Welltel acquires Novi in €3M deal

Welltel, Ireland’s fastest growing end-to-end communications provider, today announces that is has acquired Kildare-based IT service provider Novi, in a €3 million deal. Welltel and Novi are now able to provide an integrated suite of managed IT services, cybersecurity services, remote working, phone systems, unified communications and secure connectivity to customers.

Welltel will retain Novi as a standalone brand in the interim. Adding Novi’s 15 employees will bring the total headcount to 115 and its SME and enterprise customer base to more than 3,000. The deal is the latest in Welltel’s wider acquisition strategy for growth, which saw it acquire ICT provider Invisitech at the beginning of this year.

Novi is a proactive managed cybersecurity company that has launched several security services and products in recent times, including Novi PatchGuard, Novi AirGap and Novi CyberView. As the volume and complexity of cyber threats continues to grow, Novi provides proactive risk management for Irish businesses. Its customers will now be able to access Welltel’s managed business communications suite, including telephony services for Microsoft Teams, business broadband and SD-WAN services, thus allowing it to add significantly more value to clients.

Established in 1999, Novi has recently reported several consecutive years of significant revenue growth based on its ability to attract and retain high profile clients across a range of industries. Its customers include CarePlus Pharmacy, Flynn, Irish Funds, O’Brien’s Fine Foods and Expert Electrical.

The acquisition will enable Welltel to expand and enhance its cybersecurity and managed service offering. While Welltel will continue to provide specialised communications and telephony services and solutions, it has now added Novi’s extensive experience in securing and optimising companies’ networks. This equips it to offer fully integrated communications and managed IT cybersecurity services –opening new market opportunities for the company.

Welltel and Novi can now also likewise avail of each other’s existing partnerships with leading industry vendors, such as Microsoft and Fortinet. Novi developed a suite of services to enable secure remote working for businesses both during and after COVID-19 restrictions, and can now leverage Welltel’s experience to add integrated telephony for Microsoft Teams as part of its remote worker bundle.

Ross Murray, CEO, Welltel, said: “The Welltel and Novi teams share a very similar vision of enabling growth for businesses which made this acquisition a natural fit. We were deeply impressed with the strength of Novi’s client base and recurring revenue growth, as well as its proactive approach. Novi’s consistent revenue growth is founded on its ability to acquire and retain high profile customers.

George O’Dowd, Managing Director, Novi, said: “Novi is delighted to join the Welltel team at a time it is on an impressive growth trajectory. We’re excited to leverage the synergies between our two brands to provide mid-sized Irish businesses with a unique combination of managed IT, security and communications expertise.  

“Simplicity will be the new watchword as customers can benefit from a single provider for IT and communications. Our united offering gives us a unique ability to facilitate today’s flexible working needs and make it easy for customers to manage their ICT. This is a critical capability as mid-sized businesses move away from traditional phone and IT systems and networks to offer the true mobility demanded by today’s employees.”

“Remote working is here to stay and this acquisition will transform our business and secure remote work offering and enable us to grow within the managed services and managed security markets. While Novi will continue to operate as its own entity, our support teams will be connected and collaborate closely to ensure that we can offer integrated solutions which deliver the best outcomes for our combined customer base.”