After St. Joseph tech firm acquisition, Online Tech expands to KC
April 20, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
Ann Arbor-based Online Tech has acquired a St. Joseph, Mo. cloud firm, paving the way for its expansion into Kansas City.
The cloud security company announced Thursday that it purchased St. Joseph-based Echo Cloud, which provides colocation and cloud hosting services.
Echo Cloud CEO Bill Severn said he’s pleased to be joining the Online Tech team.
“I believe the values we hold match Online Tech’s very well, and I think this will be a great partnership moving forward,” Severn said in a release. “Online Tech has been a leader in compliance for many years,I’m pleased we can now offer HIPAA- or PCI-compliant data hosting to our existing customers here in Kansas City.”
Allowing for easier service management, Severn added that the companies will combine their existing services into Online Tech’s client platform. Wanting to tap the Kansas City market, Online Tech was interested in Echo Cloud for its ability to grow in the Midwest.
With offices in Michigan and Indiana, CEO of Online Tech CEO Yan Ness is excited to expand the firm’s product line.
“I’m very pleased with this deal,” Ness said in a release. “We really like the Kansas City market. There’s lots of demand that we think is underserved, and this is a great opportunity to provide companies in the area with our secure, compliant hybrid IT services.”
Severn, who declined to disclose the amount of the acquisition, will no longer serve as CEO for Echo Cloud, but will stay on the board of directors for Online Tech. The firm will maintain its offices in St. Joseph, Mo.

2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Serial entrepreneur jumps back into the founder seat with smart online advertising platform
Two years after becoming a twice-exited startup founder, Matt Watson is back at the helm of a new venture: At Capacity — a smart advertising platform geared toward small business owners who offer home services like plumbing, HVAC, and electrical work. Serving as co-founder of At Capacity alongside Meg Stapleton, Watson said the company officially…
Teens team with MADE MOBB to raise funds in KC’s Northeast; their tee to support the unhoused was just a start
Vu Nguyen considers MADE MOBB to be a creative hub, he shared. Two of the latest collaborators with Crossroads-based streetwear brand are students at Ryogoku Soccer Academy. “Everybody’s invited,” said Nguyen, who co-founded MADE MOBB — one of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2023 — in 2013 and owns the business alongside…
Marcell Coffee owners launching ‘Take Care’ retail concept, OLEO brand in Crossroads
The roasting minds behind a successful Kansas City wholesale coffee operation are switching business blends — planning a Crossroads storefront anchored by a new, retail-only coffee brand. Christopher Oppenhuis and Mark Sappington, the founders and owners of the wholesale roasting company Marcell Coffee, are preparing for the fall opening of their first retail concept, “Take…
