Timeline: Top Channel-Impacting Technology M&A of 2025 (So Far)Timeline: Top Channel-Impacting Technology M&A of 2025 (So Far)

There were fewer mergers and acquisitions (M&A) impacting the channel in 2024, but based on the start to 2025, as well as forecasts from analysts, it looks likely the tech industry will exceed that number this year.

M&A is a key tool in the channel, not only with vendors, but MSPs, VARs and technology advisors looking to expand their influence, acquire necessary tools for improving products and get an advantage over competitors. But it is also an endeavor that can take a lot of time and money to orchestrate. So how did the channel do in 2024 around M&A?

The number of mergers and acquisitions in the North America IT services market dropped by 11% in 2024, according to data gathered by Corporate Finance Associates. The number, however, remained significantly higher than the number of deals pre-pandemic. In fact, there was 30% more M&A, per CFA, in the fourth quarter of 2024 than there was in the same quarter in 2019.

Global M&A as a whole still saw growth in 2024 despite economic and geopolitical issues making some companies more hesitant to pull the trigger on a deal, according to international law firm Morrison Foerster. Overall deal value increased by 8%, to $3.4 trillion in 2024, but the number of mergers and acquisitions decreased.

Related:New Charter Acquires MSP-Centric AI Integration Startup

But what will the M&A marketplace look like the remainder of the year? Omdia, Channel Futures' sister analyst and advisory firm, expects the technology advisor market to experience "aggressive" consolidation in the near future.

Canalys' Robin Ody

The cybersecurity arena will also be rife with M&A.

"2025 will almost certainly see continued acquisitions in the MDR and XDR vendor spaces, as well as AI tools being added to portfolios by vendors to boost their platform plays," wrote Canalys (also a Channel Futures sister technology market analyst firm) principal analyst Robin Ody. "A number of AI service management and ticketing vendors are emerging, and these will be very interesting acquisition targets for other vendors in the MSP space. Canalys predicts three of the top five vendors in the RMM and PSA spaces will either file for an IPO or be acquired by private equity by the end of 2025."

Channel Futures will cover the depth and breadth of deals throughout the year. We will provide you a thorough and detailed timeline of the most important channel-impacting deals month by month, starting with the most recent.

Channel-Impacting M&A In 2025

Jan. 29, 2025: Tenable Beefing Up Exposure Management with Vulcan Cyber Acquisition

Tenable acquired Israeli-based cyber risk management provider Vulcan Cyber for a sum of $150 million. Tenable bought Vulcan to augment its own exposure management platform.

Related:Converge Technology Solutions Merges with Florida MSP in $910 Million Deal

“We anticipate that Vulcan Cyber will give our partners another very compelling reason to sell Tenable One,” Tenable EVP of operations, global business development and channels Terry Dolce said. “Following the completion of the acquisition, Tenable will add more than 100 additional integrations, market-leading cyber asset attack surface management (CAASM) capabilities, and streamline remediation capabilities to our Tenable One platform.”

Jan. 29, 2025: ServiceNow Partner Purchase Expands CoreX Presence

ServiceNow consultancy CoreX acquired fellow channel partner Volteo Digital to expand and enhance its presence in Central America.

"The ServiceNow ecosystem is experiencing unprecedented demand for digital workflow transformation," said Rick Wright, CEO of CoreX. "Volteo Digital’s deep roots in Latin America and Europe, combined with their elite technical talent and proven track record serving financial services and telecommunications clients, immediately establishes CoreX as a major player in these markets. The acquisition is about more than geographic expansion — it's about bringing together two innovative organizations to create a differentiated, scaled and industry-first consultancy in the ServiceNow space."

Related:Private Equity Firm Turn/River Capital Buying SolarWinds for $4.4 Billion

Jan. 28, 2025: JumpCloud Acquires Stack Identity, Paving Way for Identity-First Security

JumpCloud acquired Stack Identity, a next-gen identity security and access visibility platform whose technology will help strengthen JumpCloud's access management solution.

“Mastering data is key to providing secure, frictionless access to corporate resources,” said Greg Keller, co-founder and chief technology officer, JumpCloud. "Stack Identity's world-class team and advanced data analytics technology will accelerate our ability to productize the billions of data signals our platform generates each month. This will enable new forms of access control, improved identity visibility, and assurance that the right people have the correct access and entitlements every time."

Jan. 28, 2025: NinjaOne Acquiring Cloud Backup Provider Dropsuite

NinjaOne acquired cloud backup provider and recovery solutions provider Dropsuite for $252 million. The purchase will allow NinjaOne to combine its automated endpoint management platform with Dropsuite's data protection suite of solutions.

