The announcement comes less than a month after Spirit’s acquisition of Arinda IT and the acquisition of Phoenix Austec is the company’s fourth acquisition in as many months.

Spirit (ASX:ST1) says it will continue to expand and strengthen its entry into the managed IT service provider sector, “while at the same time becoming a one-stop-shop for SMBs across Australia’s East Coast for all their IT, internet and communications needs”.

And Spirit says the acquisition of Phoenix Austec will enhance its existing product and service offering to its current SME customer base by providing a range of IT services, that can be powered by its super-fast, Sky-Speed Internet plans.

Established in 2007, Melbourne-based Phoenix provides small businesses with an outsourced managed IT solution including IT security, software as a service (SAAS) and IT consulting services, and Spirit says the company has been particularly successful in the real estate sector “but also boasts a broad range of SME customers”.

Spirit managing director Geoff Neate said, “We approached Phoenix a few months ago and were impressed by its strong competency in providing managed IT and SAAS solutions to a customer base that is typical of Spirit’s target market.

“We now have a strong growing MSP IT product and customer portfolio and our team are already focused on integrating Phoenix and Arinda into a Spirit IT division.”

“We have been growing Phoenix since 2007 and have been approached by other potential acquirers,” said Phoenix managing director, Amelia Buchanan

“Once we understood the direction Spirit is headed and the growth opportunity that this delivers the Phoenix team, we became eager to be part of the journey.

“We were particularly impressed with the integration methodology that Spirit has created for MSP’s inside its operations. We have met a lot of the Spirit team and we are already working on realising the potential that the newly formed Spirit IT will deliver.”