Architel announced this morning that it has acquired Applied Resource Technologies Inc. (ART), one of the area’s oldest and largest managed services providers. The combination creates the largest MSP in North Texas.

As the Dallas Business Journal reported the scoop on Friday:

Architel Holdings LLC, a provider of flat-fee information technology support for small to midsize businesses, has acquired competitor Applied Resource Technologies Inc. in a seven-figure transaction, according to Architel CEO Scott Ryan. Both companies are based in Dallas.

Details of the deal were not disclosed.

“We hope to become the largest managed services provider in D-FW,” Ryan said. Ryan said his company saw an opportunity to secure future growth with the 22-year old Applied Resource Technologies, which served roughly 160 clients’ IT and technology networks.

“The trend is toward flat-fee services,” said Scott Baradell, a spokesman for Architel. “Architel was one of the earliest using this model.”

Architel uses a flat-fee service model in which clients pay a set amount per month for unlimited access to tech support, Baradell said. In the traditional “break-fix” model, practiced by Applied Resource Technologies, the client would pay for service every time there was a tech support issue.

“If Architel can reach out to the customers and convince them that this model works, then that should provide a good growth opportunity,” said Michael Rareshide, executive vice president at Dallas-based Partners National Real Estate.

Baradell added: “One of the benefits of the acquisition is that it builds Architel’s client base among Dallas-Fort Worth law firms, an area in which the company anticipates further growth.”

The acquisition is one of the reasons Architel is currently building a new, state-of-the-art data center and network operations center at its headquarters. The new facilities will provide clients with enhanced disaster recovery protection, including the ability to provide temporary office space, desks, phones and connectivity to hundreds of users.

The new facilities are expected to go live this summer.

Founded in 1988, ART originally focused on software development services for Oracle, Informix and Sybase. The company began offering IT support services in the late 1990s, and in 2001 became a managed services provider.

Architel retains 100 percent of ART’s employees as part of the acquisition, bringing the company’s total employees to more than 100. We are delighted to officially welcome these new members of the Architel family!