ePlus Buys Rival SLAIT To Boost Governance, Risk, Compliance Skills

EPlus announced that it has acquired rival solutions provider SLAIT Consulting in order to expand its geographic reach and security capabilities, ePlus CEO Mark P. Marron told CRN.

The acquisition closed last Friday and no terms of the deal were disclosed. Marron said SLAIT has a strong presence in state and local education, which Herndon, Va.-based ePlus said fits well with its growth objectives.

“It’s a regional expansion so it really gives us a strong presence in Southern and Northern Virginia, and D.C.,” Marron said. “The cyber security, the services capabilities they add to what we’re already doing.”

SLAIT is an IT consulting and solutions provider headquartered in Virginia Beach, Va., with a strong footprint in the mid-Atlantic region. The 29-year-old company has a focus on security consulting as well as managed service, help desk, staffing and data center solutions.

Marron said ePlus was particularly interested in SLAIT’s capabilities in governance, risk management, and compliance, as well as their relationships with emerging vendors. But with security still top of mind for so many customers, SLAIT provides welcome talent in that space as well, Marron said.

“We still think it’s a big market and it hasn’t slowed down yet. We don’t see it slowing down in 2019. We’ve made, I wouldn’t call them bets, but we’ve invested in both resources, programs, both on what I’d say are the solutions and services side to security,” he said. “The acquisition of SLAIT just enhances what we can do in that cyber security and governance, risk, and compliance space. I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon as people continue to move to these environments, they need to make sure their data is secure, no matter what environment they’re in.”

In a statement, SLAIT CEO said the two companies share many of the same goals and capabilities, which should only help their customers with their own digital transformations.

“For more than three decades, SLAIT has earned an excellent reputation and deep customer relationships, which are in alignment with ePlus’ culture and customer-centric approach,” said Casey Robinson, CEO of SLAIT Consulting. “We look forward to combining the synergistic benefits of both companies. Working together, we will continue to help organizations architect, design, deploy, and manage leading IT solutions required by today’s most sophisticated customers.”