The Aldridge Co., a provider, consultant, and integrator of information technology (IT) and cloud computing solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), has announced its acquisition of the IT Services division of The Harding Group, an IT provider in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Aldridge said the acquisition is part of a 10-year plan to grow aggressively and gain an expanded pool of talented employees. It also expands the Houston-based company's footprint into the Dallas area. The Aldridge Co. said all the sales and technical staff in The Harding Group's Dallas office would remain with the company. That's about 15 employees, the company told the Houston Business Journal. This acquisition and others is expected to grow Aldridge's revenues by 45 percent this year, the Houston Business Journal also reported.

Aldridge Co. President and COO Patrick Wiley said in his prepared remarks that the acquisition adds an education and municipal governments practice to the company's already strong customer base of SMBs. Harding Group also adds the following technology strengths: storage solutions, collaboration, access/identity management and network infrastructure, including clustering, data backups, remote connectivity, large-scale technology rollouts.

"The Harding Group’s strong, engaged team brings a great deal of value to our clients and will be a nice fit in our client-focused culture," Wiley said.

The Aldridge Company appointed IT Director of Professional Services Yaser Wassef to lead Dallas operations. He will report directly to Wiley.

Aldridge provides cloud hosting, dedicated servers and colocation, as well as complete management of servers, PCs, and network.