Like a happy marriage, for an acquisition to be a success, a lot of pieces have to fit together. Of course, both parties must bring something to the table so that the move benefits everyone. But there are also values to consider: Do both companies share a common culture? When it came time for Altius and Avanade to join together, all of this was part of the equation.

“Altius is a dedicated Microsoft-focused Data & AI business – they are very fast growing, they were one of the finalists for Microsoft partner of the year, they have a fantastic reputation in the market, they’ve got enterprise and blue-chip clients, and culturally they’re very similar to Avanade,” explained Andy Gillett, General Manager of Avanade U.K. and Ireland. “So when you put all of those things together, it made a very attractive potential acquisition.”

And what made Avanade a good match for Altius? According to Executive Matt Carroll, Avanade will bring Altius to a bigger stage to continue the incredible growth the latter has seen over the last seven years.

“Altius is going to bolster Avanade’s existing Data & AI capability and allow us to really take the market by storm,” Matt said. “Also, while there is a little overlap between Avanade’s existing client base and that of Altius, there are many new clients between us, offering the opportunity to cross-sell and maximize our footprint in each.”

Andy said that while Avanade had a strong Data & AI team in the U.K., it was relatively small at just 35 people. Altius brings 360 more people across India, Netherlands and the U.K. to Avanade.

“They have genuine worldwide experts, really strong MVP type skillsets, and we can see that,” Andy added. “They’ve begun contributing in meetings with clients and the expertise is so well received. It’s very impressive.”

But of course, another key component is the culture. Both Matt and Andy called the core values of the two companies “remarkably similar.”

“Altius has spent a lot of energy trying to make our people feel valued and rewarded for the great work they do, and it’s clear Avanade has a very similar philosophy,” Matt said. “Initiatives such as BeTheOne campaign and the focus on inclusivity show this. Another similarity is the importance placed on building relationships with our clients. The one shame is that we’ve been unable to mix socially given the COVID-19 situation, but I’m sure that will come in good time.”

Andy agreed that he can’t wait for the teams to get together socially in the future, especially given that everyone he met throughout the acquisition process was “somebody we would hire ourselves.” The feeling is very much mutual.

“We look forward to getting to know as many of our new Avanade family as possible so we can all maximize our success as we start on this new chapter,” Matt said.