Microsoft providers merge operations

IT consulting firms Planet Technologies Inc. and eQuest Technologies Inc. have merged, according to officials from both companies based in Germantown, Md. The company will be called Planet Technologies.

Although financial terms were not disclosed, the merger creates a company with about $11 million in annual revenue and 90 employees focused on government and commercial customers, company officials said.

Planet Technologies was formed in 1997. Its areas of expertise include strategic IT business consulting such as enterprise architecture planning, Microsoft deployment solutions, network infrastructure and security solutions.

Planet's clients include the Coast Guard, Energy Department, General Services Administration and Howard County, Md., public school system.

eQuest Technologies, also founded in 1997, is a Microsoft-based systems integration firm. eQuest's areas of expertise include hosted services, provisioning, messaging, workflow and automation and .NET development.

In 1999 the two companies developed a strategic partnership to facilitate business development and knowledge sharing.

"We recognized the value of economies of scale and the competitive advantage of a unified message in our partner relationships, marketability and operations," said Scott Tucker, Planet Technologies' president and chief executive officer.

The executive staff of both companies will remain onboard. Tucker, who founded Planet Technologies, is the CEO of the merged companies. Steve Winter, founder and former CEO of eQuest Technologies, is now vice president of Planet Technologies' Microsoft consulting practice.