Visionary Integration doubles staff, expands reach with purchase

Sacramento Business Journal - July 12, 2007
by Melanie Turner
Staff writer

Visionary Integration Professionals of Folsom has completed its fifth purchase in the past two years, buying MyITgroup, the nation's largest privately owned SAP firm.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The companies combined revenues will be about $155 million in 2007, up from $56 million last year for VIP and $29 million for MyITgroup of Houston in 2005, VIP chief executive officer Jonna Ward said..

VIP, an information technology firm, has enjoyed strong growth since it was founded in Ward's back bedroom in 1996, she said.

With the acquisition, VIP will double its payroll to almost 800 employees, up from about 400. About 75 employees are based in offices in Folsom and Natomas.

"You hear a lot of stories in Sacramento about companies being acquired," Ward said. "We've got a community that's really trying to breed entrepreneurship and kind of encourage that local startup concept. I think we're unusual in that we're staying local. We're the ones acquiring instead of being acquired."

VIP has its corporate headquarters in Folsom, with offices in Natomas, Minneapolis, Dallas, Denver, New York City and Alexandria, Va. With the acquisition, VIP adds Houston and its first international location, an 80-employee office in Bangalore, India.

A national management and technology consulting firm, VIP performs software engineering and tech-system support, and helps companies and government agencies better align technology with business objectives.

Like VIP, MyITgroup also a global consulting firm with national presence, supporting clients in 20 states. Locally, the company has 25 employees in Sacramento and 50 in the Bay Area.

As VIP has grown, Ward said she realized the company was capturing an under-served market, and put a strategy in place to expand. She said there are lots of large consulting firms, such as International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and BearingPoint (NYSE: BE). There also are many small, local firms with 20 or fewer employees. But there are not many companies in between.

"A lot of clients are looking for that alternative," she said. "We're able to out-nationalize that little guy and at the same time out-localize the big guys."

The benefit to clients, she said, is "world-class capability packaged in a more nimble organization focused on meeting our clients' needs, at a lower price than the big companies."

In a news release, David Perroni, managing director of MyITgroup, said the "SAP space has seen tremendous consolidation in the past three years."

"This acquisition reinforces our commitment to the SAP market and enables us to continue delivering the world-class solutions that our customers and partners have come to know and trust, with even greater effectiveness and efficiency," he added.

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About VIP

Established in 1996, Visionary Integration Professionals (VIP) is a global technology and outsourcing firm that has provided solutions to over 900 clients in multiple industries as well as federal, state and local government. VIP helps companies challenge boundaries and uncover new possibilities to increase productivity, maximize revenue, improve performance, mitigate risk, and reduce costs. With more than 935 employees companywide, VIP offers expertise in areas of Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing, SAP Integration and Consulting, Technology Integration and Operations, Human Capital Management, Quality Management, and Management Consulting. VIP’s corporate headquarters is located in Folsom, California with offices in Sacramento; Minneapolis; Dallas; Denver; New York City; Alexandria; Houston; and Bangalore, India. More information can be found at www.vipconsulting.com

About MyITgroup
Established in 2000, MyITgroup is a global consulting firm solely focused on delivering SAP solutions. MyITgroup maximizes its clients’ return on investment by establishing dedicated practices focused on all aspects of SAP, including business intelligence, portal implementations, upgrades and a variety of other sub-specialties.  With a focus on strategy, people, process, solutions, and support, MyITGroup delivers value through three primary delivery methods: solutions, outsourcing, and workforce.  For seven years, MyITgroup has partnered with more than 500 SAP clients to deliver quality solutions that span a variety of industries.  MyITgroup maintains its headquarters in Houston, Texas with clients supported nationwide and with a foreign subsidiary headquartered in Bangalore, India. For more information, visit www.myitgroup.com.

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Media contacts:
Patty Nelson, pnelson@vipconsulting.com, (916) 985-9625
Zane Edwards, zedwards@myitgroup.com, (713) 980-7603