EMC today said it has purchased Interlink Group, a professional IT
services firm that supports Microsoft software.
Interlink specializes in IT gear, software integration, enterprise content
management and customer relationship management for Microsoft environments.
While financial terms were not made public, the purchase does two things for
EMC: boosts its credibility as a supporter of Microsoft software and pads
the information systems vendor’s growing services portfolio.
Interlink’s services portfolio complements EMC’s existing Microsoft services
for strategy, infrastructure and application development and managed
services.
EMC gained these assets from its January purchase
of Internosis.
Internosis had some 250 service professionals to help clients minimize risk
and maximize productivity around directory services, knowledge management,
collaboration and end-to-end migrations.
Interlink, which also brings expertise related to Microsoft’s Dynamics CRM
software, will add another 180 services staffers to the growing EMC service
team.
“We are thrilled to take our proven model and join forces with EMC to create
one of the nation’s largest and most credentialed Microsoft services
organizations,” Interlink CEO Bart Hammond said in a statement.
Interlink, of Englewood, Colo., will become a part of EMC’s Microsoft
practice within EMC Technology Solutions, the company’s professional
services unit.
Interlink’s services will be sold through their existing team as well as
through EMC’s North American sales channels and business partners.
EMC can’t claim the breadth of services of IBM or HP, but its portfolio is
growing at a solid clip.
In its most recent quarter, EMC reported
that service and maintenance grew 6 percent to $396 million.
The Interlink buy is also the latest purchase in EMC’s shopping spree on its way to becoming a premier
provider of so-called information lifecycle management, a strategy in which
data is cared for from its creation until its destruction.
EMC bought data-protection provider Kashya earlier this week.
