Johnson Hsiung (Bluechip Infotech)
Australian specialist distributor Bluechip Infotech has inked a deal to acquire 60 per cent of Auckland-based IT distributor Soft Solutions.
Ownership of the remaining 40 per cent of Soft Solutions remains with the company’s existing owner and managing director, Chris Fitzgerald.
Founded in 1995, Soft Solutions represents more than 30 vendors in New Zealand and claims a particular focus in the areas of security, network management, VoIP, help desk and ticketing systems, and storage.
In April this year, the company became the first distributor in New Zealand to offer WatchGuard’s pay-as-you-go subscription billing as part of the vendor’s FlexPay program, and the third in A/NZ as a whole.
Meanwhile, Bluechip Infotech – headquartered in Sydney – specialises in a range of products and services, including hardware, software licensing, managed service provider tools and monthly recurring services for channel partners of all sizes.
For Johnson Hsiung, Bluechip Infotech managing director, the acquisition consolidates both companies into a more substantial group entity and accelerates growth.
“IT distribution is dynamic and fast-paced. Size matters, as does the ability to embrace market change and opportunity,” Hsuing said. “[The agreement] offers vendors and channel partners unmatched value-added services and relationships.
“This spans a wide range of technology and market segments in Australia and New Zealand,” he added.
According to Hsuing, nothing will change in terms of how Soft Solutions operates, with Fitzgerald continuing to run the company.
“It will be business as usual,” he said. “The vision and synergies are considerable. Both companies operate in different countries and have minimum vendor and customer overlap, so the opportunity to expand and accelerate growth is significant.
“We will be actively reviewing vendor relationships to look for opportunities to expand the existing representation into the other country while also continuing to solicit new vendors using the strength of the enlarged geography as an additional selling point,” he added.
For Fitzgerald, the move strengthens Soft Solutions’ appeal to vendors on the hunt for trans-Tasman scope.
“We have a history of bringing challenger solutions to the ICT reseller and MSP community in New Zealand,” Fitzgerald said. “An increasing number of ICT vendors are looking for distributors who can provide coverage across Australia and New Zealand.
“To maintain our strong position, Soft Solutions decided to join forces with Bluechip Infotech to expand,” he added.
In March this year, Bluechip rolled fellow IT distributor DNA Connect into its business, creating a new unified distribution powerhouse in the Australian market.
The merger of DNA Connect into Bluechip also incorporated Ingeniq, DNA’s partner services and training arm.
“The merger positions both companies to be stronger and accelerate growth by providing more solutions to a wider combination of channel partners and segments,” Hsiung said at the time.
