IBM partner Advent One acquires consulting firm PLii

Melbourne-based platinum IBM partner Advent One has acquired IT consultancy firm PLii for an undisclosed sum, with the intention of expanding its range of services.

The acquisition was finalised on 1 September, after six months of discussions, and sees PLii's staff and customers come under the combined banner.

“Together we now offer our clients a wider range of services and products – business consulting through managed services, hardware, software and security,” Advent One wrote in an announcement.

“From PLii we have gained broader business expertise and two experienced respected executives and directors.

“The new five-person leadership team has a shared vision of delivering value to clients through talented & skilled personnel as well as having a trusting relationship with tier-one partners.”

The newly merged company will continue to partner with IBM in Australia, but will also look into expanding its vendor roster to companies that don't compete with IBM.

Advent One currently works with Lenovo, Redhat, Commvault, AWS, and NetApp, and is looking at growing its security portfolio.

The company is part of the exclusive CRN Fast50 all-star club, after appearing on the list six times in a row, most recently in 2014 when it grew 20.13 percent to reach $27.4 million revenue,

PLii director Joe​ Tasevski told CRN that all of PLii staff would be absorbed in the new company, and all of their clients will be retained.

Advent One chairman Robert Bassat told CRN that the merger was a union of “two companies with great synergy”, and has “felt happier already” in the first six weeks of the merger.

“Customer feedback on the merger has been overwhelmingly positive, and we look forward to continue working with them,” Bassat said.

The new company is considering additional business offerings and is currently “undergoing rigorous planning.”

PLii Pty Ltd was founded in 2004, specialising in risk management and mitigation. It had clients in telecommunications, financial services, corporations and state governments.