TDS Pursues Managed Services Acquisitions

TDS Telecommunications Corp., the eighth largest telecom provider in the United States, has hired former Nimsoft VP Phil LaForge as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of TDS Hosted & Managed Services LLC. LaForge will play a key role in the organization’s merger and acquisition strategy, which apparently includes some deals that could be announced soon. Here’s the update.

“Our goal at TDS is to build  a managed services business by acquiring MSPs, colocation specialists and cloud providers,” said LaForge. “We’re not looking to be a small player.”

LaForge is a familiar name within managed services circles. At Nimsoft, which CA Technologies acquired in 2010, LaForge worked closely with MSPs that were building recurring revenue streams. Before CA and Nimsoft, LaForge worked at CDW Berbee. According to a press release, LaForge is now “returning to familiar roots having previously served as vice president of Sales and COO at TEAM Companies in Cedar Falls, Iowa — now a TDS subsidiary.”

According to a prepared statement from President of TDS Hosted and Managed Services William Megan: “Phil understands the hosted and managed services business exceptionally well and will help TDS expand in this exciting business segment.”

LaForge’s first order of business with TDS is to finalize several acquisitions, which are expected to be announced soon. TDS is targeting mid-market MSPs for acquisition. LaForge described the ideal acquisition as “an MSP that is growing very fast and needs capital.”

LaForge’s main job with TDS, as he described it, will be to, “remove obstacles to growth” for TDS’ acquired companies. “We can help with CAPEX and we have a great reputation with customer service,” he said.

Meanwhile, LaForge’s former employer — Nimsoft — continues to perform strongly under CA Technologies’ ownership. Several companies ranked near the top of our annual MSPmentor 100 report have embraced Nimsoft for their managed services platform needs. CA has been mostly hands-off with Nimsoft, allowing the organization to march forward with its corporate brand and established culture.

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