Allied Computer Group and Sun Tzu Security form strategic partnership

In a strategic move to offer a wider array of services to the marketplace, Allied Computer Group, Milwaukee, and Sun Tzu Security, Milwaukee have announced they will form a strategic partnership effective immediately.
John Howman, CEO of Allied, and Kelly Hansen, president and CEO of Sun Tzu Security, both say that the goal is for the two companies to work more closely together in order to fill the others’ service offering gaps.
“Our clients have shown an increased need for network security,” says Howman. “With Sun Tzu as our strategic partner, we can provide greater service and capabilities to our clients.”
With much of Sun Tzu’s current business resulting from security “triage,” Hansen says she is hoping that the partnership will help put preventive measures in place for companies’ network security systems. Additionally, Sun Tzu is hoping to gain a wider access to the marketplace, through channels not currently available at the company. “We have no dedicated sales force,” says Hansen. “Our engineers serve as our sales consultants. Allied has sales consultants, project managers, and can help us to augment our infrastructure using their networking.”
The idea was first discussed for the strategic partnership during a winter meeting of former Gov. Tommy Thompson’s Wisconsin Technology and Entrepreneurs Council (WITEC) in Madison, of which both Hansen and Howman are board members. Being both business owners from Milwaukee, the two realized a commonality in their business needs and began discussing the market and their business practices.
“We realized that we weren’t really competitors, and saw a potential to utilize each others’ services,” says Howman, who also believes that partnerships in general, especially in the high-tech industry, can be very difficult to maintain. “The high-tech field is so young,” he notes. “In other fields, companies pass on referrals or partner on projects all of the time. In the technology field, especially in Wisconsin, many companies are reluctant to do so … (Partnerships) are uncommon now, but I think they will become increasingly more dominant in the future.”
Having experience with partnerships in the past, Hansen agrees that trust is a major factor that was considered for the strategic partnership with Allied. “In this industry, we’ve gone from reaching out to secure market share to protecting our property,” she says. “I believe that if we work better together and we play well together, then we can all win.”
A primary consideration for the partnership was the compatibility of the two companies’ owners and cultures, two primary keys to success, according to Hansen. “Business owners have to know and respect each other, and there has to be a good cultural blend.”
Both companies also state a primary focus on the health-care market.
No specific terms were stated for the partnership. Howman and Hansen say that the two companies have begun initial employee introductions and have started forming employee work teams. Cross-training will soon follow. “My employees are looking forward to having others to lean on,” says Hansen.
As far as long-term goals of the partnership, Howman says, “Our two companies are ‘dating’ right now. We’ll just have to see what happens down the road, but I’m very excited about the possibilities.”
Fact boxes:
Sun Tzu Security
324 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee
www.suntzu.net
414-289-0966
Founded: 1996
President and CEO: Kelly Hansen
Services: information security risk assessments, computer investigative services, HIPAA security and privacy compliance, and PRISM (Proactive Remote Information Security Monitoring), which provides 24×7 security monitoring of network traffic.
1999 revenue: $1 million
Allied Computer Group
600 W. Virginia Ave., Milwaukee
www.alliedcg.net
414-223-0150
Founded: 1983
CEO: John Howman
Services: High-tech networking and consulting services, hardware and software sales, technical training.
1999 revenue: $60 million
April 27, 2001 Small Business Times