The Aldridge Company Acquires IT Services Division

HOUSTON and DALLAS, July 16, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Aldridge Company ( www.aldridge.com ), a leading provider, consultant, and integrator of information technology (IT) and cloud computing solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), today announced the completion of its acquisition of the IT Services division of The Harding Group, a leading Information Technology provider in Dallas/Fort Worth. The acquisition is part of The Aldridge Company's 10-year plan to grow aggressively in order to ensure new and existing customers have access to the latest advances in IT systems and an expanded pool of talented employees.

The Aldridge Company has appointed Yaser Wassef, IT Director, Professional Services, to lead Dallas operations. He will report to The Aldridge Company President and COO Patrick Wiley. The company plans to retain all Dallas sales and technical staff.

"Acquiring the IT Services division of The Harding Group immediately establishes a strong presence for The Aldridge Company in DFW, and our new concentrations in education and municipal governments nicely complement our historic focus on SMBs," said Wiley. "After close examination, we determined that The Harding Group's strong, engaged team brings a great deal of value to our clients and will be a nice fit in our client-focused culture."

The acquisition expands both the size and breadth of expertise of The Aldridge Company's IT staff and strengthens its portfolio of service offerings. New strengths that will benefit all customers include storage solutions, collaboration, access/identity management and network infrastructure, including clustering, data backups, remote connectivity, large-scale technology rollouts, and the products that support these services.

It is a good time for IT service providers with technology spending on an uptrend, according to the recently released State of SMB IT survey from Spiceworks. The average annual IT budget for SMBs in the United States saw a dramatic boost of nearly 17 percent during the first six months of 2013. The survey found that more than two thirds (68%) of SMBs expect to use cloud-based/hosted services by the end of this year.

The Aldridge Company's hosting services include cloud hosting, dedicated servers and colocation, which provide constant and current data availability, security and stability, thus giving customers peace-of-mind and allowing them to focus on their business. The Aldridge Company's IT solutions include complete management of servers, PCs and networks coupled with rapid and accurate technical support. The company also provides audits of security and disaster recovery readiness.

About The Aldridge Company

The Aldridge Company is a Houston, Texas-based technology management, consulting and outsourcing company. Founded in 1984, the company brings a winning combination of professional technical expertise, extensive capabilities and a strict focus on the importance of business processes. The Aldridge Company is a leading provider, consultant and integrator of Information Technology and Cloud Computing solutions. In 2011, the company was listed as No. 11 on the Houston Business Journal's Fast Tech 50 list of fastest growing Houston technology companies.

Dan Keeney DPK Public Relations 832.467.2904