Equity Speaks: Q&A With The H.I.G. On HelpSystems

Equity Speaks: Q&A With The H.I.G. On HelpSystems

As expected, H.I.G. Capital‘s plan to acquire HelpSytsems cleared all regulatory hurdles, and the deal was finalized last week. In a Q&A with IT Jungle, the H.I.G. partners in charge of the deal elaborate on plans for HelpSystems, as well as their view of the IBM i market and the IBM Power Systems server.

Fraser Preston, a managing director at H.I.G., and Aaron Tolson, a principal, were the main drivers of the deal to buy HelpSystems from Summit Partners, which was announced in August. Preston and Tolson agreed to an electronic Q&A, which you can read here:

IT Jungle: I see Aaron was at Summit Partners, which has bought (and now sold) HelpSystems two times. What was your role in those acquisitions and dispositions? What is your familiarity with the company?

H.I.G.: While Aaron was not on the HelpSystems deal team at Summit, he was familiar with the company as part of the Summit portfolio and was always impressed.

ITJ: What do you view as the prospects for HelpSystems? What are your plans for this company?

H.I.G.: We think the future is very bright. Plans are to keep taking fantastic care of customers and employees and to keep creating compelling products.

ITJ: What does HelpSystems do especially well in your opinion? What can the company improve upon?

H.I.G.: HelpSystems provides products that customers love, and it provides excellent support to its customers. That said, we share the same philosophy with the management team that every company can get better every day across every dimension.

ITJ: In the IBM i community, HelpSystems is viewed as having solid products and great service, but expensive prices. How will you advise the management of the company to address that?

H.I.G.: The company has been listening to customers on this topic and has made a series of changes around pricing to address many of these concerns. We think companies that may have been concerned about pricing in the past should give them another look.

ITJ: Do you plan to continue HelpSystems strategy of acquiring other IBM i software firms? If so, what types of companies are you looking at? That is, companies writing backup and security utilities versus programming tools versus high availability/DR software versus actual business applications, and so forth.

H.I.G.: We are working closely with the company and they are listening to their customers about the solution sets they want in the future. Customers are telling them they want to deal with fewer vendors with a broad offering and their acquisition strategy will support their customers’ desires.

ITJ: Do you view the acquisition of HelpSystems as an investment in the IBM i marketplace?

H.I.G.: Absolutely. We did our own research into the IBM i marketplace and came away impressed with the vibrancy of this market.

ITJ: How do you view the prospects of the market for IBM i software?

H.I.G.: We feel strongly about this as well and have seen the continued traction of HelpSystems’ products.

ITJ: Are you bullish on IBM’s ability to keep Power Systems servers viable against the onslaught of Intel’s Xeon servers?

H.I.G.: Yes, this is evidenced in the growth rates being released by IBM and the progress of the OpenPower organization.

ITJ: Do you plan additional investments in the IBM i marketplace outside of HelpSystems?

H.I.G.: Not specifically, but we’re always on the lookout for attractive investment opportunities regardless of where they are in the IT landscape.

ITJ: How much did you pay for HelpSystems? Sorry, but I’m a reporter so legally I have to ask.

H.I.G.: Price and terms of the transaction are not publicly disclosed.

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