Synnex Acquires IBM's Customer Care Services Business

Synnex’s (SNX) acquisition of IBM’s (IBM) customer care business (call centers) for a total of about $505 million follows Big Blue’s successful strategy of pursuing high-margin businesses and selling off lower margin ones. With that in mind, it shows how even some services businesses can more closely align with  distributor’s margin goals than they match IBM’s margin goals.

Synnex’s Concentrix organization will absorb the IBM business, and as part of the deal will enter into a multi-year agreement with IBM. Concentrix will become an IBM strategic business partner for global customer care business process outsourcing services. 

The deal expands Concentrix’s global footprint across six continents to approximately 45,000 staff and 50 plus delivery centers. It gives IBM the ability to focus on other technologies, such as advanced analytics, as it relies on Concentrix to provide customers with other services.

“Our clients are investing at an unprecedented rate, in order to engage with and service clients across multiple channels,” said Lori Steele, general manager, IBM Global Process Services, in a prepared statement “This partnership between IBM and Synnex will provide our clients with the innovation they have come to expect from IBM through our deep capabilities in advanced analytics, social business, cloud and smarter commerce, complemented by Concentrix’ flexible and adaptive global customer care delivery network.” 

Meanwhile, IBM said in a statement that it will continue to invest in strategic areas of its Global Process Services portfolio including finance, administration, procurement, supply chain management, human resources and Smarter Workforce, and mortgage origination and servicing.  The company pointed to recent investments in Kenexa for a Smarter Workforce and Emptoris for supply chain management, enabling IBM to deliver smarter analytics-based solutions.