MSP Synoptek Boosts Cloud Portfolio With Acquisitions, Sets Sights On New Customers

Managed service provider Synoptek has grown its workforce by nearly 50 percent in the past couple of weeks after acquiring two California MSPs that focus on cloud hosting and startups.

Synoptek CEO Tim Britt told CRN on Friday that the Irvine, Calif.-based MSP recently closed its fourth and fifth acquisitions since 2012, bringing Pay Per Cloud (PPC) of Sacramento and Rocket Science Consulting of San Francisco into the fold.

"It's a ripe market for aggregation and acquisition," Britt said Friday in an exclusive interview.

Both PPC and Rocket Science have between 40 and 50 employees, bringing Synoptek's headcount to more than 300, Britt said. All the employees from both companies are being retained, Britt said, with both CEOs notching a vice presidential positions at Synoptek.

PPC is a hybrid MSP and cloud solutions company, which Britt said will strengthen Synoptek as customers increasingly turn to MSPs for cloud solutions.

Britt said he was impressed by PPC's cloud provisioning and automation capabilities, which Synoptek will look to extend to all of its customers.

Though Synoptek also had an office in the Sacramento area -- which it will combine with PPC's -- the PPC acquisition will make them the largest MSP in the region, according to Britt.

PPC has nearly 100 customers, though only those receiving complete IT management are based in the Sacramento area. In fact, Britt said the company's cloud customers span 36 countries and all 50 states.

PPC's customers tend to be a little smaller than Synoptek's and include managed and hosted services work for a variety of counties and the California State Association of Counties.

That gels well with Synoptek's public sector customer base, which Britt said includes 20 different cities and some state functions. Synoptek also has a strong presence in the health care and financial services verticals, Britt said.

PPC CEO Miles Feinberg will have several responsibilities as a Synoptek vice president, including overseeing the post-merger integration process, leading and growing revenue in the Northern California market and bolstering Synoptek's product development and product marketing portfolio.

Britt said he was very impressed by the branding and marketing of PPC's service portfolio, which encapsulates all of the services the MSP provides.

NEXT: In What Does Rocket Science Excel?

As for Rocket Science, Britt said he was enamored with the company's ability to attract high-growth, venture-funded startup companies as customers. VCs typically push companies they're funding to focus on their core business and outsource even the most basic of IT functions, Britt said.

The startups working with Rocket Science span many verticals, Britt said, from pharmaceuticals and bioengineering to software-as-a-service and fashion media.

That success, Britt said, comes from a combination of knowing how to proposition these companies as well as a location in the heart of San Francisco's Mission District, where many of the area's VC-funded startups are headquartered.

Synoptek will move its existing San Francisco branch into Rocket Science's offices to take advantage of its superior location, Britt said.

Rocket Science will benefit Synoptek's resources and delivery capability as a larger company, Britt said, making it easier for the MSP to scale with their startups as they mature.

On the technology side, Britt was intrigued by Rocket Science's application support team and its relationship with Apple.

Existing Synoptek customers will benefit from Rocket Science's development and mobile application expertise as they look to develop and integrate mobile apps into their own business, Britt said.

Rocket Science is also one of relatively few MSPs to have tools and processes for working effectively with Apple in the enterprise space. Since virtually all of Rocket Science's customers use Apple operating systems, the company is on the forefront of that space.

In fact, Rocket Science hosts meeting of the Bay Area Apple Consultants Network, with company CEO Matt McGraw serving as a member of Apple's partner advisory board.

Going forward, Britt said McGraw will be responsible for integrating Rocket Science into Synoptek's business, as well as spearheading initiatives in the software design space.