The transaction accelerates Bluewave’s growth as it expands geographically and adds expertise in expansive, multi-location retail solutions

Parsippany, N.J., December 20, 2022 – Bluewave Technology Group (“Bluewave”), a strategic, high-growth technology advisory and lifecycle management company, today announced that it has acquired Compass Solutions, a technology and telecom advisory agency headquartered in Cuyahoga Falls, OH. This is the fourth acquisition for Bluewave this quarter that expands the company’s reach to now serve over 4000 customers.

For more than 21 years, Compass Solutions has worked with clients to navigate the complex and ever-changing IT and telecommunication infrastructure landscape to meet the needs of their business. Founded by the company’s president, Marty Lyman, an active leader in the Akron community, the firm grew quickly to provide global solutions to mid-to large enterprises, with a special focus on nationwide retailers with a presence of 50 or more locations. The firm’s focus on providing excellent client support helped retain and grow many clients into long-term relationships averaging more than ten years.

Lyman will join Bluewave as an Ambassador and equity partner, continuing to focus on client success and Bluewave’s growth. The Compass Solutions team will also join Bluewave, enhancing its already strong technology advisory and management services.

“We are constantly evaluating how we must grow and evolve as an organization to meet our customer needs,” said Marty Lyman, Founder and President, Compass Solutions. “We believe the model for success is exactly what Bluewave has built and will continue to capitalize on. Their experienced management team has built and scaled organizations successfully. And their core values, a keen focus on customer lifecycle success, and a scalable suite of service offerings make this next phase of growth the right fit for us.”

“Clients are looking for a strategic partner that can consistently deliver results that optimize client outcomes, and Marty and the Compass Solutions team have built long-term relationships over the years doing just that,” said Seth Penland, Founder and CEO of Bluewave. “Their ability to actively manage all phases in the customer technology lifecycle is a complementary fit to Bluewave. And their unique expertise in multi-location retail solutions will strengthen the breadth of our combined services, creating even greater opportunities for us to support clients.”

Bluewave has a history of investing in technology and telecom advisory agencies, including recently acquired Helm Partners, iSymplify, and Virtual Telecomm, which are part of the company’s aggressive growth plan. Bringing the combined talent and resources together across these organizations empowers Bluewave to deliver greater value to customers throughout the lifecycle of their technology investments. The terms of this transaction were not disclosed.

Sampford Advisors acted as the exclusive investment banking advisor to Compass Solutions.

About Bluewave Technology Group

Bluewave is a premier technology advisory and lifecycle management company with a comprehensive approach to optimizing clients’ ability to grow revenue, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. Bluewave streamlines the technology buying and management process for businesses of all sizes across the United States with four key services: Technology Evaluation, Strategic Sourcing, Expense Management, and Operations Support. Specializing in modernizing the IT and telecom infrastructure, Bluewave partners with proven cloud, network, security, and collaboration service providers to develop the best solution while maximizing the clients’ technology investment.

About Compass Solutions

Compass Solutions was founded in 2001 to bridge the gap between the dizzying array of technology options and suppliers and what enterprise companies need. Compass Solutions is a trusted and agnostic IT partner that is data and process driven. Specializing in vendor advisory, technology lifecycle management, and IT team augments, Compass Solutions is a consistent source of guidance, institutional knowledge, and support.

Media contacts

Lisa Guillaume
press@bluewave.net

Combined Company to Offer White Glove Advisory and Lifecycle Management Solutions with Founding Members of Helm Partners Joining Bluewave as Equity Partners and in Key Management Roles

Parsippany, N.J., December 14, 2022 – Bluewave Technology Group (“Bluewave”), a strategic, high-growth technology advisory and lifecycle management company, today announced that it has merged with Helm Partners (“Helm”), a large technology advisory and IT transformation agency.

The combination of Helm and Bluewave will create one of the largest national technology agencies that offers white glove lifecycle management solutions with deep expertise and critical capabilities such as security and customer experience. Richard Wilson, Helm’s CEO, joins as an equity partner and assumes the role of Chief Strategy Officer for Bluewave. Managing Partners David Grau and Paul Weiss will join as equity partners and Bill Quinlan in a senior management role. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Helm was established to guide companies through the complex and rapidly changing IT and telecommunications landscape by identifying and implementing solutions that deliver impactful business outcomes. The company serves a portfolio of over 2000 clients from midmarket to enterprise with its advanced and highly specialized technical go-to-market approach in the areas of contact center, unified communications, cybersecurity, and next generation network services. Its team of experts led the company to become a recognized channel industry leader, most recently winning top-producer awards from Avant and Intelisys, and top technology advisor award from RingCentral for the past five consecutive years.

With roots back to 2001, Helm is a product of several successful organizations coming together in 2017 when The Apella Group, a strategy consulting firm, purchased Expert Technology Associates, a leader in the trusted advisor space. Most recently, Helm acquired Cory Communications and Convergent Technologies Inc. in November 2021, to further propel its growth initiatives.

