After St. Joseph tech firm acquisition, Online Tech expands to KC

April 20, 2017  |  Meghan LeVota

Echo Cloud CEO Bill Severn

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.

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

Tagged
Featured Business
    Featured Founder

      2017 Startups to Watch

        stats here

        Related Posts on Startland News

        Missouri’s best breweries are in Kansas City (and they have the medals to prove it)

        By Tommy Felts | November 14, 2025

        Two Kansas City brewers barreled through the competition earlier this week, earning the first-ever, statewide “Brewery of the Year” honors for local favorites Boulevard and BKS Artisan Ales. It’s a feat fermented through years of dedication by the teams behind the labels, both brewers said. “From the day we opened, we have kept balance with…

        World Cup readiness event opens City Hall to entrepreneurs hoping to get on the roster

        By Tommy Felts | November 14, 2025

        Kansas City wants to score as many points as possible when the FIFA World Cup arrives in 2026, said Janá Wagner, emphasizing that a special event planned Tuesday during GEWKC aims to get businesses into the game now — playbook in hand. “Our goal is to help as many entrepreneurs as possible get properly licensed,…

        10 top event picks for GEWKC; build your own schedule from 60+ sessions

        By Tommy Felts | November 14, 2025

        With dozens of events on the calendar for GEWKC, Union Station will be bustling with activity, said Callie England, noting organizers intentionally curated a week where attendees can’t go wrong — no matter how they fill out their itinerary. “While the schedule can feel full, it’s truly the best of the best,” said England, director of…

        How AI changes the the founder code: ‘This is all moving faster than anyone expected’

        By Tommy Felts | November 14, 2025

        New tech opportunities — like artificial intelligence — hold the potential to equalize the Kansas City region among more established startup hubs, investment leaders said Thursday, but to fully take advantage, entrepreneurs who want strong, lasting companies must have a fire inside them. Not to mention grit. “Several really incredible entrepreneurs said, ‘I think the one…