Crowe Horwath Acquires Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner Firm AbleBridge

Microsoft Gold partner Crowe Horwath LLP, a public accounting, consulting and technology firm, has acquired Westborough, Mass.-based AbleBridge Inc., a Microsoft partner and provider of solutions built on Microsoft Dynamics CRM. This will be Crowe Horwath's first location in the Boston area.

As part of the deal, Crowe has "welcomed the personnel of AbleBridge, Inc." and has acquired its intellectual property. Financial terms were not disclosed, according to company officials.

AbleBridge's flagship solution, BenefitsBridge, provides insurance benefits brokers with a highly customized agency management solution. In addition to the insurance industry, AbleBridge also serves enterprises in the manufacturing, broker-dealer, wealth management, construction and professional services sectors.

AbleBridge was founded in 2007 by Ryan Plourde, who will now join Crowe as a principal in Crowe Performance Consulting, officials said.

For its part, Crowe focuses on a number of industries, including financial services, manufacturing and distribution, as well as food and commodities, construction and real estate, and healthcare.

"AbleBridge brings an innovative software mindset, with a focus on specialized industry solutions," said Josh Cole, managing principal of Crowe Performance Consulting, in a statement. "The talented people of AbleBridge bring tremendous synergies with our existing Microsoft Dynamics CRM practice, while adding to our deep specialization and focus on the insurance industry."

Plourde said that joining with Crowe will enable AbleBridge to better serve its clients and more quickly get its software on the market.

"The combination of our product development and marketing expertise, combined with the ...