Networking Powerhouse: Transcend United, Spectrum To Merge

Transcend United Technologies and Spectrum Solutions this week confirmed plans to merge, creating a new powerhouse in the networking channel. The new company will operate as Transcend United Technologies, based in Minneapolis, Minn. and will count UC, network infrastructure, backup, recovery and availability, and data center optimization among its strengths.

"Spectrum Solutions has an outstanding reputation for engineering expertise and customer service with enterprise and mid-sized accounts in the Twin Ciites and throughout the Midwest," said Rick Hirsch, Transcend United CEO, in a statement. "Bringing Spectrum together with Transcend United significantly expands our expertise in voice, data, wireless, and converged technologies."

According to a statement, all of the the executive managers from each company and most of the staff are part of the combined unit. Relevant financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but according to Transcend United, the agreement was structured as a merger.

"Transcend United and Spectrum Solutions have a similar focus on delivering high levels of technical expertise and world-class customer service," said Lee Orr, president and CEO of Bloomington, Minn.-based Spectrum, in a statement. "We are very excited about this merger and believe our customers will be as well. We've added more sales and engineering, and greatly expanded the range of communications and IT infrastructure solutions we can offer."

Transcend United, based in Springfield, Pa., was ranked No. 455 on this year's VAR 500 list. The newly combined companies will carry Cisco, Avaya, Trapeze, Nortel, ShoreTel, Riverbed and other key networking and data center vendors.