Access Partnership, a global firm assisting ICT companies in gaining unprecedented access to new markets, has successfully completed the acquisition of Sallstrom Consulting.

The combined unit will deliver highly skilled staff with significant local reach, with clients including governments, multinationals, non-governmental organizations and niche technology firms.

Cloud computing and security, with this acquisition will also become a major focus.

Laura Sallstrom, now Access Partnership’s Director of North America and Asia Pacific, brings to the firm a wealth of experience supporting the technology industry across more than 65 countries.

The firm, with offices in London, Abu Dhabi and Washington, DC, will now provide a one-stop shop focused on increasing market share and shaping pro-business policies to govern the converging telecommunications and information technology sectors.

“To be effective in the global economy, government relation has to be about more than Washington, DC,” stated Robert Holleyman, President and CEO of the Business Software Alliance, in a press release. “Access Partnership understands that. I’ve personally worked with Laura for more than two decades and I am excited to see her make this pivotal move. This firm is poised to be a real market leader.”

The practice areas of Access Partnership include: market access for terrestrial and space-based broadband services, Internet governance, intellectual property protection, technology standards, and international trade.

“This acquisition reflects convergence in the ICT sector. It no longer makes sense to operate a silo’d telecom or technology consulting company. Clients want and need a firm with global reach and simultaneous knowledge of all aspects of the ICT industry,” stated Sallstrom.

In related news, the Business Software Alliance announced that the amount it has won from U.K. businesses through lawsuits has doubled due to software licensing issues in 2010, raking in an astonishing £2.2 million for the past year.