The new owners of the company that holds the IBM deal for Bermuda said yesterday that service would be improved and customers given more choice when deciding about their computer needs.

Bermuda Computer Services will now not only hold the IBM contract, but also have Transact as an Internet service provider and Systems Business Integration (SBi) as a Microsoft dealer under the same parent company called Igility.

“While the companies will remain separate, we will be able to offer customers more choice and many more products if they want that option,” said Aaron Smith, one of the new owners and general manger of BCS Ltd.

The company will now stop being a publicly traded company and has become a privately owned business with Mr. Smith joined by husband and wife team Jamie and Joanne Thain as owners of the business.

“Igility is a group of companies that are independent but not autonomous,” said Mr. Thain. “But that does not mean that we will not try to find synergies and cost savings within the three companies.”

The Bermuda Stock Exchange on Monday announced that Bermuda Computer Services had been bought out for $6 million by the Igility Group.

And yesterday Mr. Thain and Mr. Smith spoke to The Royal Gazette about the buy-out and their plans for the company, which will see SBi and the BCS group of companies under the same roof and management in the BCS Dundonald Street offices with 40 staff.

“We do not plan to make any changes in the next three months during the transition period,” said Mr. Thain. “You will not see an advert for ten jobs in tomorrow's paper. But rather we will grow organically as the need arises.”

Mr. Thain in fact used to work for BCS, and went off to start SBi on his own, but wanted to expand his business further. Mr. Smith has been general manager of BCS for some years and had been looking to buy into the company for some time.

“We had both been speaking to the company chairman, Donald Lines, separately and it was he who suggested we get together on this deal,” said Mr. Smith.

And Mr. Thain and Mr. Smith found ideal partners in each other, they say, with Mr. Thain holding the information technology expertise and Mr. Smith the business acumen.

“SBi had got to about 20 employees and I was looking to go over this number,” said Mr. Thain. “And I thought that BCS would be a good opportunity.”

Mr. Smith said: “I had been looking to become a shareholder in the company and this seemed like a natural step.”

The pair said they started talking in spring this year and worked out financing from Bank of Bermuda, before finally sealing the deal this month.

“This is not a start up,” said Mr. Smith. “We have all been involved with technical companies. There are four BCS companies and SBi, which will give us about 40 employees in total. There will be no redundancies, and we will be taking on more staff if we grow to need it.”

Each of the three main entities, SBi, Transact and BCS will all be housed in the BCS Dundonald Street offices, but will be in secure individual cells to make sure there is no exchange of information between the companies.

“We will have customers in say, SBi, who will not want BCS knowing their business, and vice versa, “ said Mr. Smith. “So while the companies can work together, they are not merging as one.”

The companies were taken on for $6 million without any debt. A couple of years ago BCS management injected $1.5 million into Transact, which started life as an e-commerce start-up which had drained the company of money for several years, hitting the bottom line hard and eating into profits. It then became an Internet service provider and now the new owners expect great things from this part of the business.

“Transact we see as being the unpolished jewel in our crown,” said Mr. Smith who added Transact has done very well as an ISP and would add a great deal to the new group of companies.