Charles IT Acquires Managed Services Company

Middletown-based managed IT provider Charles IT has acquired Descent, an automation-focused managed services company.

The deal is designed to expand Charles IT’s artificial intelligence capabilities rather than folding a competitor into its existing operations.

Descent will continue operating under its own name, with its current team, clients, and service approach unchanged.

The companies say the goal is to accelerate Descent’s growth while feeding its AI and automation know-how into Charles IT’s broader strategy.

Descent will continue operating under its own name.

Charles IT founder and CEO Foster Charles said that Descent, led by founder Steven Saehrig, has been reimagining how automation can reshape the way IT work gets done.

Saehrig echoed that sentiment, saying Charles IT never framed the deal as an effort to absorb Descent into its own operations, but rather as a chance to combine what Descent built with the backing of a larger organization.

Descent, founded by Saehrig, specializes in managed and co-managed IT services including support, cybersecurity, cloud and device management, and strategic technology guidance, with AI woven into monitoring, patching, ticketing, and resource management.

Charles IT built its reputation around cybersecurity, compliance, and long-term client relationships, serving regulated industries with frameworks such as CMMC, HIPAA, SOC 2 and NIST.

Charles IT operates in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Virginia.