S.i. Systems acquires IT recruitment consultancy Annex Consulting Group

S.i. Systems, a national information technology staffing company, has acquired Annex Consulting Group, a Vancouver-based provider of on-demand IT professionals and outsourced IT services. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 1998, Annex was one of the first firms on the Vancouver IT staffing scene. The firm specializes in IT staff augmentation contracting, permanent staffing, and outsourced solutions. Annex’s contract services include custom software development, project management, business analysis, infrastructure, and management consulting. The firm has completed 4,000 projects for 520 clients in the last 23 years.

The company is led by founder and CEO Stacey Cerniuk, an IT industry veteran with 25 years of experience in software development, management consulting, and entrepreneurship. The firm currently has more than 20 professionals.

S.i. System’s acquisition of Annex will bolster its IT recruitment capabilities in Vancouver, where it already had an office.

“We share common values, common culture,” said Derek Bullen, CEO of S.i. Systems. “I have known Stacey for 20 years and have always been impressed by his leadership and our strikingly similar values. This acquisition is a very good fit for both parties in so many ways. We warmly welcome all Annex staff and consultants into S.i. Systems.”

S.i. was founded in 1994 as an on-demand IT professionals contracting organization. The Calgary-headquartered company has grown to a team of more than 300 employees, providing professionals for contract, contract-to-hire, and permanent placements in IT across Canada.

The company earlier this year added a specialized cybersecurity practice to help meet booming demand in the area amid the pandemic. S.i. draws on a talent pool of 250,000 Canadian IT experts.

“We already run on the same principles, so the integration of the two firms will be swift and easy, and the combined organization will be a force in Western Canada," Cerniuk said. "Vancouver is an incredibly diverse and meaningful economic community with a high demand for specialized IT professionals. Together we are now the largest IT staffing firm in B.C. with more talent for our clients and more jobs for our consultants."