“The combination of Helm and Bluewave aligns with the strategic objectives of both companies to help clients navigate the complex technology shifts with the best-in-class resources,” said Richard Wilson, CEO and Managing Partner of Helm. “We are able to expand our offerings and create further value for our clients in areas that require more assets and investments, and our employees will benefit with new opportunities for career advancement and professional growth.”

“We are at an inflection point in the transformation to digital where the technology ecosystem is changing rapidly and becoming increasingly complex. Helping our clients embrace these changes requires our combined capabilities with Helm,” said Seth Penland, Founder and CEO of Bluewave. “Helm’s deep technical acumen, diligence, and consideration of client requirements, together with their substantial relationships with vendors, provide our clients with the advantage they need to stay ahead of the competition.”

Bluewave is headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, and Helm is headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, PA. Both locations will be maintained, and the combined entity will operate under the Bluewave Technology Group brand.

This transaction is the latest move in an aggressive growth plan for Bluewave, in partnership with Columbia Capital, a sector-focused investment firm with investments in enterprise IT, digital infrastructure, and mobility, to build a national technology advisory services provider.

About Bluewave Technology Group

Bluewave is a premier technology advisory and lifecycle management company with a comprehensive approach to optimizing clients’ ability to grow revenue, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. Bluewave streamlines the technology buying and management process for businesses of all sizes across the United States with four key services: Technology Evaluation, Strategic Sourcing, Expense Management, and Operations Support. Specializing in modernizing the IT and telecom infrastructure, Bluewave partners with proven cloud, network, security, and collaboration service providers to develop the best solution while maximizing the clients’ technology investment.

About Helm Partners

Helm Partners is a technology advisory service firm helping reshape businesses for growth and achieve better outcomes throughout their digital transformation journey. We are your roadmap for purposeful change. Located in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, Helm has been a trusted advocate for their global client base since 2001. Helm’s core practice focuses on cloud communications, contact center solutions, next generation network strategies, cybersecurity, cloud and managed services, and expense management, supporting clients from assessment through implementation and the ongoing lifecycle.

Media contacts

Lisa Guillaume
press@bluewave.net

iSymplify Owners Lorie Burkemper and Brad Burkemper Join as Managing Partners at Bluewave

Parsippany, N.J., November 21, 2022 – Bluewave Technology Group (“Bluewave”), a strategic, high-growth technology advisory and lifecycle management company, today announced that it has acquired iSymplify, a cloud and telecom advisory agency. This is the sixth acquisition for Bluewave in the past 12 months and marks another expansion milestone for the company as it now has offices in five cities across the U.S., with nearly 100 employees offering technology lifecycle management services.

Serving the cloud technology industry since 2008, Brad and Lorie Burkemper founded iSymplify with ambitions of helping business clients migrate to the cloud with the best solutions and providers available. Seeing first-hand the difficulties their clients had tracking down inventory, proposals, contract expiration dates, and billing issues, iSymplify was formed to streamline the account lifecycle when procuring technology.

Almost 15 years later, iSymplify serves mid-market and enterprise clients nationwide and has a team of experienced and respected technical advisors. Important in the greater St. Louis community, they grew the company into an industry-leading firm and have ensured successful deployments of 15,000+ cloud-ready network nodes and over 50,000 cloud seats. In addition, iSymplify has received numerous community and partner awards. Lorie has been recognized as one of St. Louis’ Top Women Business owners and co-founded the group Women in Tech Connect – St. Louis.

As part of the acquisition, iSymplify’s owners, Lorie Burkemper and Brad Burkemper will join as Managing Partners at Bluewave. The iSymplify team will also join the company and continue providing first-class IT advisory services to the expansive suite of clients.

Driving business growth today demands specialized advisory and consulting resources with the technical knowledge to deliver meaningful client innovation and experience to scale operations. iSymplify’s philosophy for its clients and technical expertise provide even further scale and capabilities that complement Bluewave’s well-established service portfolio and ever-expanding geographic presence. Together, this acquisition bolsters the combined portfolio of services that accelerates innovation and automation at scale for clients.

“Our goal is to help businesses scale their operations efficiently and effectively while seizing innovation with the guidance of our best-in-class industry advisors,” said Seth Penland, Founder and CEO of Bluewave. “We are excited to welcome the iSymplify team and expand our presence in the greater St. Louis area. Together, our joint resources expand our capabilities and emphasize our commitment to clients who need first-class technology advisory services.”

“After almost 15 years of growth, we considered many options to expand our capabilities and better support our clients’ evolving technology needs,” said Lorie Burkemper, Founder and President of iSymplify. “Joining like-minded Bluewave allows us to further invest in our team and clients around solution consulting, expense management, and high-touch account management, as well as gain access to more robust processes and systems to provide clients with better insights and data to drive the best technology decisions.”

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Bluewave has partnered with Columbia Capital, a sector-focused investment firm with investments in enterprise IT, digital infrastructure, and mobility, to build a national technology advisory services provider.

About Bluewave Technology Group

Bluewave is a premier technology advisory and lifecycle management company with a comprehensive approach to optimizing clients’ ability to grow revenue, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. Bluewave streamlines the technology buying and management process for businesses of all sizes across the United States with four key services: Technology Evaluation, Strategic Sourcing, Expense Management, and Operations Support. Specializing in modernizing the IT and telecom infrastructure, Bluewave partners with proven cloud, network, security, and collaboration service providers to develop the best solution while maximizing the clients’ technology investment.

