Datalink Acquisition Readies VAR for 2010

Paul Lidsky, president and chief executive officer of Datalink, a Chanhassen, Minn. VAR, sees an uptick in business in store for 2010. And when customers are ready to buy, Datalink will be ready with a broader array of services to offer, Lidsky said. One reason: The company last week completed the acquisition of Incentra LLC’s reseller business. Here’s the update.

While Datalink had been mainly focused on storage solutions, Incentra’s reseller operation contributes a range of additional skills. Those include virtualization and the ability to deploy enterprise server and networking infrastructure.

The combined company will help customers design and build next-generation, virtualized data centers, according to Lidsky. “We wanted to have more skills and a larger … product and services portfolio,” he explained.

Lidsky said he believes that expanded portfolio is well timed, as he anticipates business to pick up in 2010. He said a number of large enterprises have contacted his company to reconsider projects that had been placed on hold. He cited a “significant increase in the sales pipeline” and increased demand for technology refreshment.

The former Incentra reseller arm represents an estimated $90 million to $100 million in annualized revenue, which will let Datalink enter 2010 with an expected run rate in excess of $275 million.

While Datalink’s $8.8 million reseller purchase adds to its VAR offerings, it also lets Incentra LLC focus on its managed services operation. The Broomfield, Colo. company’s Web site said it will continue to provide managed services to customers from its network operations center.

Datalink, meanwhile, has itself been moving into managed services. Lidsky said the company has been building that business over the last year and plans to expand in 2010. He said customers are looking for help in remote backup and recovery.