CloudBlue Confirms Purchase of PSA Software Maker Harmony

Months after speculation first arose, CloudBlue, a division of Ingram Micro, has confirmed the acquisition of Harmony Business Systems.

Rumors started circulating last year that the distribution giant might be after Harmony, a professional services automation software company. Indeed, filings on the U.K. website “Companies House” indicate that dealings between the two vendors go back almost a year. That’s when Nimesh Davé, president of CloudBlue and Ingram Micro Cloud, and Darish Rajanayagam, vice president of global cloud at Ingram Micro Cloud, appear to have joined Harmony as directors. On the same day, Stephen Duckworth, then of Harmony, resigned as director.

On Wednesday, CloudBlue said it has purchased Harmony Business Systems. HBS now independently operates HarmonyPSA out of the U.K., CloudBlue said. HarmonyPSA is available on the U.K. Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace as of today. That means channel partners now may use HarmonyPSA within their own businesses. Doing so will help them move faster to an “everything as a service” business, Davé told Channel Futures.

Everything as a Service

Ingram Micro’s Nimesh Davé

“We are committing to providing all of our customers with the most usable set of tools to becoming providers of everything as a service,” he said. “Our acquisitions have always been and will continue to be about supporting channel growth.”

That “everything as a service” mindset is especially critical for legacy partners who are still shifting to a subscription model. And, of course, PSA platforms are also key for cloud-native partners.

Regardless of partner type, PSA software offers important benefits for running a business. HarmonyPSA, in particular, combines customer relationship management, ticketing, storefront, lead generation, assisted sales, and vendor competency and incentive programs into one place as a quote-to-cash and accounting system. Further, it delivers automated billing, and real-time views into customers’ contracts, projects and profitability.

Given all that, CloudBlue is positioning Harmony’s PSA and revenue management software as complementary to its services and channel focus.

“The acquisition of Harmony is a direct response to our MSP partners’ requests to help them quickly transform and grow a cloud services business with less risk,” Davé said. “We are delighted to have the Harmony team join our CloudBlue community as we expand our technology offerings.”

‘Providing the Best Experience’

Above all, the Harmony deal reflects CloudBlue’s desire to provide top resources for its channel partners, Davé said.

“As an end-to-end ecosystem provider, we recognize the value in providing the best experience, from services sourcing to the complexity of revenue management,” Davé said. “We’re built … to solve all the operational complexities involved in the entire management of the life cycle of the end customer.”

With that in mind, Davé offered some best practices insight for channel partners seeking to make the most of HarmonyPSA.

First, he said, partners should create their own comprehensive services catalog based on what their individual customers need. Then, manage the operational processes under one view to see customer profitability. Finally, he said, use competency mapping and lead generation to accelerate revenue.

As for what drew CloudBlue to HarmonyPSA, Davé said the decision came down to expertise, cultural and technological fit, geographic coverage and customer base.

Harmony PSA’s Steve Powell

Steve Powell, co-founder and CTO of Harmony Business Systems, agreed.

“We’re extremely excited to join the CloudBlue family to capitalize on our shared commitment of driving growth for our customers,” he said in a press release. “By working together, we will dramatically scale our customer base and expand our offering across various marketplaces.”

CloudBlue and Harmony did not disclose the terms of the acquisition. However, Davé noted, partners can expect to keep benefiting from CloudBlue’s strategic moves.

“We’ve invested over $460 million to date on our journey and have always valued the channel partnership, and will continue to do so,” Davé said. “Additionally, our partners own all of their data.”