Inside the 'Freight Train' Telarus-TCG Acquisition and Future of Technology Sourcing

Proliferating M&A in the technology sourcing channel might point to a future where partners align themselves more closely with their distribution partners.

So said Telarus CEO Adam Edwards when we asked where he sees the market moving in the next few years. Telarus made waves this week with the purchase of TCG. The companies say the deal creates the largest technology solutions brokerage in the world.

In fact, it’s the latest in a series of consolidation involving Telarus and its peers. The number of companies identifying themselves as national TSDs/TSBs in the last three years by some estimates has halved. Now a handful of players, most of them backed by private equity or a larger parent company, are positioning themselves to be the last ones standing.

“I think this is progressing the way that we envisioned,” Edwards told Channel Futures. “There’s going to be a consolidation because there’s going to be a need for value and for resources. The only way to provide that resource is to be a large organization and reinvest.”

Edwards and Dan Pirigyi, who has joined Telarus as senior vice president of strategic partners, shared their vision for the future of the agent channel. Check out our slideshow above to read what they had to say.