Aztec Computer Outfitters sells to longtime GM

Aztec Computer Outfitters is the latest computer business to change hands, though the company shouldn’t be in for drastic changes after longtime general manager Ryan Fraser bought the 13-year-old company.

In November, Doug Pitt sold controlling interest in ServiceWorld Computer Center to Oklahoma-based Miami Nation Enterprises, and this month JMark Business Solutions closed on its acquisitions of NetWorks Inc. and NetManage Inc., both based in Nixa.

Aztec founder Mike Green sold Fraser his company for an undisclosed sum Jan. 1. Fraser has been with Aztec for eight years, including six years as general manager.

Green said his decision to sell Aztec, 2857 S. Campbell Ave., wasn’t influenced by the deals at ServiceWorld and JMark Business Solutions.

“I had no idea what they were doing,” Green said. “Pretty interesting coincidence, huh?”

JMark Business Solutions majority owner and President Tom Douglas also chalked up the timing of the deals to chance.

“I would love to say that there was some paradigm shift that forced everything, but all-in-all I would say that it was probably coincidence,” added Douglas, who noted that he doesn’t foresee the Aztec or ServiceWorld deals affecting his business.

Aztec has about 400 network administration clients, including Reliable Chevrolet, Southwest Center for Independent Living and ESC Inc. Engineers and Architects. Aztec services about 3,000 workstations for those clients, and annual revenues are about $1.5 million, Fraser said.

Green introduced the idea of selling Aztec about three months ago, and even though some unnamed outside companies expressed interest, Fraser said Green wanted him to take ownership.

“He didn’t want to let Aztec go to some stranger,” Fraser said.

Negotiations were swift, and Fraser quickly accepted the opportunity to become a business owner, which was his longtime desire, he said.

Changes at Aztec should be minimal. Fraser would like to place more emphasis on installing phone systems, and he’d like to move the company within two years into leased space that would at least double its 1,500 square feet.

Green sold Aztec because he wanted to do something different with his career, and after taking a few months off to relax, travel and decide what to do next, Green, 46, will get back to work.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do next,” he said. “I’m excited about hearing different kinds of ideas that other people have. You know, there’s a lot of different ways to make money.”[[In-content Ad]]