“The idea of an endpoint is evolving from a device to a user in front of us,” NinjaOne VP of business and corporate development Erzyan Uygur said. “Employees are using more SaaS applications and devices than ever before, so it’s become increasingly important for organizations to protect and back up data wherever it lives — across both devices and applications.

Jan. 22, 2025: Citrix Strengthens Endpoint Management with Unicon Acquisition

Citrix took a big step toward focusing more on customer endpoints by acquiring Germany-based Citrix Ready-focused Unicon.

“Our acquisition of Unicon will enable our customers to maximize the value of their endpoints, giving users secure access to the Citrix platform without the need for additional software purchases,” Citrix co-president Sridhar Mullapudi said.

Jan. 21, 2025: New Charter Adds New York-Based ProTech IT to Portfolio

MSP portfolio company New Charter Technologies added New York-based ProTech IT Solutions to its portfolio as part of a "strategic partnership."

“I started ProTech with a clear mission: to bring enterprise-level IT solutions to small and midsize businesses,” said Johnson Abraham, president of ProTech IT Solutions. “Joining the New Charter platform allows us to continue that mission while tapping into an incredible network of like-minded IT providers across North America. This partnership enhances our ability to deliver the best possible solutions to our clients while maintaining our personal touch.”

Jan. 16, 2025: IBM Buys Another Consultancy for Oracle Cloud Expertise

IBM made strides to beef up its Oracle Cloud expertise by announcing the acquisition of Applications Software Technology. The purchase is the second Oracle Cloud-centered acquisition for IBM, preceded by the acquisition of Accelapha last September.

“Public sector clients’ cloud transformations often require a consulting partner with industry, domain and technology expertise,” said Kelly Chambliss, senior vice president of IBM Consulting, Americas. “The acquisition of Applications Software Technology will boost IBM’s public sector and Oracle Cloud Application skills to help clients confidently navigate their business transformations.” 

Jan. 16, 2025: Lenovo Expanding Enterprise Storage with Infinidat Acquisition

Lenovo acquired Infinidat, an Israeli enterprise storage provider, hoping that its technology will help support its growth strategy and improve its enterprise offerings worldwide.

“Lenovo offers a comprehensive range of storage solutions designed with a customer-centric, data-first approach to meet diverse enterprise needs,” said Greg Huff, chief technical officer of Lenovo’s infrastructure solutions group. “With the acquisition of Infinidat, we are excited and well-positioned to accelerate innovation and deliver greater value for our customers. Infinidat’s expertise in high-performance, high-end data storage solutions broadens the scope of our products, and together, we will drive new opportunities for growth.”

Jan. 15, 2025: Flexera Expands FinOps Support Through NetApp Deal

Risk management-focused Flexera said it would acquire NetApp's "Spot" FinOps business to enhance customer and partner support for serving those particular needs internally.

“A tsunami of artificial intelligence applications is exponentially increasing organizations’ consumption of cloud resources,” Flexera president and CEO Jim Ryan said. “Yet, we hear from many organizations about the difficulty in answering basic questions like, ‘What technology services do we use?’ and ‘Why are our cloud bills so high?’ Our acquisition of Spot is the next step in Flexera’s strategic plan to provide organizations with a full panorama of their technology spend and risk across the entire IT ecosystem. We want to make it easy for anyone to find and analyze any data related to spend and risk for any kind of technology, anywhere it lives."

Jan. 15, 2025: Cytracom Adds Security Risk Management with MSP Buy

Texas-based infrastructure software provider Cytracom acquired fellow MSP Telivy, which will provide it with new tools for managing data security and attack surfaces.

"This acquisition represents the next phase in our mission to empower MSPs with comprehensive critical infrastructure solutions," said Zane Conkle, CEO of Cytracom. "As we continue to evolve our platform, we're focused on delivering innovations that help our partners effectively communicate cybersecurity value to their clients and ultimately grow their businesses. The addition of security and risk management capabilities addresses a critical need in the market, and we're excited about the advancements this will bring to our partners."

Jan. 15, 2025: AvePoint Gets AI Cybersecurity Tools via Microsoft MSP Acquisition

New Jersey-based data security company AvePoint bought Microsoft-focused MSP Ydentic to incorporate Ydentic's AI cybersecurity technologies into its platform.

