Published on the 02/02/2016 | Written by Donovan Jackson
The wave of consolidation of trans-Tasman enterprise solution providers continues apace as Fusion5 snaps up the remnants of Koorb…
Hot on the heels of news last year that Koorb’s Dynamics AX and BI practices were sold to UXC Eclipse, Fusion5 has acquired the erstwhile company’s Microsoft Dynamics CRM and SharePoint practices.
This division consists of 29 people and has some 80 customers including AUT, Barnardos, Farmlands, Ballance Agri-Nutrients, Independent Liquor and Lincoln University.
Fusion5 has the largest Pivotal CRM and Oracle CX practices in Australia and New Zealand, and specialises in implementing and supporting ERP, Human Capital Management, Customer Experience and Relationship Management, Industry Solutions and IT Service Management.
A recent iStart feature noted the consolidation of the Microsoft Dynamics ERP market; consolidation is also taking hold in the cloud services provision market, with recent news that Plan B has acquired ICONZ, while Bulletproof has completed a trans-Tasman raid of Cloud House.
In a chat with iStart, Fusion5 CEO Rebecca Tohill said the development is a reflection of the company’s desire to be the best across a range of disciplines and vendors; it represents a strong move into the Microsoft world for the company. “We want to be in a position to solve business problems with a range of products with the best outcomes for the client,” she confirmed.
The 29 individuals who are now employed by Fusion5 are likely to be pretty busy in the coming months and may well find themselves with a number of new colleagues; Tohill said there is considerable potential within the organisation’s existing client base, in both New Zealand and Australia, for Dynamics solutions. “The easy target is to cross-sell and with our 600-plus customers, there is quite a bit of opportunity for both CRM and SharePoint.”
Fusion5 has been on an acquisition trail for some time, she confirmed, and while it is likely to catch its breath as it integrates the new practice, it isn’t done consolidating the market just yet. “This is our 9th or 10th and probably second biggest after adding the Jade and Empower payroll and HR teams four years ago, and the Oracle practice from NZ Post around two years ago; that gave us a kick into Oracle Service Cloud.”
A similar ‘kick’ into Dynamics is expected, as she has made clear. “We’re coming in with a full pipeline, so our priority is to hire more people; we’re expecting another 8 or 10 throughout the year, either here or in Australia.”
With the New Zealand market for enterprise solution providers noticeably fractured and an abundance of smaller players, consolidation is perhaps an inevitability. That’s at least in part owing to the realities of the complexity of modern business: even small companies routinely require cross-vendor solutions and support. “Some clients might prefer to work with a small service provider, but I see that as limiting. A lot of customers need a range of applications and support beyond what a small specialist can offer. Many customers are looking for more value, and in a consolidated market, they can get that from a smaller number of bigger providers.”
Be that as it may, she added that there is sufficient competition to keep solution providers on their toes.
The acquisition will see Koorb’s Dynamics CRM and SharePoint consultants relocate to Fusion5 branches in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, with Koorb’s Dunedin office re-established as Fusion5’s newest.
