EMC Buys Microsoft VAR Interlink

Officials of the two companies said last week that EMC acquired Interlink, an Englewood, Colo.-based professional services firm, for an undisclosed amount.

More channel acquisitions can be expected, said Todd Pavone, vice president of technology solutions at EMC, Hopkinton, Mass. “For professional services, we feel the fastest way to grow is through acquisitions like this,” he said. “We are also looking outside the Microsoft area into such spaces as SAP and Oracle, and [looking into acquiring] horizontals like business-continuity services.”

The move to purchase Interlink follows EMC’s January acquisition of Internosis, a Greenbelt, Md.-based Microsoft solution provider.

Pavone said between its acquisitions of Internosis and Interlink, EMC will now have more than 400 Microsoft services professionals, compared with only about 20 a few months ago. That growth is essential as EMC moves to become a significant force in information life-cycle management solutions for Microsoft application environments, he said.

Interlink, which has four offices in the Western United States, is a five-time Microsoft Gold certified partner whose annual revenue of $20 million to $25 million comes exclusively from Microsoft services, said Interlink CEO Bart Hammond.

Hammond said his company is exactly what EMC needs to bring services-oriented technology to the channel. For instance, he said Interlink authored a white paper on how to scale Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server for enterprisewide and nationwide deployment that will be available through EMC to its solution providers.

Interlink itself is no stranger to partnering with other channel players, Hammond said. The company is part of what he called a “circle of trust” consisting of services providers, technology solution providers, training organizations and ISVs that come together to provide solutions. “To have the credential of EMC behind us will be a significant help to us,” he said.