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Changes at Presidio Make Sense

March 30, 2007
Watching a company make some major structural changes can be fascinating to watch. Often the decisions reflect a desire to cut costs, while also keeping in step with the demands of a changing market -- which perhaps is why so many government contractors are re-evaluating how they do business. The latest company to make significant changes is Greenbelt, Md.-based Presidio -- now Presidio Networked Solutions -- which recently combined with solution providers Network Information Systems and Solarcom to form one of three subsidiaries that make up Presidio, Inc. (formerly known as Integrated Solutions, Inc.)

I recently spoke with Rudy Casasola, president of Presidio Networked Solutions. With the recent changes, Casasola told me that the solution provider is really pushing the concept of lifecycle management -- providing end-to-end solutions by leveraging the capabilities of the three parts that now make up the whole.

On paper it seems to make sense -- particularly for the government business. For one thing, this provides Presidio with some major market dominance, now the third largest Cisco partner as far as advanced technologies is concerned, Casasola told me. Throw in traditional switching and routing, and its the eighth largest. Access to the other subsidiaries -- Atlantix Global Systems and Solarcom Capital -- expands the portfolio to include midrange servers and provides a bank facility with up to $260 million in equity. So, Presidio can provide government customers with integration and engineering capabilities, the ability to decommission old equipment and finance the whole deal, and of course ongoing maintenance and support. That's attractive -- and falls in lockstep with how agencies want to buy.

I also give them credit for how they rolled out the changes -- engaging with industry analysts and media sources (myself included) before the news became official to figure out how it might be received and what approach would be best for communicating the move to customers and partners. I suspect that helped avoid the need for any damage control that can sometimes result from misinterpretation. And so far so good -- while news of the restructuring is too recent to have played any role in revenues, Presidio Networked Solutions did announced year-over-year growth of 37% in the delivery of Advanced Technology solutions; if the company can keep the positive buzz going, 2007 could prove an even more lucrative year.

Let me know what you think.