About iSymplify

iSymplify is a St. Louis-based cloud and telecom advisory agency that delivers telecommunications, cloud services, unified communications, and contact centers. The company serves its clients by providing exceptional customer service throughout the entire lifecycle of cloud-based technology projects. The company’s goal is to achieve business outcomes that grow its clients’ business, provide business efficiencies and savings, and to have fun doing it!

Media contacts

Lisa Guillaume
press@bluewave.net

Virtual Telecomm owners Mark White, Michael White, and Jason Hulsewede will be equity partners in client-focused, premier IT advisory firm

Parsippany, N.J., November 1, 2022 – Bluewave Technology Group (“Bluewave”), a strategic, high-growth technology advisory and lifecycle management company, today announced that it has acquired Virtual Telecomm, a technology advisory and IT transformation agency. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. This is the fifth acquisition within the past 12 months for Bluewave, and further builds upon the company’s growth strategy with the recent capital raised.

Virtual Telecomm provides forward-thinking solutions to companies seeking value and scalability by guiding them through the technology buying process. Founded in 2004 by Mark White and joined later by business partners Michael White in 2006 and Jason Hulsewede in 2010, the team grew the company into a leading network and communication transformation agency for mid-sized enterprises. The award-winning company has served as an important cornerstone of the Louisville community. It ranked top ten Best Places to Work in the Greater Louisville area for the past three years and is an official partner and Internet provider of Louisville City Football Club.

As part of the acquisition, Virtual Telecomm’s Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Mark White; Vice President of Partnerships, Michael White; and President, Jason Hulsewede will join Bluewave as Ambassadors and equity partners, continuing to focus on client success and Bluewave’s growth. The Virtual Telecomm team will join the company and continue providing strategic IT advisory services and excellent support to the expanded client base.

“Mark, Michael, and Jason have created a great company. Their vision aligns with Bluewave’s purpose: to help companies purchase and manage technology in a better way that optimizes their business outcomes,” said Seth Penland, Founder, and CEO of Bluewave. “We are excited to welcome the Virtual Telecomm team and have their leadership team’s guidance going forward as we build upon the strong foundation established in Louisville.”

This acquisition further strengthens Bluewave’s position as a technology lifecycle management provider. As clients’ needs and expectations change and the emergence of new technology disrupts business operations, the competitive insight to acquire the best solution providers to navigate the changing industry dynamics and rapid development cycle becomes a necessity. With Virtual Telecomm, Bluewave can accelerate the company’s go-to-market strategy with top talent capable of exceeding client expectations.

“We believe that there has never been a more important time for companies to have the right solutions to compete in today’s economy,” said Mark White, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Virtual Telecomm. “We are excited to join forces with the ever-growing Bluewave team, who shares our values and believes in the continued investment across the company to ensure our customers have the best experience and ultimately achieve the best outcomes from their IT investments.”

About Bluewave Technology Group

Bluewave is a premier technology advisory and lifecycle management company with a comprehensive approach to optimizing clients’ ability to grow revenue, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. Bluewave streamlines the technology buying and management process for businesses of all sizes across the United States with four key services: Technology Evaluation, Strategic Sourcing, Expense Management, and Operations Support. Specializing in modernizing the IT and telecom infrastructure, Bluewave partners with proven cloud, network, security, and collaboration service providers to develop the best solution while maximizing the clients’ technology investment.

About Virtual Telecomm

Since 2004, Virtual Telecomm has supplied forward-thinking solutions and infrastructure to companies seeking value and scalability. As your point of contact for multiple carrier options for phone, internet, and private data services, we save your company time and money by selecting unbiased and perfect-fit solutions based on your unique needs.

Media contacts

Lisa Guillaume
press@bluewave.net

Congratulations to Bluewave Technology Group CEO and founder, Seth Penland, for earning a spot on the Channel Futures Technology Advisor 101 list.

Channel Futures created the award to recognize partners who deliver technology solutions to customers through an agent-based model. Honorees stood out for their business success and innovation, advocacy and thought leadership in the channel, and commitment to the customer experience.

This award honors 101 top executives who deliver technology solutions to customers through an agent-based model. Honorees stood out for their business success and innovation, their advocacy and thought leadership in the channel and their commitment to the customer experience.

Recipients of the Channel Futures Technology Advisor 101 represent the best and brightest individuals in the technology advisory channel.

About Bluewave Technology Group

Bluewave Technology Group (Bluewave) is a premier technology advisory and lifecycle management company with a comprehensive approach to optimizing clients’ ability to grow revenue, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. Bluewave streamlines the technology buying and management process for businesses of all sizes across the United States with four key services: Technology Evaluation, Strategic Sourcing, Expense Management, and Operations Support. Specializing in modernizing the IT and telecom infrastructure, Bluewave partners with proven cloud, network, security, and collaboration service providers to develop the best solution while maximizing the clients’ technology investment. Learn more at https://bluewave.net/

Media contacts

press@bluewave.net