Fast-growing data center solutions and services marketplace, UPSTACK, which acquired five companies already recently, has now acquired CloudAdvise, a global technology infrastructure advising firm. The transaction’s terms were not disclosed.
UPSTACK’s acquisition of New York-based CloudAdvise is part of UPSTACK’s strategy to accelerate the use of its platform, which unites the industry’s Internet infrastructure experts with unique software and support resources.
Berkshire Partners announced a $50 million equity investment in the company in April this year. It allows UPSTACK to continue to build its platform through technology expansion and partner acquisitions.
Greg Moss, the founder and CEO of CloudAdvise, will join UPSTACK as a Partner and Managing Director, as well as a true equity stakeholder, as part of the investment. Mr. Moss will advise corporate customers using the UPSTACK platform to find data center, colocation, cloud, network connection, and other technological solutions.
“We’re thrilled to welcome CloudAdvise to the UPSTACK family,” said Christopher Trapp, CEO of UPSTACK. “Greg brings a rare combination of entrepreneurial ingenuity, grit and enterprise-level business acumen to the table. I have no doubt that these skills will be integral to helping UPSTACK’s customers achieve their ambitious digital transformation objectives.”
Serial Entrepreneur
Greg Moss has more than 20 years of experience inventing, designing, and bringing new products to market as a serial entrepreneur and startup incubator. He aided Online Retail Partners and the In-Store Broadcasting Network in their early stages of development. In addition, he developed TrustCash and eSecurePoints, both in the retail and financial businesses. Mr. Moss then worked for Internap for five years in partnership development, where he identified an opportunity to transform the indirect sales channel paradigm for the SMB market.
In 2015, Moss founded CloudAdvise to help SMBs with the procurement of their data center and cloud infrastructure services. “I noticed that most of my customers and other IT leaders in SMBs were struggling to keep their heads above water with limited staff,” said Mr. Moss. “They needed to focus on mission-critical priorities and didn’t have time to field calls from dozens of vendors to find, source, validate and negotiate for services in a rapidly changing landscape.”
CloudAdvise, he continued, intervenes to protect clients from frequent contact from vendor sales teams while also removing the administrative difficulties of the procurement process by researching services and providing only the options that best meet customers’ demands. CloudAdvise grew swiftly through trusted customer referrals after the service became popular. Eventually, the company expanded its research services to larger companies, aiding non-technical procurement teams in more than 15 countries with purchasing infrastructure.
When Moss was introduced to UPSTACK, he found the company’s unique go-to-market strategy compelling. “What I found most intriguing about partnering with UPSTACK was the opportunity to have an immediate impact on the success of an industry-changing enterprise,” said Moss. “I like the challenge of integrating and partnering with like-minded advisors and business leaders to drive a common goal.”
