The acquisition adds extensive additional skills to Transparity, the UK’s most accredited pure play Microsoft partner across data, business intelligence, artificial intelligence, Azure Data Services and Power BI.
Wokingham-based Transparity currently employ over 220 staff across the UK and are focused on becoming the most respected partner in the UK for Microsoft Cloud Services.
Backed by Beech Tree Private Equity, Transparity specialises in providing consultancy, development and managed services on Azure, Microsoft Security, Microsoft 365, and Dynamics.
Transparity plan to grow to in excess of 300 staff in the next two years, focusing on continued organic growth and strategic acquisitions, such as DataShapa, to widen its reach and depth across the Microsoft Cloud and empower their customers to achieve more through access to world leading technology and technical talent.
Founded by Alister Jones, DataShapa are a medium-sized consultancy providing strategic consultancy on data, AI and BI solutions for enterprise customers.
Based in London with customers throughout the UK, Europe, ME and Asia, DataShapa have been transforming businesses through maturing the data strategies of its clients since 2016 and are focused on building long term-relationships with their clients.
The combined business will integrate, with DataShapa becoming the specialist data practice within the group and delivering benefits to the existing customers of both organisations.
For Transparity clients, DataShapa provide significant expertise in modernising data architecture that enables data-driven cultures, guided by data strategy designed to meet all needs.
This is backed by deep expertise in BI, Analytics and data visualisation to help organisations plan, operate and make more effective decisions to meet their goals. This is the natural move for many Transparity clients who have already implemented a range of Microsoft cloud-based software solutions and databases and now want to consolidate and leverage their data for business benefit.
For DataShapa clients, the broader range of Transparity’s capabilities across the Microsoft Cloud portfolio become instantly available, particularly on Microsoft Azure with its extensive infrastructure skills as an Expert MSP partner, 24×7 SOC offering, Dynamics 365 capability and deep Microsoft 365 expertise.
Paul Bolt, CEO, Transparity, said: “We are delighted to welcome DataShapa to Team Transparity and the extensive expertise they bring in data, business intelligence and AI.
“Since Transparity started, our culture has been the key to our phenomenal growth as a pure play Microsoft partner.
“Alister and his team have built an incredible business, with an employee-focused culture very similar to Transparity, a culture that differentiates us in the Microsoft ecosystem.
“That means any acquisition we make will need to meet a very high technical and cultural bar and the greatest compliment I can pay the team is that they have met both of these measures.
“We hear first-hand from our customers on the strategic importance of data to their organisations and am excited at the prospect of the combined capability of our organisations to help them. Building a modern data approach is a digital imperative and will define who succeeds and who doesn’t over the coming years.”
Alister Jones, MD, DataShapa, said: “DataShapa has grown at pace since its formation, expanding both our technical team and customers, and has done so without compromising the culture and values at our core.
“This is testament to the team we have at DataShapa, who make DataShapa what it is today. We recognised our values in Transparity and this coupled with the Microsoft ecosystem we both work in, makes for a great place for DataShapa to continue its development. One that the management team and I are excited about.”
Adam Rudd, partner, Beech Tree, said: “We are pleased to see Transparity make this acquisition with DataShapa. Data is a significant focus area for the business now that the majority of clients have so many disparate sources of data in the cloud and have a need to bring it together and use it to their advantage.
“It’s good to add another strategic acquisition as this will only help the business grow its capabilities even further, adding value to our customers.”