Advania adds services muscle with Servium addition

Microsoft partner Advania has added depth to its services capabilities and widened its UK coverage with the acquisition of Servium.

The deal with Servium, the terms of which were not disclosed, will not only add more services expertise, but will also deepen vendor and distribution relationships for Advania.

The firm signalled it was keen to expand its operations late last year after the decision to rebrand Content+Cloud as Advania as it looked to establish the brand as a source of artificial intelligence (AI) and Microsoft expertise in the UK.

“Since we became part of the Advania Group in 2021, we’ve been focused on building a long-term plan that prioritises our clients. We’ve understood their needs and what they want from their trusted partner when it comes to their technology roadmap,” said Advania UK CEO Geoff Kneen.

“This acquisition helps expand our service offerings to provide more comprehensive solutions. It’s a strategic move aligned with our broader goal of becoming the leading tech services partner in northern Europe. We’ll offer a seamless blend of resale capabilities, cloud services and digital transformation expertise,” he added.

Advania has identified the increasing trend across the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customer base to turn to the channel for support. The firm’s recent mid-market challenges report shone a light on how many customers are struggling with costs, complexity and security.

Kneen said the channel player was looking to respond to those user needs, and the acquisition was part of that strategy.

“We want to streamline our clients’ experience and eliminate the need to search elsewhere. This strengthens our partnerships and positions us as the most reliable tech resource across the region,” he said.

Servium has the advantage of having a strong mid-sized customer base, giving Advania more coverage of the SME market.

Paul Barlow, CEO of Servium, said the firm had joined forces with an operation sharing the same culture and ambitions. “Together, we are now able to offer an enhanced range of solutions that touch every part of the modern IT landscape, responding to our customers’ needs to create business value through innovation, increase efficiencies and harness new ways to consume technology,” he said.

Recent research has indicated there is an appetite for customers to continue investing in their digital transformation plans, with budgets being set aside to help drive more cloud and security spending.

The Advania Group stretches across Europe, and there are benefits from associated branding, but the UK operation is determined to stand out because of its managed services with a Microsoft focus.

Content+Cloud was bought by Advania in late 2021 as a move by the Norwegian firm into the UK market, and it is continuing to look at mergers and acquisitions activity to take a greater share of the services market.