Internet service provider Internet Solutions (IS) has acquired a majority stake in locally managed Linux service provider Synaq, for an undisclosed sum.

IS executive for communication services Wayne Speechly says the acquisition boosts the ability of IS to tackle the growing need for managed communication services in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) market, through the delivery of robust hosted Linux and open-source technologies. Synaq, on the other hand, will benefit from access to IS’s infrastructure and gain a strong base of support for African and international expansion.

Synaq provides Linux and open-source software-based solutions on a ‘software as a service’ (SaaS) basis, targeted mainly at the SME market. Synaq MD Yossi Hasson says as the hype around Linux settled and its adoption as an enterprise-ready solution increased, the company diversified and added the development, deployment and hosting of email branding, archiving, disaster recovery and continuity, and collaboration solutions, as well as the provisioning of other cloud-based Linux applications to its product and service offering.

Speechly says the decision to acquire a stake in Synaq was driven largely by the rapidly increasing adoption of hosted services by SMEs, adding that the corporate governance, legal and regulatory requirements around the management and storage of data and information, especially email are driving the adoption of hosted services.
While IS has catered to the SME market with its access and hosted exchange services, it needed the flexibility and adaptability that a smaller, specialist independent software vendor such as Synaq could offer, especially with its Linux and open-source-based solutions, he continues. This flexibility means it can now adapt quickly to market changes and offer bundled solutions to meet specific needs. It also gives IS great flexibility in terms of its price points, owing to the less onerous licensing fees associated with Linux and open-source software.

He says Linux offers a dynamic development platform, with strong local support for cloud-based applications. Further, there are important synergies between the stability and capabilities of IS’s tier 4 data centre network and the stability of the Linux platform. This combination will allow it to effectively deliver applications from the cloud and meet any level of demand for hosted services, he adds. The company is also investing in the Synaq management team.

Hasson says the acquisition by IS will give the company the ability to scale and grow at a much faster rate, adding that IS’s advanced infrastructure and capabilities are important for the development and deployment of cloud-based applications. Synaq is now better positioned to expand and grow into other markets and can tap into the African and global footprint of IS and its parent company, Dimension Data.

He also believes that IS’s acquisition of Synaq affirms the growing demand for professional Linux and open-source-based services, and the ability to provision these platforms from the cloud.

Synaq’s operations, structure, management and staffing will remain unchanged following the acquisition and the company will continue to serve its current customers from its Johannesburg head office.

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