“We are thrilled to welcome [Ydentic founder] Jorn Wittendorp and the Ydentic team to AvePoint,” said Dr. Tianyi Jiang, CEO and cofounder of AvePoint. “This acquisition aligns perfectly with our strategic priority to scale and expand our channel ecosystem. Together, we will enhance automation, service management, and reporting and data insights capabilities for MSPs, creating further competitive differentiation and economic opportunity for our channel partners.”

Jan. 14, 2025: DoiT Acquires LiveDiagrams to Accelerate Cloud Infrastructure Optimization

DoiT, the cloud optimization offering a multicloud platform, has acquired LiveDiagrams, a cloud infrastructure visualization and analysis software provider. The new addition will provide DoiT Cloud Intelligence with advanced functionality to map, monitor and optimize cloud architectures.

"Acquiring LiveDiagrams aligns with our mission to empower DoiT Cloud Intelligence customers with intelligent solutions for cloud optimization," said Vadim Solovey, CEO of DoiT. "By integrating their innovative technology with our cloud management and FinOps platform and expertise, we'll provide clients with unparalleled visibility and control over their AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure cloud environments."

Jan. 14, 2025: Berkshire, Court Square Agree to Thrive Investment

Massachusetts-based technology outsourcing provider Thrive received strategic investments from Berkshire Partners and Court Square Capital Partners.

“Over the past decade, we’ve built a market-leading company with a wide array of technology capabilities. With the new strategic investment from Berkshire and Court Square, we will continue scaling to meet the complex needs of the industries we serve,” said Bill McLaughlin, president of Thrive. “We are excited to partner with two firms that understand our business and mission of enabling our customers to increase business efficiencies through standardization, scalability, and automation to deliver exceptional technology returns on investment.”

Jan. 13, 2025: Valeo Networks Adds Bay Area MSSP via Acquisition

The Florida-based MSP Valeo Networks expanded its presence through the acquisition of the California-based Verus Technology Solutions. Verus is best known for work to support robotic automation and the financial/legal sectors.

"Our acquisition of Verus Technology Solutions is a strategic expansion into the Bay Area," said Travis Mack, CEO of Valeo Networks. "This move not only broadens our reach into a key market but also aligns with our vision to offer comprehensive managed IT services nationwide. We are thrilled to welcome Verus Technology Solutions into our family and look forward to the opportunities this brings."

Jan. 9, 2025: Thoma Bravo's Darktrace Acquiring Cado Security

The Thoma Bravo-controlled Darktrace announced the acquisition of Cado Security, which got it an investigation and response automation platform. Cado is a specialist with a history in multicloud, container, serverless, SaaS and on-premises environments, removing incident response blind spots.

“Over the last year, we’ve made investments in evolving how we go to market with partners through initiatives like the Darktrace Defenders Partner Program,” Darktrace chief strategic officer said. “And this acquisition comes on the heels of news yesterday about the appointment of Dan Monahan as chief partner and transformation officer of Darktrace.”

Jan. 8, 2025: WatchGuard Technologies Acquire MDR Provider ActZero

WatchGuard agreed to buy MDR provider ActZero, which will help to enhance its own products and extend its security platform with "operational efficiency gains."

“ActZero’s technology and teams will become the foundation of the WatchGuard MDR product line while bringing enhanced features, including reporting, cyber hygiene and compliance tracking,” WatchGuardCPO and SVP of product management said. “This acquisition benefits our partners by improving MDR service capabilities so that we scale and upgrade our customer success function with new onboarding processes and communications from security operations center (SOC) analysts."

Jan. 8, 2025: Amplix Buys New Jersey-Based Tech Advisor

Gemspring-backed technology advisory (TA) firm Amplix brought New Jersey-based Xela Communication into its fold. The two companies share similar TA models, so its addition will act as an expansion of Amplix's interests.

“The addition of Xela and their talented team strengthens Amplix’s technology advisory services and represents a strategic expansion of our capabilities in technology expense management," Amplix CEO Dan Gill said. "As a trusted partner for enterprises managing service inventories and vendor relationships, Amplix will integrate Xela’s proven methodologies and best practices into the broader platform, further enhancing the value we deliver to our clients.”

Jan. 8, 2025: CallTower Acquisition of Inoria to Enrich Channel

Contact-center-as-a-service (CCaaS) and collaboration solutions software provider CallTower bought Inoria, the Genesys North American and Canadian "premier partner." The deal reinforces the need for complete end-to-end solutions and services in the contact center space, according to Metrigy president and principal analyst Irwin Lazar.

