Telstra acquires cloud services provider Company85
Mon 5 Jun 2017
Telstra has announced that it would acquire Company85, a UK-based data center and cloud services company.
With this acquisition, which was completed for an undisclosed amount, Telstra intends to expand service offerings to Australian businesses, and will also use it as a springboard for global expansion.
Company85 provides infrastructure services for businesses, including data center, cloud, workspace and network, as well as security services. It was named ‘Services Company of the Year’ at the UK IT Awards in 2014 and again in 2016, and provides infrastructure services to government and enterprise clients including the BBC, NHS and J.P. Morgan.
Christopher Smith, Executive Director of Business Technology Services for Telstra said that the latest acquisition would benefit Australian customers of Telstra, as well as allow the company to further global expansion efforts.
“Company85’s offering is strongly aligned to the existing suite of technology consulting services we offer our Australian customers, and is consistent with the strategic investments we have made in Australia. Importantly, it aligns with our strategy to grow our services business in regions that are key hubs for multinational corporations,” he said.
“We see the UK as an important market and a strong platform to expand into Europe, and the acquisition of Company85 will significantly enhance our service offering for UK and European based business and government customers.”
The acquisition of Company85 is in line with Telstra’s recent acquisitions. Last year, the company acquired Kloud, a provider of cloud infrastructure services, for $40 million AUD. Telstra also acquired Readify, a big data, IoT and cloud application developer in Australia.
These acquisitions, along with enhanced service offerings and partnerships, emphasize the importance of Telstra’s multi-cloud strategy, which is critical to the company’s connectivity improvement effort.
Telstra stock is currently recovering from the effects of some negative news with the release of its 2016 financials, which showed a 4% decrease in revenue, and a 10% decrease in net income. However, the company countered with positive news recently, unveiling a new network-as-a-service product bundling SDN, NFV, data center and cloud. It also announced a partnership with Schneider Electric to construct a new $40 million AU data center in Queensland, and a broadcast IP deal with Fox Sports.
