Axispoint has been working closely in partnership with IBM and was invited to the prestigious Think Conference in San Fransisco. This mega conference is the premier industry conference for leading-edge technologies, and for the people who create and use them. Over 30,000 people were in attendance, where both executives and technical professionals gathered to learn about technology trends and potential industry disruptors.
Axispoint Joins Open Music Initiative
December 9, 2018 - Axispoint signed a Memorandum of Understanding to indicate their commitment to the Open Music Initiative, whose mission is to use technology to provide accuracy and transparency to how music rights owners are identified and compensated. The members represent an unprecedented cross-industry collaboration between creators, entrepreneurs, academic, music business, technology and policy leaders to resolve longstanding media rights issues. Axispoint has been building technology for music companies for over 20 years and has deep industry expertise, particularly with music rights and royalties. Royalty payments have been a long-standing issue that’s only been amplified due to the shift to digital streaming and Axispoint is uniquely qualified to help solve the problem in partnership with the Open Music Initiative.
Q&A With Axispoint's Dan DiSano On A Key Acquisition And Building Client Relationships
Q&A With Axispoint's Dan DiSano On A Key Acquisition And Building Client Relationships
Submitted by Rick Saia
The Channel Company/CRN.com/ITBestOfBreed.com
The Payoff Of A 'Highly Complementary' Merger
Axispoint is on a roll. Earlier this year, the rising New York-based solution provider, which specializes in software development and consulting, acquired the venerable Tekserve Apple reseller brand, as well as its B2B subsidiary, T2 Computing, both of which delivered hardware and engineering expertise in the deal.
The acquisition, which took place in January, helped catapult Axispoint up and onto CRN's Solution Provider 500 list for 2017, where it's ranked at No. 301. (Both Axispoint and T2 are being maintained as separate brands.) More specifically, the T2 deal is designed to address the need in Axispoint's top customer vertical – media and entertainment – for a strong, end-to-end partner in content creation, management and monetization.
Axispoint's CEO, Dan DiSano (pictured), talked with ITBestOfBreed recently about his company and the impact of the acquisition. Click through to read what he had to say. (The interview was edited for brevity and clarity.)
How did the acquisition of T2 and Tekserve complement your offerings?
It's highly complementary. T2 and Tekserve are an infrastructure engineering firm and they build systems for major media, entertainment and sports companies, as well as others; anyone that's really dealing with content. So, from a vertical [industry] point of view, it was a strategic fit.
We had also been working with them for two years. We had done a project together for a major media company. The teams knew each other; that's always helpful. And then there's an intersection in an area called MAM: media asset management. We do customizations around media asset management. We do workflow development, where they kind of architect a media asset solution. They configure, they implement, they support thereafter. So, together now, we are kind of full service in that area.
So, in short, what that does is it's given you more of the technical chops to go along with your business development and business relationship-building skills.
What I would say is that the acquisition has given me scale, vertical dominance in entertainment, media and sports. It's given me depth and breadth of talent. It's also given us strength in the Tri-State [area of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey]; we're both headquartered in New York.
What business demands are driving the biggest opportunities for Axispoint today?
Clearly, content is king, and it's been not just media companies. You can be a financial services firm, an insurance firm, a pharmaceutical firm, and have real content needs. A lot of those firms actually have their own media and production departments because either they're building content for their consumers or for their internal teams. [That has] driven for us needs around developing and monetizing content, managing and maintaining and distributing content. So, for us, the boom for us is to have the content world explode. That’s directly relevant or related to consumers and how they're actually consuming media. And mobile has been a big driver. [It's] been an incredible driver for how consumers want and use content and media, which has driven both Axispoint and T2.
Prior to five years ago, IT in general [did] a lot of automation, cost reduction, gaining efficiency. There's always going to be a part of IT that’s [focused on] that. However, in the last five years, our clients have embraced – because their consumers have changed – disruption, innovation. Think of the work we're getting now … people, even Fortune 500 companies, are saying, "How do we disrupt our industry before someone else does?" So it's from the startup all the way up to large enterprise entities, [they're] figuring out they need to innovate before someone else does … and you’ve seen it in a number of markets.
The kind of business that we're getting is really kind of solving complex problems, which a company like mine loves. If you can solve your clients' most complex issues, you're going to be in it for the very long term.
When it comes to building relationships, what are the biggest things a company can do to enhance them?
First and foremost: Be truthful. Tell it like it is, when things are going well and when things are problematic. There is no such thing as a project that never has any bump in the road. There's always going to be something that comes up. And you have to be open and honest with your customers. If you do that, they will appreciate that. There are times when we'll turn business away. We'll work well with a company, and then they say, "Can you do this?" and it's something maybe out of our strike zone … So, if you're open and honest with your clients about what you really do well and what you don’t, and you have open communication, you'll feel a real difference in how the relationship goes.
A lot of our clients come from referral … People buy from people, so for us, it really is a people business, and we're open and honest with our customers.
