NetGain Acquires Easy IT: CEO Says ‘Power In Local Ownership’ Is Key

‘Integration is not a fundamental part of our business model. We tend to buy a company and let it run independently. There’s only a light integration. There are only certain areas where we as a larger company can help. And that so far has been fruitful for us,’ says NetGain CEO Tim Burke.

NetGain Technologies Tuesday unveiled its 12th acquisition since it was itself acquired by an investment firm to serve as an MSP platform company, this time acquiring EasyIT as a way to significantly increase its footprint in the central Ohio region.

NetGain’s strategy in general is to grow its business in the Midwest and Southeast by making acquisitions of solid companies and then letting them run independently, said Tim Burke, CEO of the Lexington, Ky.-based MSP.

The acquisition of EasyIT by NetGain, which ranks No. 348 in the CRN 2022 Solution Provider 500 list and is also on the CRN 2022 Managed Service Provider 500 list, closed in early June, but NetGain has yet to integrate EasyIT into the larger company. And that, Burke told CRN, is by design.

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“Integration is not a fundamental part of our business model,” he said. “We tend to buy a company and let it run independently. There’s only a light integration. There are only certain areas where we as a larger company can help. And that so far has been fruitful for us.”

Indeed, that strategy is reflected in the strategy of NetGain Technologies’ parent company, San Francisco-based holding company Evergreen Services Group, which in 2018 acquired NetGain, Burke said.

NetGain is one of three MSP platform companies owned by Evergreen Services Group, all of which were purchased as a vehicle for making further acquisitions and helping build a larger footprint, he said.

NetGain has a focus in the Midwest and Southeast, he said. The second, Executech, which is cited as a CRN Elite 150 MSP on the CRN 2022 MSP 500 list, is based in South Jordan, Utah, and is focused on the West. The third, Chicago-based Lyra Technology Group, is focused primarily on the Northeast, he said.

Like NetGain and its decision to maintain its acquired companies’ own identities, Evergreen Services Group maintains its three platform companies as non-integrated companies, Burke said.

“In our thesis, we found a lot of our power in local ownership,” he said. “We let our branches run autonomously because they have local reach. I don’t see Evergreen Services Group combining the three businesses because they extend the idea of local control even at the possible expense of resource synergies. We feel the entrepreneurial experience [works] best at the local level. This is something we don’t take lightly. We understand the trade-offs we’re making.”

NetGain makes acquisitions for a variety of factors, including diversification of its product suites, skill sets and products, Burke said.

“EasyIT brings us a well-developed NSOC [Network Security Operations Center],” he said. “It is a fast-growing company in a market where we have the opportunity to grow in central Ohio, and they have many great people who will help us drive business.”