"CallTower builds upon their existing PSTN and Microsoft Teams capabilities to expand their managed contact center offerings. The move will permit them to expand capabilities in Canada and differentiate themselves through a complete set of [unified communications] and [contact center] offerings, which include implementation, ongoing management and PSTN connectivity," Lazar told Channel Futures.

Jan. 8, 2025: Quorum Cyber Expands Into U.S. with Kivu

U.K.-based cybersecurity provider Quorum Cyber acquired incident response-focused company Kivu Consulting. The purchase is believed to bolster its worldwide expansion in 2025.

“We are incredibly excited to welcome Kivu to Quorum Cyber. Kivu's reputation for excellence and its strong history in incident response perfectly complement Quorum Cyber's capabilities," Federico Charosky, CEO of Quorum Cyber said. “The integration of Kivu’s stellar incident response teams and U.S.-based SOC, together with Quorum Cyber’s existing U.K., U.S., and Canadian operations, enables us to provide unparalleled 24/7 security coverage. This transaction highlights our rapid growth among incident response and threat management providers globally, reinforcing our commitment to delivering exceptional cybersecurity solutions throughout North America, the U.K., and beyond.”

Jan. 7, 2025: 'Exciting' Opportunities for 1Password Partners in Trelica Acquisition

Identity security provider 1Password said it would acquire Trelica, a SaaS access management platform for security teams. It's the largest acquisition for the company to date and is also the most significant one since it rolled out its Extended Access Management (XAM) platform strategy last May.

“This move accelerates the delivery of 1Password XAM, creating new opportunities for partnerships,” 1Password co-CEO David Faugno said. “For example, with Trelica’s 300-plus direct SaaS integrations, partners can immediately leverage expanded capabilities with 1Password’s Enterprise Password Manager and Device Trust products."

Jan. 7, 2025: 1Password Acquires UK-Based SaaS Access Firm Trelica

The Toronto-based identity security developer 1Password made the UK-based SaaS access management firm Trelica. The addition will help 1Password customers discover and manage access to previously unknown apps in the workplace.

“Trelica’s technology and approach align perfectly with our mission to unleash employee productivity without compromising security,” said Jeff Shiner, Co-CEO of 1Password. “The acquisition of Trelica accelerates our path to delivering the full potential of our Extended Access Management platform, which ensures that employees’ devices, identities, and apps are trusted before access is granted—all without increasing complexity or IT overhead.”

Jan. 7, 2025: New Charter Enters 2025 with Minneapolis MSP Acquisition

New Charter Technology strengthened its presence in the Midwest part of the United States with the acquisition of the Minneapolis-based Verus. The company in question specializes in co-managed services designed for lean internal IT teams and would bring its expertise in infrastructure, cloud strategy and security to New Charter's teams.

“We’ve always been driven by the goal of being the best co-managed IT platform, and joining New Charter allows us to accelerate that mission,” said Kevin Willette, president of Verus. “The ability to tap into the resources, talent and operational support across New Charter’s ecosystem opens new opportunities for growth and innovation."

Jan. 6, 2025: Veracode Acquires Phylum Technology Assets

Cloud-based application security platform Veracode agreed to acquire some of Phylum's assets, including its  malicious package analysis, detection and mitigation technology. The assets will reportedly help Veracode to strengthen its ability to identify and block malicious code in open-source libraries.

"Veracode’s partners will have access to Phylum’s malicious package database, which will be directly integrated into Veracode’s software composition analysis (SCA) product in the first half of 2025," Veracode CPO Ravi Iyer said. "With Phylum, Veracode SCA customers will be able to identify and score risks from open sources that are identified as containing malicious code. In addition, Veracode will be releasing a package detection firewall as another control point for customers in their software development lifecycle (SDLC). This is a great opportunity for partners to expand their footprint with existing customers, as well as gain new customers."

Jan. 2, 2025: WWT Acquires VAR Softchoice

World Wide Technology announced that it was making a bit change through the acquisition of the Canadian VAR Softchoice, which was purchased for $1.249 billion dollars. The large player bought all of Softchoice's shares, which will allow it to add all of Softchoice's software, cloud, cybersecurity and AI offerings to its portfolio for its customer base.

“We are excited to join WWT," Andrew Caprara, Softchoice president and chief executive officer said. "Its scale and global reach, customer base of large organizations, and industry leading infrastructure solutions are a perfect complement to our software and cloud focused solutions, our Canadian presence, and our strength in the North American midmarket. We also share similar Great Place to Work certified organizational cultures, demonstrating an aligned passion for our people. I believe WWT is the ideal partner for our customers and employees and I’m excited about our future as a combined firm.”