Insight Integrated Systems Buys Core To Build Cloud Business

IIS, a division of Orange, Calif.-based Insight Investments, acquired Glendale, Ariz.-based Core in order to beef up its virtualization, cloud computing, and managed services businesses, said Chris Aliberti, IIS's senior vice president for national sales.

The acquisition came after the two solution providers partnered with various customers over the last 14 months, Aliberti said.

More specifically, the two collaborated on deploying the Cloud Commons cloud computing infrastructure for CA Technologies, Aliberti said.

IIS has experience in building and hosting cloud infrastructures, while Core's strength is in staffing, developing IT project, and managing those projects, Aliberti said.

"Ken Crabtree, the owner of Core, was CIO at Nestle for about 10 years," he said. "So Core has a lot of expertise in those areas. And this is important for our customers. It gives us solid credibility in cloud computing."

IIS has been selling NetApp storage technology to CA for years, and early last year unveiled its initial move to cloud computing with a cloud-based replication based on NetApp, Aliberti said.

CA knew about IIS' cloud computing capabilities, and when it ran into difficulties with other partners that threatened to derail the timeline of its Cloud Commons rollout, it called on IIS, which worked with Core to push the project through on time, Aliberti said.

"We were able to go in and provide the hosting and management," he said. "At one point, we were down to less than three weeks before the deadline, and we had to pull storage and server equipment from our warehouse to get it going until CA's actual equipment arrived."

In addition to further developing its cloud computing capabilities, Core also makes IIS a stronger NetApp partner, Aliberti said. While NetApp accounts for about 60 percent of IIS's product revenue, Core had an agreement with NetApp under which it provided staff to customers on behalf of NetApp nationally, he said.

For IIS, the acquisition of Core takes the conversation with customers from products towards solutions, Aliberti said.

"We no longer talk product," he said. "We talk project. As we see opportunities stack up, we feel, this is it. This is where we are going. Manufacturers have been gluing together products. But you have to understand how to work with customer needs, and that requires real solutions."

Aliberti declined to state how much IIS paid for Core, which brought it 14 full-time and 48 contract workers. However, he did say the acquisition is profitable for IIS from day one.