Intelligent, the Belgian market leader in hosting services that is best known for its brands Combell, Register, Unitt and Stone IS, has joined forces with Dutch Sentia. They are the Netherlands’ leading specialists in the management of scalable and mission-critical IT platforms. A strong synergy between both companies helped develop a highly diversified portfolio of services for SMEs and large enterprises. The group will continue to operate under the name Intelligent.
Both companies share a similar history and excel in their area of expertise. Both Intelligent and Sentia show strong organic growth and have been able to develop their portfolio of customers and expand their range of services over the past years through strategic acquisitions. The acquisitions have also been made possible thanks to the flexible underlying platforms in which much money has been invested over the past years.
Both companies have recently started a consolidation process in the hosting market in their respective countries. Intelligent has recently taken over hosting providers GimiScale, PriorWeb and Stone IS, and in the Netherlands, Sentia has been consolidating Jitscale and PaasPlaza (among other companies) under one brand. ReasonNet, which is renowned for its IaaS products and housing services in its own data centres, continues to operate as an independent brand.
More knowledge and focus through complementarity
Sentia mainly targets the market of outsourcing and hosting services for large enterprises. And with its brands, Intelligent focuses primarily on SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). Both bring much expertise in network management or specific software and technologies such as Oracle databases and IaaS platforms.
This complementarity provides a unique opportunity to learn from each other and continue to improve the services that both companies provide by specialising in specific areas of knowledge within the combined company. In addition, the group will be able to invest more in innovation for both services and products, with which they will also be able to conquer new markets and sectors in Europe.
“We can learn so much from each other because we are so complementary. I see a huge variety of expertise that we can share and the same desire for constant improvement. This will enable us to provide our existing and new customers with an even better and wider range of services.”
Ian Zein, Managing Director Enterprise Solutions
Focus on customer loyalty and personal contact
Both Sentia and Intelligent have built a very strong reputation in the field of personal customer approach. The newly acquired knowledge will enable Intelligent and its brands to provide hosting products and all derivatives thereof in the Benelux. These products range from domain names, online presence in all its forms and e-mail marketing for individuals and SMEs to complex managed hosting and outsourcing services for large enterprises.
“The relationship with our customers is something we currently excel in, and we intend to keep investing in it in the future. We believe that small teams are the perfect choice to support a segment of our customers in the most appropriate manner possible. Personal contact and knowledge are essential in this context.”
Jonas Dhaenens, CEO Intelligent
Personal approach is part of the core values of the newly formed hosting group, and Intelligent will continue to focus on it in the future. Customer satisfaction is a top priority for all brands.
Ambitions to become a European player
In the medium term, Intelligent has ambitions to become one of the leading European players in the field of hosting. In order to make this possible, the group is supported by growth capital provided by the management and Waterland Private Equity.
“In view of the fundamental shift of IT applications to the Cloud, the European hosting market is changing at a very fast pace. We are already looking forward to continuing to support Intelligent’s growth acceleration by deploying our international network and financial capability. Intelligent will fulfil the objectives laid out in its international growth strategy through a combination of organic growth and selective acquisitions.”
Cedric Van Cauwenberghe, Partner Waterland Private Equity
Optimisation within the group in the short term
In Belgium and the Netherlands, Unitt, Intelligent’s brand for complex managed hosting solutions, will be renamed Sentia. Sentia will then be the only brand for complex managed hosting solutions within the Intelligent group. The group is also negotiating the acquisition of several other companies.
Jonas Dhaenens will keep leading the Intelligent group as CEO and board member. Within the board, Frederik Poelman is responsible for SME Hosting. Ian Zein from Sentia will join the board and take up the reins of Large Enterprise Hosting. Current Unitt CEO Benjamin Jacobs will assume control of the newly-merged Sentia in Belgium.
Through the merger with Sentia, the Intelligent group now has more than 300 employees in Belgium and the Netherlands. The consolidated group turnover for 2015 is estimated at 60 million euros. The teams will continue to operate from Intelligent’s existing offices in Ghent (BE), Brussels (BE), Nieuwegein (NL), Barendrecht (NL) and Amsterdam (NL).
About Intelligent
Intelligent is a group of companies with renowned brands such as Combell, Unitt, Stone IS, Easyhost and Register. The group provides services ranging from domain names, e-mail and hosting solutions to complex hosting infrastructure projects tailored to the needs of large and international companies.
The services provided by Intelligent are delivered on private, public and hybrid cloud platforms. Over the past years, the group made significant investments in high-end solutions in the area of multi-data centre technology, business continuity and advanced storage products. It employs more than 150 workers in Belgium and the Netherlands. Intelligent holds ISO 9001 and 27001 certification.
About Sentia
In the Netherlands, Sentia has a staff of about 175 people. The managed services within the group are provided via two brands: Sentia and ReasonNet. Sentia focuses on Managed Application Continuity for media companies, banks and large enterprises.
Sentia manages and monitors key applications on private, public and hybrid cloud platforms. ReasonNet provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service solutions through a high-end platform to IT and software companies from their own data centres in Amsterdam. Sentia is certified according to ISO 27001, 14001 and 9001. It also holds NEN 7510 and ISAE 3402 certification.
About Waterland Private Equity
Waterland is an independent private equity investment group that supports entrepreneurs in realising their growth ambitions. With substantial financial resources and committed industry expertise, Waterland enables its portfolio companies to achieve accelerated growth, both organically and through acquisitions. Waterland is an active investor in the financial, strategic and operational sense.
Waterland has offices in Antwerp (BE), Bussum (NL), Munich (DE), Düsseldorf (DE) and Warsaw (PL), and currently manages € 4 billion of investor commitments.
About Intelligent 2.0
Intelligent is a group of companies that operate in two sectors: hosting services for SMEs and for large enterprises. The SME branch of the group includes trusted brands such as Combell, Register, Easyhost and Stone IS. For large enterprises, the group provides products and services under the names Sentia and ReasonNet.
Intelligent is the absolute market leader in hosting services in the Benelux. Services include domain names, regular web hosting and e-mail services, but also cloud servers and tailored complex hosting and outsourcing solutions, for large and international companies.
The group employs more than 300 experts who work from different locations in Ghent (BE), Brussels (BE), Nieuwegein (NL), Barendrecht (NL) and Amsterdam (NL). Its consolidated turnover for 2015 is estimated at 60 million euros. Over the coming years, the group intends to continue to grow, both organically and through acquisitions, thanks to its Buy & Build strategy. The group strongly believes in deep product knowledge and stands for quality and trust.
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