When most people hear that a company has been acquired, they expect a familiar story about the acquirer taking over, imposing its own systems and culture, and the acquired company slowly disappearing into the parent brand. We’re here to tell a different story.

As the leaders of GuideIT’s sales and delivery operations, we want to share why our acquisition by Focus Solutions is good news for our two companies, our employees, our clients, and the industry watching from the outside.

 

Two Companies, Two Strengths, One Better Combination

 

Most MSP acquisitions come down to one question: How quickly can the acquirer turn the acquired company into a version of itself? But this acquisition is different because the fit between our two organizations is unusual in the best way.

In addition to their own managed services, Focus offers a proprietary analytics platform. GuideIT offers unique managed services that we’ve spent years refining. Focus sees our managed services as a complement to their own and a boon in conjunction with their analytics platform. We see Focus’ platform as an immense opportunity to bolster our services to our clients.

Rather than forcing one identity onto the other, Focus made a deliberate choice to preserve what makes each of us strong. They recognized that if they changed us too quickly, they’d risk losing the very thing they acquired us for. So instead, both organizations get to keep thriving while we figure out how the pieces come together at the right pace.

 

A Collaborative Integration

 

From day one, the GuideIT and Focus teams have collaborated on how our integration will be the most successful. GuideIT and Focus leadership have been in the room together making joint decisions across every functional area. Each side brought a leader to the table, and they built joint recommendations for the executive team to consider.

That kind of collaborative planning isn’t typical in acquisitions, and it set the tone for everything that’s followed. Our people, our culture, and our way of doing work were represented from the start.

 

Building a New Foundation

 

We’re most excited to serve as Focus’ launching pad for future growth. In many acquisitions, the acquirer already has its infrastructure in place and uses the acquired company to simply bolt on new customers and talent. But Focus brought GuideIT in to help them build a new structure. The work we’re doing together now will become the new foundation Focus will use to scale.

As we worked through this process, our board and leadership held us to three commitments:

1. 1. Take care of our employees
   2. Take care of our clients
   3. Come out of this stronger than we went in

Notably, Focus was working from the same playbook. They weren’t looking for a transaction that hollowed out either side — they were looking for a partnership that made both companies stronger in the managed services market. That alignment is what allowed all three commitments to hold.

 

A Message for the Industry

 

To our employees, we want you to see an organization that’s stronger today than it was yesterday and one you’re proud to be part of.

To our clients, we want you to know that this acquisition means more capability and an underscored commitment to our high standards of work.

And to the broader market — including Focus’ own clients — we want you to see a company that’s fully embracing where we’re headed together.

Acquisitions don’t usually produce leadership teams that are excited to talk publicly about being acquired. We are the exception, and we’re proud to say so. Both of us are staying on in leadership roles in this next chapter, and we believe that says as much about our confidence in this outcome as anything else we could write here.

We’re stronger in numbers, stronger in capability, and stronger in how we can serve our clients — and we’re just getting started.