Telstra picks up UK IT consultancy Company85

Telstra has acquired UK-based IT consulting and services firm Company85 as part of the telco’s international expansion of its technology services business.

“Company85’s offering is strongly aligned to the existing suite of technology consulting services we offer our Australian customers, and is consistent with the strategic investments we have made in Australia,” Telstra’s executive director of business technology services, Christopher Smith, said in a statement.

“Importantly, it aligns with our strategy to grow our services business in regions that are key hubs for multinational corporations.”

The acquisition follows moves by Telstra over the last half decade or so to boost its technology services capabilities within Australia.

Telstra acquired local ntegrator NSC in 2013, 2 Networks in January 2014, and Bridgepoint in October 2014. In January 2016 it acquired Melbourne-headquartered systems integrator Kloud and then in July last year snapped up software development company Readify and Sydney-headquartered managed service provider MSC.

Telstra has also been augmenting its tech credentials through its venture arm, Telstra Ventures. The telco’s VC business has taken strategic stakes in a significant number of tech companies over recent years, including Cloopen, vArmour, Nginx, Instart Logic and Qiniu.

The London headquartered Company85 was established in 2010 and has around 75 employees. Telstra said the company’s customers included BBC, NHS, Royal Mail and London City Airport, AstraZeneca, J.P. Morgan and Roche.

Company85’s origins can be traced back to Company-i, a consultancy originally founded in the late ’90s that between 2006 and 2010 operated as the UK and EMA consulting arm of Symantec Global Services. After a shift in strategy at Symanetc, a management buyout saw Company85 go independent.

“Company85’s broad set of consulting capabilities will help us to differentiate our offerings in Europe,” Smith said. “We will be able to engage in IT transformation conversations with prospective customers early in the proposal stage, which we believe will help to strengthen our position and create demand for our network services in the region.”