Dutch consultancy Rapid Circle adds vNEXT to Aussie portfolio
Fast-growing Australian digital consultancy vNEXT has been picked up by Microsoft specialist Rapid Circle, marking the Dutch consultancy’s fourth purchase down under in the space of three years.
Amsterdam-headquartered Microsoft cloud partner Rapid Circle has made further inroads into the Australian market with its fourth purchase in three years, picking up Melbourne-based data & AI consultancy vNEXT.
The deal follows that of Seven Sigma in 2022 and the addition of Adopt & Embrace and Insync Technology the year prior, bringing its local team to 140 professionals, or close to a third of Rapid Circle’s overall headcount.
Established in the Netherlands in 2008, Australia is Rapid Circle’s primary international hunting ground outside of its Dutch home-base and a satellite in India, with co-founder and former COO Daniel McPherson having previously spent more than a decade at Microsoft between Australia, the United Kingdom and Holland.
Fellow co-founder and CEO Harold Punter, a former senior manager at Accenture, has previously stated the firm’s global ambitions.
With the backing of private equity firm Mentha Capital in 2020 and what was said to be a $50 million pot to fuel its local buy-and-build expansion, Rapid Circle has since embarked on a mini acquisition spree down under, picking up Brisbane-based pair Adopt & Embrace and Insync in 2021 before adding Seven Sigma in Perth a year on. The firm has now expanded its Melbourne presence with vNEXT and its team of two dozen professionals.
“With a strong reputation for excellence, innovation, and client satisfaction, we are thrilled to welcome vNEXT to Rapid Circle,” Punter stated. “Together, we will be able to offer our clients a broader range of Azure based services, a deeper pool of talent to draw on, and build an even stronger partnership with Microsoft – all required to help our clients achieve what’s next as the demand for application modernisation, analytics, and AI continues to grow.”
Founded in 2019 by former Kloud Solutions (now Telstra Purple) senior consultants Has Altaiar and Chris Melinn, vNext specialises in data & analytics, AI, app innovation and IoT for clients across a range of sectors including financial services, utilities, and energy & resources. Last year the firm grew its revenue by over 150 percent to cross the $5 million mark, although the terms of its sale to Rapid Circle haven’t been disclosed.
“We are proud of what we have achieved with vNEXT over the past four years, and we are grateful for the trust and support of our clients, employees, and partners,” Melinn stated. “Joining forces with Rapid Circle is a natural next step for us, as we share a common vision of helping organisations transform with the Microsoft Cloud. Together, we will be able to offer our clients a more comprehensive and holistic approach to their cloud journey.”
Rapid Circle has picked up a swath of accolades since its inception, including last year being named as a standout recipient of Microsoft’s A/NZ Partner for Purpose award for a platform the firm co-created with employment services provider Campbell Page to support young mothers with workforce participation. In 2022, Rapid Circle also took home the worldwide Microsoft Partner of the Year award for Frontline Workers in the ‘Modern Workplace’ category.