Azaleos

Founded in May 2004 by Roger Gerdes and Keith McCall, Azaleos Corporation carved a niche in the IT managed services sector by specializing in Microsoft's enterprise collaboration suite. Co-founder and CTO Keith McCall brought extensive and directly relevant experience to the venture, having previously served as the director for Microsoft Exchange Solutions, where he was responsible for the product's ecosystem development. His background also includes leadership roles at Lotus and the invention of IBM's Net.Commerce product, highlighting a deep history in developing and managing enterprise-level communication and collaboration software.

Azaleos operated as a managed services provider, focusing exclusively on remotely managing, monitoring, and maintaining Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync environments for its clients. The company catered to enterprises by offering its services through various deployment models, including on-premise, private cloud, or a hybrid of the two. This approach allowed clients to retain control over their infrastructure while outsourcing the complex day-to-day management. The company's revenue was generated by providing these specialized remote management services, which it claimed could reduce client costs by 15-20% compared to traditional hosting or outsourcing options. Its clientele included major organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Chiquita, and BECU.

The core of Azaleos' offering was its proprietary software and network operations centers in Seattle and Charlotte, which enabled remote monitoring and management of client systems to ensure high availability and performance. As a Microsoft Gold Partner and one of its top national systems integrators in the United States, the firm established significant credibility within the Microsoft ecosystem. This strong partnership was further leveraged through reseller agreements with major technology players like IBM and Verizon Business. In March 2009, Azaleos merged with M3 Technology Group to enhance its capabilities in email migration. The company's growth and market position culminated in its acquisition by Avanade, a joint venture of Accenture and Microsoft, which was completed in December 2012. The acquisition integrated Azaleos' 200 employees and its managed private cloud services into Avanade's broader portfolio, expanding delivery options for enterprise customers globally.

Keywords: managed services, Microsoft Exchange management, SharePoint remote management, Lync unified communications, private cloud services, on-premise IT management, enterprise collaboration, IT outsourcing, remote monitoring, Avanade acquisition, Keith McCall, Roger Gerdes, email migration, collaboration solutions, managed private cloud, IT infrastructure management, Microsoft Gold Partner, enterprise messaging, unified communications support, application management