Tech Data Beefs Up Data Center Services with Acquisition of Signature Technology

Tech Data Corp., a massive IT product distributor and service provider, has acquired Signature Technology Group, a Phoenix-based provider of a variety of professional services meant to help customers run their data center infrastructure. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Four-decades-old Tech Data, which last year made about $28 billion in sales, is a global wholesaler of IT products and services. STG’s assets will become part of Tech Data’s Advanced Infrastructure Solutions division, which focuses on data center services.

The acquisition beefs up the portfolio of services AIS is able to provide. STG’s services include maintenance, IT professional services, consulting services, and staff augmentation.

STG has grown its portfolio organically and through acquisition. In 2014 it acquired the U.S. consulting division of a company called GlassHouse Technologies. Prior to that it bought GlassHouse’s customer support services and the technical recruiting division of Global Resources.

One of the services it provides is warranty and support for data center managers who deploy liquid cooling solutions by Asetek. The agreement with Asetek helps the companies target the market for data center operators that support high performance computing systems, which need liquid cooling because of extreme power densities they require.

STG President and CEO Charles Layne will join Tech Data as president of the STG division within AIS. “The data center is a strategic priority for Tech Data, and we are excited to join one of the world's largest, most respected IT distributors and continue to grow together,” he said in a statement.

Chuck Bartlett, senior vice president of AIS, indicated that the company was betting on the expectation that more and more companies would stop managing their IT infrastructure on their own and rely instead on service partners such as AIS.

“STG will complement our AIS offering, giving our solution providers an extension of their business and service levels for their end users,” Bartlett said in a statement. “Their specialized, expert skillset in the data center will help provide enhanced support for our field organization, better equipping our solution providers to effectively serve complex data center environments.”