AppDirect Buys vCom Solutions for $150 Million in Bid to Solidify Recurring Tech Services Platform

Toronto-based AppDirect announced on Tuesday that it has signed a deal to acquire IT lifecycle management software and managed services company vCom Solutions for approximately $150 million, as part of its plan to create a single platform for buying, selling, and managing recurring technology services through advisors.

The planned acquisition is expected to integrate vCom's artificial intelligence-powered software platform, vManager, into AppDirect's B2B subscription commerce platform, bolstering the company's presence in the IT lifecycle management market. Additionally, resources such as its suite of IT spend managed services and wholesale buyers' club, QuantumShift, will be added to the platform.

"By augmenting AppDirect's current technology management functionality with the depth and breadth of the vManager platform, AppDirect will be able to empower our advisors to offer the world's most comprehensive IT procurement and management platform to organizations of all sizes," AppDirect Chairman and CEO Nicolas Desmarais stated in a press release.

The acquisition is contingent on customary closing conditions and follows six months after AppDirect acquired Builtfirst, aiming to become the premier destination for marketplace solutions. With this latest move, AppDirect aims to solidify its position as a single platform for recurring technology services through advisors.

A key aspect of the deal involves vCom's direct sales team being spun out into an exclusive partnership with AppDirect, with partners joining the AppDirector partner ecosystem to access new technology solutions and support. Existing customers will also continue to receive service and support while leveraging AppDIRECT’s catalog and solution set.

"AppDirect has a powerful ecosystem, and the vCom team will complement and accelerate all that AppDirect does," said vCom CEO Gary Storm in the release, as part of the planned acquisition.