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Horizon Data Center Solutions Acquires Dallas-based Mareechi Combined Company Poised for Growth as Businesses Look for Cost Savings
Dallas – April 21, 2009 -- In what company executives and industry analysts agree is the “right move at the right time” Horizon Data CenterSolutions of Dallas has announced the acquisition of Mareechi, a fast-growing application service provider (ASP) that has provided outsourced information technology services to more than 100 clients around the world for the past 9 years. Exact terms of the deal were not disclosed; however the combined businesses have an annual (2009) revenue in excess of $20 million.
The acquisition, which folds privately-owned, Dallas-based Mareechi into the Horizon family of companies creating a global managed services company, which will keep both companies intact with no jobs lost and both expansion and revenue growth anticipated.
The acquisition by Horizon provides Mareechi clients, including major Dallas businesses like Hunt Capital Group and Pizza Hut Park, with immediate access to Horizon’s mission critical data center and business continuity services. In addition, Horizon’s data center clients, which include Fortune 100 and other business like Dallas-based Children’s Medical Center and the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, now have the option of expanding their services with Horizon into the managed hosting and application management areas, with significant savings potential on IT overhead possible.
Lance Smith, CEO of Horizon and a long-time data center industry executive with experience working for the industry’s top data center providers, says Horizon, which launched in mid-2008, had planned to build a managed services division as part of its operations, but rapid growth, expansion, and success within its core data center services, coupled with client demand, led the company to look for an acquisition candidate that would allow it to expand into the managed services area more rapidly to meet customer needs.
“Our plan has always been to build a company that was dynamic and flexible and that would meet the needs of our customer base. As our customers have begun to rely on our partnership and warm to our model of doing business, they began asking us for more services that would save them money. We had two options: build it or acquire it. We felt the most prudent strategy would be to find a company with a proven track record and existing customer base, acquire it, and provide benefits to both sides of the house. With Mareechi, we found our opportunity,” Smith says.
Lance Black, the founder and CEO of Mareechi, who will remain with the company as Executive Vice President of Operations says the joining of the two companies makes for a very good marriage.
“Our customer base is broad, and we have clients who trust us and who ask us what more we can do for them. With the strength of Horizon, we can continue to build a solid, profitable managed services company and keep our focus on being high touch. We share the same customer service philosophy as Horizon, which has allowed us to grow exponentially year-on-year. With this acquisition, we gain the strength of a parent company that can help us expand on our annual 25 percent growth rates. We anticipate doubling this new division in size and revenues within a year,” says Black.
John Hendon, Vice President of New York Investment Bank Stifel Nicolaus and an expert on the communications and media sector where data center and managed service businesses are considered key in this economy, says the acquisition by Horizon of Mareechi is another indicator that this sector will continue to be an exciting area for investors.
“The leadership at Horizon has approached its business from a standpoint of adding value to its customers, and the managed services side offers multiple benefits. Horizon can offer more services to its customers to help solidify relationships and increase the already profitable revenue per square foot on its data centers,” Hendon says.
According to Hendon, who has watched Horizon’s growth over the last ten months, the business case for a new Horizon customer should be an easy sell.
“Businesses are looking for ways to cut costs and improve reliability and data security. Horizon can take costs out of a business and provide services more economically and better on a 24/7 scale,” Hendon says.
Black, Smith, and Hendon all agree that from an internal business standpoint, there are definite revenue synergies for Horizon. Horizon brings to the table a top tier portfolio of audited data centers that have generated significant new business at a rate almost counter-intuitive to this economy. The acquisition of Mareech gives Horizon a large managed services customer base that now has access to co-location and data security.
“This acquisition really makes all the sense in the world, and from a prospective customer’s standpoint, it shows that these companies are on firm financial footing and are forward thinking,” Hendon says.
Within the enhanced company, operations teams will be blended and staff expanded. Smith and Black say the transition should appear seamless to existing customers who will benefit from the expanded service offerings.
“Our clients expect friendly, timely response to their needs and great customer support. That won’t change, and our employees now have new training opportunities and the ability to grow within the industry as they deal with the large profile clients that come from Horizon.” Black says.
“We anticipate new employment opportunities within IT and facility management in the Dallas marketplace, and a continuation of our investment in direct employment on a monthly basis,” Smith says.
Horizon, which already has more than 50,000 square feet of data center space within the North Dallas corridor, has plans to expand again within one of its facilities during the third quarter. Plans to add a Houston data center and one on each coast are underway, with estimated completion within the next 12 months.
Susan G. Komen for the Cure selects Mareechi Hosting for its 122 Affiliates.
Dallas, Tx - October 1st, 2008- Mareechi.com LLC announced today that it has been chosen to provide hosted solutions for each of Susan G. Komen's 122 affiliates. Mareechi will be hosting applications to service Komen's email, mobile, and CRM solutions. In addition to hosting, Mareechi will be providing help desk and managed services for each local affiliate.
Lance Black, President and CEO of Mareechi, credits both Mareechi's long standing Managed Services Offering and the ongoing market interest in outsourcing IT. "As applications have become more web-based, and products like Exchange, Sharepoint, and CRM applications become more popular, Managed Services becomes a natural progression", says Black. "The management of Komen's hosted applications, along with Microsoft Exchange and Blackberry Enterprise Server in a hosted model, will enable Komen to concentrate on their efforts for the cure of breast cancer, while not worrying about their business technology."
David Dawson, Director of Solution Delivery for Susan G. Komen says, "Susan G Komen for the Cure selected Mareechi as a hosting solution for our affiliate network because of their customer service, attention to detail, and custom tailoring of services to meet our growing needs. In addition to that, they provide a very cost competitive solution that will help reduce the ongoing operational costs of our affiliates. In the end, that means more money focused towards discovering and delivering the cures to end breast cancer forever."
Because of new interest in Managed Services and the ability to outsource virtually an entire server farm to Mareechi, growth concerns are being addressed early. Black states, "Mareechi will be opening its 3rd data center, fully staffed and functional, before November 1, 2008."
About Komen
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure, nearly $1 billion to has been invested to fulfill that promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.
About Mareechi
Mareechi is a complete Managed Services Provider that offers the solution for the management of client's information technology. Mareechi's objective is to build and maintain clients' application software at a much lower cost than if they implemented it themselves. Mareechi was founded in March of 2000 in Dallas, Tx. Although originally formed to host Sage ERP applications, Mareechi has grown to offer full management of companies' IT environment, including hosting products like Microsoft Exchange, Blackberry Enterprise Server, and additional customized hosting solutions.