(NOTE: This story was originally posted to CRN.com Dec. 7.)

Vendor Association Carries A Value

Five of 10 acquisition targets last month had vendor expertise at their core, with channel partners specializing in suppliers ranging from Cisco, Microsoft, and Xerox to ServiceNow and SugarCRM among the acquired entities.

Cloud expertise was also a priority, as four of the acquired firms possessing a dedicated cloud practice. Eight of the acquiring companies were in the 2016 CRN Solution Provider 500 rankings, and five of those firms were in the top 100.

The acquisitions are ordered on the following slides based on the total number of employees at the acquired companies: