Minnesota, Texas MSPs Merge With Focus On Cybersecurity, AI, Automation

‘We’ve seen no shortage of consolidation in the MSP market,’ says Mike Cromwell, managing partner, sales and marketing for Netrio. ‘What excites us is the opportunity to do this right, to grow smartly, enhance our customer experience and take advantage of the market’s growing demand for MSP services.’

Texas-based MSP Netrio has merged with Success Computer Consulting, a Minnesota managed IT services and cybersecurity firm, to deliver cutting-edge technology solutions that enhance innovation and boost efficiency for clients.

The merger, announced today but completed this past August, brings together more than 50 years of combined experience in managed infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud services and connectivity.

“We've all experienced and seen firsthand what works well when you combine entities and what doesn't,” Mike Cromwell, managing partner, sales and marketing, for McKinney, Texas-based Netrio, told CRN. “We're going to be laser-focused on doing smart growth, it's going to be combination of organic and inorganic.”

The companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal, the number of employees in the combined merger or if there would be any leadership changes.

The combined MSP will continue to serve a broad client base across North America offering specialized support in digital transformation initiatives, network and connectivity, hardware and software-as-a-service, Microsoft 365 and Office support, endpoint detection and response (EDR), managed detection and response (MDR), security operations center (SOC) services and cloud services.

"The scale is the key piece here," said Brandon Nohr, CTO of Golden Valley, Minn.-based Success, which is on CRN’s 2024 MSP 500 list. "Netrio has done a phenomenal job growing their business and Success has also been on a successful trajectory. It just makes a lot of sense for us to work together, combining our capabilities. They do things we don’t, and vice versa, which only enhances our value proposition.”

A major focus of the merger is the ability to cross-sell services to each company's existing client base. The strategy will allow the combined firm to offer a wider range of services.

“Cross-selling is the key strategy right now,” Nohr said. “It’s about offering more to our current customer base and adding value within our existing markets.”

Key offerings include cybersecurity as well as AI and automation and Nohr said the goal is to guide customers on how to spend their resources wisely and help them mature in their approach to security and AI.

“For small IT shops that don’t have the capacity or budget to invest heavily in automation and AI, we can step in,” he said. “Our goal is to reduce their costs and improve workflows by automating more of their processes.”

Both companies, which will maintain their respective brands, are eyeing sustained growth with an emphasis on maintaining strong customer relationships while expanding service offerings and inorganic growth through future acquisitions.

“We’ve seen no shortage of consolidation in the MSP market,” Cromwell said. “What excites us is the opportunity to do this right, to grow smartly, enhance our customer experience and take advantage of the market’s growing demand for MSP services. We’re not looking to grow at an unsustainable pace. Instead, we’re laser-focused on delivering the best possible customer experience and expanding our capabilities to meet the needs of our clients.”

He said Netrio’s growth strategy has long relied on its partner channels and will continue as the companies work to expand their market share.

“The channel has been a big part of Netrio’s success, and it will continue to be the engine driving growth for us moving forward,” he said.