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Company · acquired by Cobalt Service Partners

System Integrations

Founded 1992 in Lebanon, TN by Derrick and Jeff Ledford with their father Bruce · 3 branches (Lebanon/Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis) · sold to Cobalt, Jul 2025

Two brothers and their dad, 1992, helping Tennessee businesses 'navigate the new world of personal computing'; both brothers still there

Page as of Sept 28, 2026The sale ↓

Legacy

The founder’s story · from the public record

System Integrations began in 1992 as what Derrick Ledford calls 'a family dream': his brother Jeff, their father Bruce and himself, three people who believed they could build careers helping others 'navigate the new world of personal computing'. They did not have all the answers, he says, but they had a passion for service and a belief that technology could make a difference. Derrick Ledford, Founding Story (Cobalt company page) · Cobalt announcement, Aug 21, 2025

In the early days they took on almost any technology job a customer needed. That, Derrick says, taught them what they were best at: solving complex security problems. Over three decades the company grew into a statewide integrator with offices in Lebanon, Knoxville and Memphis, a licence, a Motorola Solutions radio dealership and Ecosystem Partner status, and a catalogue running from access control and video to 911 dispatch, two-way radio, mass notification, audio-visual and structured cabling. Its own tagline: 'Security, IT, Cabling, Telephony, Two-Way - The Difference Is How We Put IT Together.' Cobalt company page · System Integrations website: Locations · System Integrations website: About

What the Ledfords say they are proudest of is the people. The company describes itself as family-owned and 'very grateful' for a team spread across Tennessee doing local relationship and service work, and Derrick says many employees have built long-term careers there, 'supporting their own families while helping protect others'. 'At the heart of it all,' he says, 'we're still that same family business, just a little bigger, a little wiser.' System Integrations website: Our History · Derrick Ledford, Founding Story (Cobalt company page)

Choosing a partner, Derrick writes, felt 'deeply personal' when the business is something 'your family and your team's families depend on'. The brothers wanted support for the momentum they had built without losing the culture and people behind it, and say they were intentional in the search. Jeff says what stood out about Cobalt was not just its ability to fund growth but how it went about it: 'They came alongside us, focusing on the areas where we needed help the most, without disrupting what we do best.' Both brothers stayed, Derrick as VP of Sales and Jeff as VP of Finance and Administration, while Cobalt recruited a CEO; Derrick calls the partnership 'one of the best decisions we've made'. Derrick Ledford, Why Cobalt (Cobalt company page) · Cobalt announcement, Aug 21, 2025

The team

The people who built it

The company's site has no team page or headshots. Publicly named people are co-founders Derrick and Jeff Ledford and their father Bruce, and post-sale CEO Reagan Brown (Cobalt team page). A ZoomInfo search result also lists an Alli Ledford in human resources (not confirmed on any permitted source).

System Integrations service vehicles on Cobalt's company page
System Integrations service vehicles on Cobalt's company page · source
Thumbnail on Cobalt's joint System Integrations / Galaxy announcement
Thumbnail on Cobalt's joint System Integrations / Galaxy announcement · source
Family in the business (as the company itself lists them)
  • Bruce Ledford · Co-founder (1992); father of Derrick and Jeff · source
  • Derrick Ledford · Co-founder and Co-Owner (1992 to present); VP of Sales · source
  • Jeff Ledford · Co-founder and co-owner (1992 to present); VP of Finance & Administration; LinkedIn search result shows 'President' · source

In the community

What they gave back · on the record

In their words

3 public statements by the founder and team
  • 2025
    Founding Story / Why Cobalt (System Integrations page) post
    Derrick Ledford · cobaltsp.com (Our Companies) · Derrick Ledford's first-person account: the 1992 'family dream' with his brother and father, taking any tech job early on, learning that complex security was their strength, pride in employees' long careers; then how personal the partner decision was, the intentional search, and why Cobalt's approach and respect for the culture won. Signed 'Co-Owner (1992 - Present)'.
  • 2025-08-21
    Cobalt Acquires System Integrations and Galaxy Integrated Technologies press
    Derrick Ledford; Jeff Ledford; Anthony Gonzalez · cobaltsp.com (News & Insights) · Joint announcement of Cobalt's 15th and 16th acquisitions. Describes SI as a family-founded technology company with a culture 'rooted in service, adaptability, and family values'; quotes Derrick ('still that same family business') and Jeff ('they came alongside us'); Anthony Gonzalez praises founders who built businesses 'through grit, integrity'. Both brothers stay as VPs while Cobalt hires a CEO.
  • undated
    Our History post
    System Integrations · si-tn.com · Company's own history page: an IT company specialising in security and low-voltage systems 'since 1992', family-owned, employees across Tennessee; the About page adds a 30-year mission statement about customer service and accountability.

