WWT Adds Software Development To Infrastructure With Asynchrony Acquisition
World Wide Technology is moving to add custom application development to its traditional data center infrastructure integration with the acquisition of Asynchrony.
St. Louis-based World Wide Technology, better known as WWT, is renaming the organization WWT Asynchrony Labs. The company declined to discuss the purchase price.
Asynchrony specializes in application development, mobile computing, enterprise architecture, and integration of systems and sensors.
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Jim Kavanaugh, WWT CEO, said in a statement that well-designed software is important to get the full business value of a well-architected and integrated technology infrastructure.
"The strategic acquisition will allow WWT to deliver complete end-to-end business solutions, including custom user-facing software and the systems and infrastructure that support it," Kavanaugh said.
Bob Olwig, vice president of business development and innovation at WWT, wrote in a Friday blog post that the acquisition, which brings software expertise to a company that had been focused on infrastructure integration, is important for realizing the "full business value of technology through software."
Asynchrony brings to WWT software expertise in a range of markets, including health care, financial services, manufacturing, retail and military, Olwig wrote. Asynchrony also has expertise in developing Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, and also supports its acquisitions with its own software and services.
Asynchrony practices Agile software development, which Olwig described as developing software in short iterations to provide weekly demonstrations to customers to provide an opportunity to make changes during the process.
However, Olwig wrote, Asynchrony goes beyond traditional Agile software development by first creating a shared vision for the software that aligns with business goals/integrates engineers, designers, user-experience specialists and quality-assurance people into projects; and provides transparency to the development process, "including full access to the project portal and code repository."
"The addition of Asynchrony Labs is the next natural evolutionary step for WWT. It builds on the legacy of our Advanced Technology Center and allows us to deliver complete end-to-end solutions, including both user-facing software and the systems and infrastructure that support it," Olwig wrote.
The Asynchrony acquisition follows WWT's move in 2010 to launch its Advanced Technology Center, a $50 million-plus laboratory for designing, demonstrating and deploying new technology and architectural solutions.
The Advanced Technology Center, based on a multi-tenant private cloud infrastructure, has individual labs focused on R&D, testing, integration, training and agile software development.
WWT has been working with Asynchrony since 2013, but closed the acquisition in May.
Asynchrony is WWT's first acquisition for some time.
WWT in 2010 acquired Performance Technology Group, which specializes in systems engineering and managed services. That acquisition brought WWT a mid-Atlantic coast federal, state and commercial business.
In 2009, WWT acquired cross-town rival Server Centric Consulting to strengthen its virtualization expertise. That acquisition has helped make WWT Cisco's top partner in the U.S. and second-largest partner worldwide. WWT is also EMC's top channel partner, the second-largest NetApp partner, and one of Hewlett-Packard's top three partners.
PUBLISHED JUNE 8, 2015