIP, Cisco unified communications, hosted Cisco IP telephony, connectivity, data center services, VMware, storage and data backup, Microsoft, cloud solutions, EMC, private cloud, commuincation, network, managed services, SD-WAN and Azure.

Risual, founded in 2005, is based in Stafford, UK. The company has 154 employees listed on LinkedIn. Risual's areas of expertise include identity and secure access, systems management, infrastructure security, unified communications and messaging, collaboration, virtualisation, cloud services, Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 and data and analytics.

The acquisition of Risual (and Node4’s acquisition of TNP in July 2021) will enable the combined organization to offer a larger, more comprehensive Microsoft-based portfolio of services and the new company will create a Microsoft Centre of Excellence, according to Node4. Both Node4 and Risual are Microsoft Azure Expert MSPs.

Risual’s co-founders, Alun Rogers and Rich Proud will remain in their leadership roles, the company said.

Node4 Acquires Risual: Executive Insight

Andrew Gilbert, CEO, Node4
Andrew Gilbert, CEO, Node4
Alun Rogers, co-founder, Risual

Andrew Gilbert, CEO of Node4, commented on the news:

“As Node4 evolves as a business delivering more cloud-led transformation services, Risual represents a perfect fit given its track record, consultancy skills and managed services in the public cloud. With complementary Microsoft skill sets, Node4 and Risual are ideally suited to deliver the change that matters for clients and the transformation outcomes they need.”

Alun Rogers, co-founder at Risual, said:

“Joining the Node4 team is an extremely exciting step for risual, and their excellent reputation was a decisive factor in our decision to take Risual into the group. Node4’s exceptional service as standard, as well as their culture and commitment to providing strategic input and honest direction, is in perfect harmony with Risual’s core values of honesty, openness, and trust.”

Rich Proud, co-founder at Risual, added:

“With an integrated team of highly-skilled, trustworthy, and experienced people, the group aims to guide and support clients with capacity and scale to meet any demand. Our amazing team are looking forward to maximizing group opportunities and playing important roles in the ongoing Node4 success story.” Proud concluded.

Microsoft Partner M&A

Merger and acquisition activity in the Microsoft partner ecosystem remains strong, especially around Azure Cloud and Microsoft Dynamics 365. ChannelE2E maintains a list of M&A agreements and investments involving Microsoft ERP (enterprise resource planning), CRM (customer relationship management) and business application partners here.

Node4 has also been active on the M&A front. In addition to its July 2021 acquisition of TNP, Node4 acquired Starcom in March 2021 and Secura in May 2019.

Sharon Florentine

Sharon manages day-to-day content on ChannelE2E and serves as Editorial Director for CyberRisk Alliance’s Channel Brands. She also covers enterprise-class technology companies, strategic alliances and channel partner strategies. Sharon is a veteran tech journalist and editor with more than 25 years experience in the industry, and has previously held key editorial, content and leadership positions at Techstrong Group, CIO.com, Ziff Davis Enterprise and CRN.

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