Nuvias UC provides an insight into the success of its Alliance Technologies acquisition

Successful acquisitions are difficult to achieve but it is possible to buck the trend.

In January 2022, Nuvias UC (part of The Rigby Group) announced it was taking the next step towards achieving its goal of becoming the leading UC solutions provider and enabler in Europe, with the acquisition of Alliance Technologies GmBH.

This decision followed an overall increase in demand for end-to-end solutions from customers within continental Europe. To meet the growing demand within the DACH market, Nuvias UC sought an already established distributor to help accelerate its growth.

The strong market presence of Alliance Technologies in delivering professional and managed services on behalf of channel partners, in addition to distribution solutions, convinced the Rigby Group right from the start. Complementing this, Nuvias UC’s extensive service offering and partnerships with key vendors such as Poly, Logitech and Yealink helped make Alliance Technologies’ portfolio unique in the DACH market.

But these weren’t the only criteria critical to success. A lot of preparatory work was needed in the months leading up to the announcement of the acquisition. As might be expected, these included some detailed financial discussions about historical data, market opportunity, and revenue and profit targets, but the discussions didn’t just focus on financial aspects.

One of the key aspects of a successful acquisition is the alignment of thought processes and aspirations of key stakeholders in both the acquiring company and the company being acquired. Such alignment can only come from very open and honest communication and, of course, the proof of that openness and honesty will only come after the acquisition.

But it’s not only key stakeholders that can influence success. There has to be a cultural fit between the acquiring and acquired companies. People from both sides of the acquisition have to believe that they are part of one company in order for the whole to be greater than the sum of the parts and that means that multiple teams such as sales, finance, marketing and HR, have to be willing and able to work together well.

All those weeks and months of preparation and communication paid off in FY23 as the combined strength of the two businesses has driven greater profitability, resulting in Alliance Technologies quadrupling its revenue and doubling its margin. A key contribution to the financial success has been the deep specialisation in UC and collaboration solutions and services, including the integration of solutions around the Microsoft Teams platform.

Joel Chimoindes, Nuvias UC CEO, commented: ‘Integrating the two businesses was challenging at times but, having an experienced member of the senior leadership team in each department of the business helped with identifying key priorities and keeping everyone focused on what was really important. Furthermore, Nuvias UC’s deep industry expertise, extensive partner network, and commitment to innovation have helped to support and accelerate Alliance Technologies’ growth.’

Chimoindes added: ‘The CEOs of Alliance Technologies – Dietmar Kraume and Sagar Gandi – brought a wealth of experience and their strategic vision and expertise have been instrumental in the company’s impressive growth’.

About Nuvias UC:

Nuvias UC focuses on enabling innovative unified communications, collaboration and cloud-based voice and video services and solutions. We make it easy for our partners to meet the needs of their customers by enabling the onboarding, deployment and support of UC and collaboration products, services, and solutions from top-class vendors.

Nuvias UC is part of the Rigby Group PLC, a family-owned, multinational, service-based holding company for a portfolio of privately-owned businesses. The Rigby Group consists of more than 8,000 employees and operates in 20 countries across EMEA