Magna5 has acquired a Virginia-based cybersecurity firm

When Magna5 named former Comcast CIO Bob Farina as its new CEO in 2022, the IT and cybersecurity company’s board of directors said the appointment marked the beginning of an era of growth for the company. One year later, the Coraopolis-based company is broadening its horizons beyond the Steel City with the recent news that it’s acquired Advanced Network Systems (ANS), a Virginia-based cyber and managed IT services company.

Through the years, Magna5, founded in 2014, has earned recognition for providing IT services like cybersecurity and cloud hosting to its customers. According to Farina, welcoming Advanced Network Systems to the fold means the company can contribute its technical expertise to Magna5’s existing integrated service offerings.

“We will look to build on ANS’s existing offerings with our Pentaguard suite of state-of-the-art managed IT services, enabling customers to realize immediate benefits,” Farina said in the announcement.  “Also, this partnership allows us to add new locations as we continue expanding into the key Mid-Atlantic markets of Virginia and West Virginia as we grow our footprint across the east coast and mid-west.”

This news comes after the company ended the summer on the 2023 Inc. 5000 list, which highlights companies that have seen high growth over the past three years. More than that, this marks Magna5’s second acquisition in 2023 as it expanded its national presence by acquiring Apogee IT Services’ US assets this past February.

Where Advanced Network Systems has 31 employees, according to its LinkedIn, Magna5 currently has 226 employees. In addition to its Pittsburgh headquarters, Magna5 has a national customer base with offices in areas ranging from Massachusetts to North Carolina.

While financial details of the acquisition haven’t been disclosed, Advanced Network Systems’ leadership said Magna5’s commitment to its customers gives them confidence that the acquiring company can assist them in their goal of delivering secure IT solutions to businesses, non-profits and public entities in the Virginia and West Virginia areas.

Both companies have operated in different geographic regions for many years. Still, the hope is that by combining the longstanding positive reputation and trusted IT solutions Advanced Network Systems offers with Magna5’s cybersecurity and cloud hosting services companies will better serve respective customers.

“We were immediately impressed with Magna5’s customer-centric holistic approach to delivering managed IT services to lower middle-market customers,” Advanced Network Systems CEO and founder Kevin Leibl said in the announcement. “I’m pleased that our employees will be joining a skilled Magna5 team and that our customers will greatly benefit from the added resources and robust capabilities from Magna5’s Pentaguard suite of managed IT services.”

Magna5 did not immediately return a request for comment on the news.