ePlus Acquires Cisco Master Service Provider Tech From CCI Systems

‘The Network Solutions Group is a service provider which holds one of six Cisco master service provider certifications in the U.S. We also have service provider customers. But NSG is a little bit broader, and a little bit deeper and wider. And it’s focused more on tier-two and tier-three clients. And the real reason is there’s a whole bunch of federal funding programs now to bring broadband to rural areas nationwide. And those are all getting done at the tier-two and tier-three level,’ says Kley Parker, ePlus’ senior vice president overseeing mergers and acquisitions, investor relations, and credit.

National solution provider ePlus Monday said it has acquired part of the Network Solutions Group, a move that is expected to lead to ePlus becoming a Cisco master service provider.

Michigan-based Network Solution Group is a business unit of Centennial, Colo.-based CCI Systems, and provides networking services and services around the broadband service provider market.

The focus of the acquisition is to bring expanded Cisco capabilities to ePlus, said Kley Parker, senior vice president of Herndon, Va.-based ePlus, who oversees mergers and acquisitions, investor relations, and credit.

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“The Network Solutions Group is a service provider which holds one of six Cisco master service provider certifications in the U.S.,” Parker told CRN. “We also have service provider customers. But NSG is a little bit broader, and a little bit deeper and wider. And it’s focused more on tier-two and tier-three clients. And the real reason is there’s a whole bunch of federal funding programs now to bring broadband to rural areas nationwide. And those are all getting done at the tier-two and tier-three level.”

ePlus, ranked No. 30 on CRN’s 2022 Solution Provider 500 list, is a leading systems integrator for the U.S. public sector.

The acquisition will eventually make ePlus a Cisco master service provider, Parker said.

“I think we have to get it assigned and go through the process with Cisco, but it’s not as difficult as getting it from the ground level,” he said. “ePlus already has many Cisco national Master certifications. So this is just another one.”

ePlus learned about the Network Solutions Group assets via an investment banker, Parker said.

“That banker was the sell-side representative,” he said. “CCI, the parent company, hired them to market this business that they were trying to divest. It was widely marketed. A standard kind of deal.”

Parker declined to discuss the financials of the deal, other than to say that Network Solutions Group was a profitable business. He did say there were other solution providers interested in acquiring the group, but declined to name them.

The deal actually closed last week, and the NSG business is already integrated with ePlus, Parker said.

“It’s already integrated,” he said. “Today, they’re processing orders in ePlus’ systems. That’s our MO (modus operandi) for doing smaller acquisitions. So we’ve already transferred all of the work in progress, all the open orders, all the book of business, to our systems. And new orders are getting executed on our systems. However, we are going to keep it as a standalone business unit of ePlus because it has a vertical market specialty. We’re calling the service provider group, or SPG.”

With the acquisition, the whole NSG team came to ePlus, Parker said.

After the sale, CCI Systems remains in business where it is focused on the networking business outside the building, such as breaking ground, laying cable, and doing fiber optic work, Parker said.

As to why CCI Systems sold the NSG assets, Parker said, “I think they wanted to focus on the core business. And probably further invest in their core business.”

ePlus has made over 30 acquisitions in its history, and the acquisition of the Network Solution Group assets fits the company’s strategy, Parker said.

“So it’s really an expansion plan, a standard strategic M&A, getting customers, getting good salespeople, getting good engineers,” he said. “This acquisition is a little more vertical market-focused than before for us. In the past, we’ve been more of a generalist.”