And then at the end of the day, you have to deliver.
What are the best ways to stay ahead of the curve on technology?
There is no silver bullet on that. Technology, as you and I both know, is ever changing. Today, something will be different from yesterday. The way we do it is a … multi-pronged approach. For instance, we do have continual training and learning. That's important. For instance, T2 Computing has certifications with certain hardware and software manufacturers. We have certain certifications in software development. We go to conferences. [At a recent conference,] I met with about 25 startups, just personally. Meeting with their CEOs and learning what they're doing and where they see the market going. So, it's not just changing technology, it's how to use technology in a different way. We try to stay on top of both.
What are the most important qualities in someone you want to hire?
First of all, you want them to be talented at the position. If we're looking for a business analyst, that business analyst has to have strong analytical skills to be able to work with C-suite executives and translate business requirements to technical requirements.
But putting aside the actual skills, we look for good communicators: high integrity, open and honest. We look for people that want to work in a team environment, and everyone here has to love problem solving, because if you don’t, Axispoint and T2 Computing is not the right place.
Then, we really like people who work well in a team. And the most important thing when you hire is culture. I can't stress that enough. No matter what company you go to, make sure you fit with that culture and they feel their culture is a fit with you because that’s going to be one of the key factors in you being there a long time and succeeding.
AXISPOINT ACQUIRES T2 COMPUTING TO PROVIDE END-TO-END SOLUTIONS FOR THE MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
AXISPOINT ACQUIRES T2 COMPUTING TO PROVIDE END-TO-END SOLUTIONS FOR THE MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AXISPOINT ACQUIRES T2 COMPUTING TO PROVIDE END-TO-END
SOLUTIONS FOR THE MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
Combined Expertise Creates a Company with Skill and Scale
NEW YORK, JANUARY 31, 2017 — Axispoint, a leading software-development and consulting firm announces the acquisition of T2 Computing, Inc., a well-established computing, storage, networking and support provider. The combined company has strong expertise in media, entertainment and sports and offers solutions in other core verticals including finance and insurance, healthcare and technology. In addition, the acquisition is designed to address the media and entertainment industry’s pivotal need for a strong, end-to-end partner in the content creation, management and monetization processes. The combined deep expertise of Axispoint and T2 Computing immediately positions the company to provide comprehensive solutions designed to meet the largest and smallest IT and content challenges.
With a 20-plus year history of creating software solutions ranging from websites and mobile applications to full enterprise-level business systems for global media and business customers, Axispoint’s acquisition of T2 Computing allows the combined companies to offer a single vendor solution for complete project and process management. This eliminates the need for multiple vendors and the challenges associated with coordination and management.
“In large part, the industry has been forced to piece together total solutions from multiple providers,” says Jerry Gepner, CEO of T2 Computing, Inc. “For the media and entertainment industry, we think our value proposition is really powerful – eliminating the pain point of a piecemeal approach and substituting it with a solution that supports project inception to completion.”
With combined revenues in the $75 million - $100 million range, the new company can offer customers efficiency of scale in application development and engineering services, software design, creation, rollout and full lifecycle management along with hardware products and support services.
“As media firms in broadcast, film and music need help managing digital assets, customizing software and building workflows, they're increasingly turning to IT companies with the expertise in both infrastructure and applications,” says Dan DiSano, CEO and President of Axispoint. “With the combined offerings of Axispoint and T2 Computing, we now have the ability to increase our service line in this client space and create the customized, seamless solutions that these companies need.”
For more information about Axispoint and T2 Computing, visit: www.axispoint.com and http://www.t2computing.com/
About Axispoint, Inc.
Axispoint’s team of passionate consultants and developers create technology solutions for leading businesses and their customers around the globe. As the “Heavy Lifters of Innovation,” we leverage human ingenuity, develop strategies, and build applications that empower our clients to evolve, grow, and shape the world according to their own vision. Our technology consulting and custom application development services enable companies to be agile, competitive, and innovative. Established in 1994 and headquartered in New York City, our talent pool is diverse and global, with technologists and developers across the US, Europe, and South America. We have been delivering award-winning solutions to our clients for over 20 years.
About T2 Computing, Inc.
T2 Computing is a New York-based creative technology VAR that specializes in workflow, storage and infrastructure solutions for all aspects of the media and content creation industry. T2 Computing brings extensive product knowledge and world-class engineering to the media and entertainment industry, allowing it to be a comprehensive solution provider. T2 Computing’s experience allows it to offer excellent system design and product sales, coupled with factory authorized Apple repair and custom configured Apple products and post-production systems for rental and temporary peak demand needs.
Axispoint Press Inquiries, contact:
Tami R. Parker
Axispoint, Inc.
212-920-2600
tami.parker@axispoint.com
T2 Computing Press Inquiries, contact:
Rose Guarino
D. Pagan Communications, Inc.
631.659.2309 ext.19
roseg@dpagan.com