New Presidio CEO Has Cloud Computing, Services On His Mind

By samdizzy

Cloud Computing Mind

I doubt Presidio will transform into a pure cloud services provider (CSP). But it’s a safe bet Presidio will blend its existing Cisco, EMC, unified communications and managed services expertise with a growing portfolio of cloud services.

Cagnazzi has spent the past five years building BlueWater into one of Cisco’s fastest-growing channel partners. BlueWater also has a successful managed services business practice. But in recent months, Cagnazzi and BlueWater reached an inflection point.

“We looked at cloud computing — public clouds and private clouds — and the consumerization of IT,” said Cagnazzi. “Some of those trends are still emerging and evolving. Do we wait a bit for the market to get clearer, or do we make a big move now to get well ahead of the curve — perhaps even being 12 months ahead of some IT trends?”

Ultimately, Cagnazzi said, the BlueWater team pursued a mass-scale strategy to get ahead of the cloud computing and cloud services curves. The strategy apparently involved hiring Foros, a financial services firm that provides M&A and corporate finance guidance. The strategy also involved checking in with Cisco Systems, on a confidential basis, to discuss any potentially big strategic moves.

The result: The blockbuster combination of Presidio buying BlueWater, and Cagnazzi shifting into the CEO slot at Presidio, which already has more than 2,000 IT professionals across 50 offices in North America.

Presidio’s Cloud Strategy

Presidio already offers customers a path to cloud computing. The company also has an established VDI (virtual desktop integration) practice, hosted infrastructure offerings, and hosted backup and recovery.

BlueWater, meanwhile, has built out a NOC (network operations Center) in its Long Island office, where the company monitors and manages customer networks across the New York region.

Now, Presidio and BlueWater are set to march forward as one company, with Cagnazzi at the helm. As so many other IT executives have said in recent months, “to the cloud… or bust.”