• Claranet becomes one of the few service providers in France with the combined HADS, PCI-DSS and ISO 27001 accreditations, and extends its reach into a new market segment
• Deal confirms Claranet’s position as the leading independent provider of managed services to the mid-market in Western Europe
• Ambitious strategy of rapid expansion continues – with Grita as the latest in a series of key acquisitions (Star, Typhon, CGEST and Echiron)

Claranet, one of Europe’s leading independent managed services providers, has acquired Grita, a specialist provider of hosting services to the healthcare sector in France, and accredited with the French Ministry of Health’s HADS (Hébergeur Agrée de Données de Santé) certification for the hosting of private medical data. The acquisition is part of Claranet’s continued European growth strategy, and creates the region’s largest cloud services provider to the mid-market.

Since entering the healthcare and emerging e-pharmacy markets in 2010, Grita has become a leading player – with over 50 major customers in the sector, including Philips and Agfa. It was also one of the first companies in France to achieve the HADS standard. Its specialist product portfolio, complements Claranet’s existing market offering and further extends the company’s expertise in hosting and outsourced web applications.

The HADS accreditation, combined with Claranet’s existing ISO 27001 and PCI-DSS certifications, makes the company one of the few hosting providers in France to have this set of key industry accreditations, and extends its reach into this fast-growing market segment.

Claranet continues to be a success story in the European technology market, having grown steadily both organically and through acquisition. Adopting an ambitious growth strategy, Grita is the latest in a wave of acquisitions made by the company across Europe over the last 18 months – Star (UK, 2012), Typhon (France, 2012), CGEST (Portugal, 2012), and more recently Echiron (Portugal, 2014).

Olivier Beaudet, MD at Claranet France, says:

Grita’s specialist expertise in the healthcare sector makes it the perfect partner for Claranet. The hosting market in France is particularly vibrant and is evolving rapidly. Already a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for European Managed Hosting, the acquisition further consolidates Claranet’s position in France, and ensures we are well-placed to take advantage of new opportunities within existing and emerging markets in this region.”

“Becoming part of the Claranet Group will create new opportunities for our customers, our partners, and our employees,” said Jean-Pierre Denis, Sales Director at Grita. “They will all benefit from Claranet’s extensive pan-European operations, its strong financial footing, and an expanded services portfolio.”