Asset management company Brookfield Asset Management (Brookfield) has announced its intention to invest in cloud computing provider
WatServ. WatServ, which has headquarters in Waterloo, Canada, was established in 2006. The company also has a presence in Michigan, United States and Reading, United Kingdom. WatServ offers a range of cloud products (AX Cloud, NAV Cloud, GP Cloud, SL Cloud and CRM Cloud), as well as offering Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Data Center-as-a-Service, security management and infrastructure options. The company is recognized as being a cloud pioneer in Canada.
WatServ operates data centers in Waterloo and three in Michigan. The company will also open a new data center in the United Kingdom. Currently employing 25 staff, the bulk of which are in Canada, the company caters to a global customer based which includes customers in Japan, England and Brazil. WatServ has been enjoying 30% to 40% growth on an annual basis with 2015 offering the potential for a 45% increase in revenue. Brookfield has invested an “undisclosed amount” that gives the asset management company a “majority interest” in WatServ.
Tom Doerner, WatServ’s CEO, suggested most of Brookfield’s investment would be used to engage new staff and “acquire new technology”. "We are hiring seven right now and a handful again in the spring. So a lot of hiring is the No. 1 investment," he added. The new technology will improve the company’s efficiency and cut its costs. This will translate into lower prices, making the company more attractive to customers.
"We believe that the data storage area is a growth industry and we believe there is enormous potential," explained the Senior Vice-president of Communications and Media at Brookfield's, Andrew Willis. "And frankly the key here is the strength of WatServ's management team, starting with Tom," Willis said. "We are really backing a management team in a sector that we think is really exciting."
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