CenturyLink-owned colocation, cloud and hosting company Savvis has acquired the global IT outsourcing (ITO) business of Ciber for US$7m in cash.

The purchase includes client and vendor relationships, infrastructure, technology and facilities in several companies and about 750 staff members supporting Ciber ITO.

Ciber is known for carrying out system design, implementation and managed services and will work in partnership with Savvis, which will provide resources in physical infrastructure.

The two companies have already worked together under a similar arrangement since July 2011.

Savvis has made it clear in recent months it is taking aim at the services market, especially in the area of cloud computing.

In June it said it was undergoing a massive expansion project which would see its portfolio grow in seven major markets, including two new London data centers which will come online in October and a new facility in Singapore, which will start operating this month.

According to Savvis CEO Jim Ousley, Ciber customers will benefit from a direct relationship with Savvis, which brings with enhanced communications through CenturyLink’s global network.

“The acquisition of Ciber’s global ITO business will complement Savvis’ existing ITO assets by expanding the organization’s capabilities for application management services and help desk support,” Ousley said.

“Ciber’s ITO customers will also benefit by gaining access to Savvis’ global footprint (which includes more than 50 data centers around the world), services and account teams.”

Ciber CEO Dave Peterschmidt said he expects to see increased shareholder value as Ciber focuses more heavily on its own core offerings and market segments.

“We will continue to provide global hosting and cloud solutions in partnership with Savvis, where it benefits our clients,” Peterschmidt said.

Ciber is due to release its Q2 results on August 7. The company currently has 7,000 consultants working in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific and about US$1bn in annual revenue.