Axceler Acquires echoTechnology

This is huge! To know why, you have to check out the power and flexibility of the migration solutions echoTechnology offers. I look forward to launch of "Davinci Migrator" which will surly turn some heads. If you're planning on doing any migrations of SharePoint from 2003 to 2010 or 2007 to 2010, or even file shares to SharePoint check out echo!

Combination of ControlPoint and echo Positions Company As the Leading Provider of SharePoint Administration and Migration Solutions As Enterprises Get Ready to Upgrade to Microsoft SharePoint 2010

WOBURN, MA – June 1, 2010 – Axceler, the leader in administration software for Microsoft SharePoint, today announced its acquisition of echoTechnology, the technology leader in SharePoint migration. With the acquisition, Axceler’s software solutions now address two of the most critical areas of SharePoint management —administration and migration — required as customers move to the new SharePoint 2010 platform. SharePoint migration is a natural extension of Axceler’s product portfolio. Both software companies are privately held and terms were not disclosed.

Separately today the company also announced ControlPoint 4.0 and Davinci Migrator for SharePoint 2010, the latest new releases of Axceler’s SharePoint administration and migration products. Both will support SharePoint 2010. ControlPoint 4.0 will be available this month and Davinci Migrator will be available in early Q3.

"As collaboration and content management adoption is growing rapidly, enterprises often face several deployment challenges. Organizations going through infrastructure migrations typically have to deal simultaneously with factors such as product upgrades, business reorganizations, mergers and consolidations, and the dynamic nature of their collaborative needs," said Mark Gilbert, Research Vice President at Gartner. "Having the right administration and migration tools can really help enterprise customers plan and manage their sometimes complex transitions," he added.

"I've had the pleasure of working with Axceler on a deployment of ControlPoint with one of our clients, a leading European worldwide publishing company," said Jon Norton, Managing Consultant at PointBridge. "Our client has one of the largest SharePoint collaboration deployments and presented some unique challenges due to the scale of the environment. Throughout the deployment process, Axceler's support and development teams were outstanding and incredibly responsive to our needs. Axceler provides us with tools like ControlPoint that are critical for maintaining our SharePoint infrastructure, and echo brings a strong focus on migration product development which will mesh well with Axceler's strengths in support, people, training and development."

"Adding SharePoint migration to our product portfolio demonstrates our commitment to enhance and broaden our support for customers managing SharePoint and getting ready for SharePoint 2010," said Michael Alden, President and CEO, Axceler. "We found a natural fit with echoTechnology, who offer the most comprehensive, reliable, and efficient SharePoint migration products available. With this acquisition, we can better serve our customers’ growing need for management before, during and after their SharePoint migrations and upgrades."

"Axceler is the leader in SharePoint administration. They’ve built great momentum with the award-winning ControlPoint product," said Garry Smith, General Manager of echo products at Axceler, formerly CEO of echoTechnology. "Together we are uniquely positioned to help organizations transition to SharePoint 2010 with best of breed solutions for migration and administration. My team and I are very pleased to be joining Axceler at this timely juncture in the evolution of SharePoint."

echoTechnology will continue to operate from its Seattle area offices. No personnel reductions are planned and new hiring has already begun to grow the team.

ControlPoint, the leading SharePoint administration product for Microsoft SharePoint and winner of the most recent Best SharePoint Product award, includes comprehensive permissions management, in-depth activity and storage analysis and the ability to measure performance of SharePoint environments against governance policies. Axceler ControlPoint also gives administrators complete control over the configuration and deployment of their SharePoint environments.

Axceler’s echo products dramatically reduce the time and costs associated with moving to the latest versions of SharePoint while avoiding data loss and downtime. By giving administrators better control, echo ensures their migration will be reliable, secure and cost effective. Davinci Migrator for SharePoint 2010 will help administrators manage the taxonomy, content, configurations, security settings, and the entire change management process.

About Axceler
Specializing in software for Microsoft SharePoint, Axceler has delivered award winning administration products worldwide since 1994. For Microsoft SharePoint, Axceler offers ControlPoint - the best way to get control over a SharePoint environment. ControlPoint gives SharePoint professionals the ability to manage permissions, copy sites, analyze activity and much more. Axceler's ControlPoint was recently named the Best SharePoint Product of 2009 by the editors of Windows IT Pro. The company’s recently acquired echoTechnology product line delivers comprehensive, best of breed migration solutions for organizations upgrading to newer versions of SharePoint, including SharePoint 2010. For more information visit http://www.axceler.com

...and yes, I do work for Axceler.