Microsoft licensing house Crayon buys into US tech market

European Microsoft licensing solutions partner Crayon Group is setting up shop in the US after subsuming Software Wholesale International.

SWI is a volume licensing reseller and carries the Microsoft Gold Partner badge for software asset management and one for cloud services, so operates in the same areas as its new parent.

Crayon has extended its tentacles to the UK in 2013 via the acquisition of Fast Ltd and more recently bought its way into through the purchase of Atria in Singapore.

With global expansion in mind, Torgrim Takle, Crayon Group CEO, said it is necessary to have operations locally to “serve our customers wherever they are based”.

SWI, founded in 2003, also flogs licenses from RedHat, VMware, Adobe and Symantec.

Crayon is in recruitment mode, taking on former Insight Enterprises EMEA veep of sales Frank Bitoun in March as senior veep of sales, and more lately hiring Steve Burgess as global partners director, who previously was biz manager at Insight.

The more global nature of the business has led to a series of job shifts, with former CFO Takle becoming CEO, and another ex-Insighter Ashley Gatehouse made veep of marketing. ®