Ultima adds services depth with Just After Midnight buy

Automation and services specialist Ultima Business Solutions has added more capability to its business with the acquisition of Just After Midnight (JAM).

The cloud services provider will form the basis of a cloud and application services division at Ultima, increasing its ability to provide customers with 24/7 support.

JAM serves enterprise customers with cloud support but has also established itself as a source of services for channel partners, marketing and digital agencies, ISVs and software-as-a-service (SaaS) specialists.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but JAM comes with a global footprint, with offices in London, Australia, Singapore and the US.

Scott Dodds, CEO at Ultima, said the deal would give it a chance to provide more global support.

“It strengthens our ability to offer our customers a seamless cloud service around the world,” he said. “By combining Just After Midnight’s expertise in cloud support and consulting with our own managed services and IA-Cloud automation management platforms, we will have a powerful global offering for all customers and partners looking to build and manage their hybrid cloud infrastructure and applications.”

Sam Booth, founder and CEO of Just After Midnight, said his company had been striving to build its business, but recognised that it would have more muscle with the backing of a fresh owner.

“We have been driving hard to build a next-generation managed services provider for the digital transformation age, accelerated by the explosion of cloud adoption across every aspect of modern business,” he said.

“This team-up with Ultima will allow Just After Midnight to turbocharge our growth and bring even more meaningful value to digital teams, agency partners and brands alike.”

Ultma, backed by its owner Apse Capital, has been pursuing a strategy of becoming an automation specialist that can not only serve its customers, but also be a source for services for the channel.

Tim Green, managing partner at Apse Capital, said it had supported Ultima’s first acquisition because it “further expands its multicloud strategy and enables a global footprint for world-class support”.

Ultima cut the ribbon on its Labs operation back in February, with a brief for the operation to develop more technology and tools that could be used across the business. But after a few months, it became clear that what had been developed could be packaged and offered as a service that other MSPs could choose to take advantage of.

Ultima Labs then launched its IA-Cloud offering last November. Along with the Labs operation, the addition of JAM will now enable the provision of a cloud and application services operation.

Ultima adds to a growing list of recent examples of channel consolidation. Already this week, Sapphire has been active in the SAP channel and Radius Payment Solutions Group has sealed its eighth deal in the last two years to bolster its position in the telco market.