Just because Yorktel acquired two companies in the matter of a couple of weeks, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Eatontown, N.J.-based integrator will be going on a shopping spree in the near future.
Then again, it doesn’t mean they won’t either.
Yorktel acquired Hicksville, N.Y.-based Expedite VCS and U.K.-based MultiSense Communications Limited in May, expanding their capabilities and reach into healthcare and government and becoming a more prominent worldwide presence.
The deals mark Yorktel’s fourth acquisitions in the past seven years and second time the company has looked overseas to add, says Yorktel chief technology officer Bin Guan. When Yorktel added First Connection about 2 ½ years ago, it was their first foray into the EMEA region and “we saw huge opportunities there,” says Guan.
Since 1996, Expedite has successfully designed and delivered custom and standard voice and video conferencing, and streaming media solutions to federal, state and local government agencies, as well as private and corporate clientele ranging from small business to the Fortune500, along with solutions in distance learning, telejustice and telemedicine.
Expedite’s unique bridging services portfolio enables companies whose voice and video needs have expanded beyond point-to-point communications to expand their capability without having to buy and manage a multipoint control unit.
MultiSense, which has offices across the U.K., is a fully accredited, award-winning Polycom partner with more than 18 years of experience in the supply and support of videoconferencing and telepresence solutions, especially in the UK healthcare market, a key component of Yorktel’s interest in the company.
Since forming a dedicated Healthcare Division in 2004, MultiSense has enjoyed myriad successes in developing medical conferencing solutions powered by HD videoconferencing technology, for use within remote consultation, telemedicine, clinical education and multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meetings.
Also, using custom built MultiSense medical telepresence technologies capable of transmitting high quality, high definition images from multiple sources, countless “students” and observers are able to learn from and participate in fully interactive medical procedures.
Both companies are relatively small, with about 20 to 30 employees each, says Guan. Their additions put Yorktel’s employee count in the 430-person range, and the larger size is already paying dividends for the new acquisitions, says Guan, noting neither one had an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
The next step of a smooth transition is looking at “how to align their customers and their services into what we’re doing,” he says. Yorktel will continue to explore expansion into India and other parts of the world and consider moving more forcefully into different verticals, says Guan.
“Over the last three years, we’ve transformed the company from a systems integrator to a service provider,” he says. That includes opening an office in France last year that caters to the clients it’s worked with since putting its stake in Europe a few years ago.
