Lyra Technology Group CEO on Scaling Local MSP Model, AI & More

Lyra Technology Group is the managed services portfolio of Evergreen, a company we’ve covered before as it continues to acquire MSPs around the world. We spoke with CEO Elliot Hyman on how the portfolio enables MSPs to retain their brand and local touch while offering the ability to scale.

Why Lyra Technology Group blends global scale with local touch as it builds an MSP portfolio

The MSPs within Lyra Technology Group are all acquired brands of Evergreen. However, each provider retains its branding, staff, and many of its processes. The group says the model offers a winning situation for everyone; Lyra gains market share and expands its reach, and the MSPs who sell to Evergreen unlock new opportunities to scale alongside a global portfolio.

“I think what we got right from the start was that we understand the MSP business at the ground level and not just from an outside investment perspective,” Hyman said. “We understand what customers value in an MSP and why they choose the partners they do.”

That emphasis on customer experience is closely tied to why the Lyra Technology Group portfolio continues to operate with each brand, rather than consolidating all providers under one name.

“The best way to grow is to have a good reputation,” Hyman said. “When we’re considering an acquisition, we ask for customer references and we talk to an MSP’s customers. SMBs know other SMBs, and [the providers in our portfolio] have excellent brand equity in their local markets.”

Experience, innovation, and ‘bread and butter’ providers: there’s room for everyone at Lyra

With that in mind, Hyman also emphasizes that Evergreen casts a wide net as it pursues new targets. Over time, that has grown to include providers with specific technical capabilities and innovative go-to-market strategies that Hyman can then apply across the portfolio.

“We definitely look at companies for a variety of reasons. Sometimes we bring in companies that are, frankly, ahead of us on things like AI, and they become points of evidence within the family of approaches that work,” Hyman said.

“Adapting to the AI era is definitely the next frontier, and I think AI will, of course, be a huge part of our story for the next few years,” he added, noting that 13 percent of its portfolio was engaged in AI either internally or externally with customers at the start of this year. By August, when we spoke, Hyman said that the share had grown to 89 percent.

Even with success from innovative providers across specialties in Microsoft, AWS, service delivery, and AI, Hyman says the Evergreen team is just as interested in more traditional approaches to IT services.

“We definitely get excited when we see people doing new, innovative things, but we also think that bread-and-butter MSPs are still a really good business model we will succeed with,” said Hyman.

Channel M&A continues to dominate headlines

We spoke with Evergreen’s M&A Advisor Craig Fulton earlier in the summer about the channel’s ongoing wave of M&A. 

Evergreen is one of several players in the space actively acquiring MSPs across the country and around the world.

“This market is huge,” Hyman said. “The reason this has been such an amazing industry for us is that the best-in-breed companies that exist within it are really, really good businesses.”

Evergreen continues to pursue M&A deals at a fast rate. In August, the company acquired Next7 IT, based in Pittsburgh, PA. On Sept. 3, the firm announced an additional four acquisitions of the following brands:

• Equation Technologies
• LAN Solutions Corp.
• Corporate Networks
• The ITeam

“Trustworthy and high-integrity sellers are what we look for, ultimately,” said Hyman. “If the company reflects this human being, and these businesses often do reflect owners and lead sellers, then I need to ask if that person is someone I want to do business with.”