Founder Q&A

In their own words · by email · published with permission

We’d like Derrick Ledford to tell this story in their own words. Ran this company, or built it alongside the founder? Ten questions by email, answered at your pace, published only with your OK.

The sale

As both sides told it · on the public record
Announced Aug 21, 2025 By Cobalt (own newsroom); Alpine year in review Deal #15 for Cobalt Service Partners Founder stayed Cobalt, Aug 21, 2025
What Cobalt Service Partners said

Cobalt announced System Integrations on August 21, 2025 alongside Galaxy Integrated Technologies as its 15th and 16th acquisitions. Anthony Gonzalez said Cobalt was 'proud to partner with founders like Michael and the Ledfords, who have built enduring businesses through grit, integrity, and a deep commitment to their teams and customers', and that Cobalt would help them scale 'while honoring the legacy they've built'. Derrick and Jeff Ledford remain as VP of Sales and VP of Finance & Administration while Cobalt hires a CEO. Cobalt's company page dates the acquisition to July 2025.

Announcement
What the founder said

Derrick Ledford said the decision felt deeply personal because family and employees' families depend on the business; they needed a partner to support momentum while protecting culture and people, searched intentionally, and chose Cobalt for how it approached growth and its respect for employees and legacy. Jeff Ledford said Cobalt 'came alongside us' where help was needed 'without disrupting what we do best'. Derrick calls it one of the best decisions they have made.

Source

Terms on the record: Nothing public. No price, structure, rollover or earn-out disclosed. Advisors: None named on either side.

What happened after

Public signals since the sale · dated
  • 2025-07
    Acquisition closes (Cobalt company page: 'Acquisition Date: July 2025'). source
  • 2025-08-21
    Cobalt announces the deal; both Ledford brothers stay as VPs; Cobalt says it is hiring a CEO. source
  • 2026-09-28
    Cobalt's team page lists Reagan Brown as 'CEO, Systems Integration' [sic] under Partner Company Leadership (two decades of management roles across healthcare, education, energy and digital media); a public search result shows his LinkedIn headline as 'Chief Executive Officer | System Integrations'. No announcement of his hire was found. source
  • 2026-09-28
    The company's own site (a Motorola-dealer template) is unchanged: no mention of Cobalt, no team page, still describes itself as family-owned. source

Then and now

Founder and leadership
Derrick Ledford
Co-founder and co-owner (1992 to 2025); VP of Sales
Stayed VP of Sales, System Integrations (per Aug 2025 announcement; Cobalt page styles him 'Co-Owner (1992 - Present)') source
Jeff Ledford
Co-founder and co-owner (1992 to 2025); search result shows LinkedIn title 'President'
Stayed VP of Finance & Administration (per Aug 2025 announcement) source
Bruce Ledford
Co-founder (1992); father of Derrick and Jeff
Now Not mentioned in any current source source
Reagan Brown
Now CEO, System Integrations (Cobalt team page, Sept 2026) source

Companies Cobalt Service Partners also bought

20 on the public record

All 21 transactions →

Sources

Everything above, dated Sept 28, 2026

Unverified at publish: Whether Bruce Ledford is still involved or living; when Reagan Brown was hired and whether both brothers remain in their VP roles under him; headcount; what licence C1510 covers (Tennessee alarm-contractor number presumed, not looked up); whether 'Alli Ledford' (HR, per a ZoomInfo snippet) is family; no photo of any Ledford on a permitted source; no local press on the sale found (Alpine's year-in-review mention was not fetched).