{{Infobox company , name = Datacom Group , logo = Datacom logo.jpg , logo_size = 200px , type = Private company , industry =

IT Services Information technology service management (ITSM) is the activities that are performed by an organization to design, build, deliver, operate and control information technology (IT) services offered to customers. Differing from more technology-or ...

managed services Managed services is the practice of outsourcing the responsibility for maintaining, and anticipating need for, a range of processes and functions, ostensibly for the purpose of improved operations and reduced budgetary expenditures through the re ...

consulting A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

, cloud services, data centre services, software development,

business process management Business process management (BPM) is the discipline in which people use various methods to discover, model, analyze, measure, improve, optimize, and automate business processes. Any combination of methods used to manage a company's business p ...

, payroll services , foundation = {{start date and age, 1965 , founders = {{plainlist, * Dr Bernard Battersby * Paul Hargreaves , location =

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, New Zealand , key_people = {{plainlist, * Tony Carter, Chairman * Simon Holdsworth, Deputy Chairman * Greg Davidson, Group CEO * Alexandra Coates, Group CCO * Rachel Walsh, Group CFO , revenue = {{NZD, 1.45 billion (2022) , net_income = {{NZD, 28 million (2022) , owners = {{plainlist, Evander Management (51 per cent)

New Zealand Superannuation Fund The New Zealand Superannuation Fund ( mi, Te Kaitiaki Tahua Penihana Kaumātua o Aotearoa) is a sovereign wealth fund in New Zealand. New Zealand currently provides universal superannuation for people over 65 years of age and the purpose of the ...

(35 per cent) The remainder of the shares are owned by individual staff members under a grandfathered share programme. , num_employees = 6,973 (2022) , homepage = {{URL , www.datacom.com Datacom Group Limited is an

Information Technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...

services company, offering management and consulting, cloud services,

ITO Ito may refer to: Places * Ito Island, an island of Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea * Ito Airport, an airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Ito District, Wakayama, a district located in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan * Itō, Shizuo ...

data centre A data center (American English) or data centre (British English)See spelling differences. is a building, a dedicated space within a building, or a group of buildings used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommun ...

services, custom software development, and

payroll A payroll is the list of employees of some company that is entitled to receive payments as well as other work benefits and the amounts that each should receive. Along with the amounts that each employee should receive for time worked or tasks pe ...

services. The company was started in New Zealand in 1965, but has expanded to operate in Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the United States and the United Kingdom, employing 6,500 people across 23 offices globally. Datacom is the largest technology company in New Zealand. The company's two biggest shareholders are Evander Management Ltd (the family company of John Holdsworth) with 51 per cent and the

with 35 per cent. The New Zealand Superannuation Fund spent $142 million in 2012 buying out

New Zealand Post NZ Post ( mi, Tukurau Aotearoa), shortened from New Zealand Post, is a state-owned enterprise responsible for providing postal service in New Zealand. The New Zealand Post Office, a government agency, provided postal, banking, and telecommuni ...

's 35 per cent shareholding. John Holdsworth stepped down as chairman of the board in 2012 and was replaced by New Zealand businessman Craig Boyce. Datacom was founded as Computer Bureau Ltd in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, New Zealand, in 1965. It expanded nationally through the holding company Datacom Group Ltd in 1971, before opening offices in Australia in 1992, and in Asia in 1994. Greg Davidson serves as Group CEO.

History

1960s

Datacom was founded as Computer Bureau Ltd in 1965 by two Christchurch accountants, Dr Bernard Battersby and Paul Hargreaves. A group of clients put up the original capital for the company - £30,000 - and an order was placed for an ICL 1902 computer, which didn't arrive in New Zealand for another year. The company hired its first systems analysts and programmers in August 1965 and installed the first computer for a client in September of the following year. In 1968, the company, now called CBL added additional offices in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

between 1968 and 1970.{{cite web, url=http://www.datacom.co.nz/About-Us/Our-History, publisher=Datacom, date=31 March 2014, title=Datacom History

1970s

In 1970, Hargreaves quit his family's accounting firm to run CBL full-time, and the business expanded to Auckland via the acquisition of the Fletcher Computer Bureau. In 1971, the Datacom Group holding company was established. CBL began offering remote on-line services through onsite terminals beginning in 1976.

1980s

CBL expanded its software development arm, introducing User-11, the first 4GL (Fourth-generation programming language) seen in New Zealand in 1981. The company also set up a data communications network and a New Zealand-wide timesharing service in the early 1980s initially using DEC PDP 11/70s and then added DEC VAX 11/750s and PDP 11/84s. These systems were also used for Facilities Management customers including the Canterbury Building Society and Hertz Rental Cars. In 1983, CBL was the first to bring Oracle database technology to New Zealand for the New Zealand Dairy Company (now

Fonterra Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand multinational publicly traded dairy co-operative owned by around 9,000 New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy exports and with revenue exce ...

). In 1984, CBL changed its name to Datacom. Paul Hargreaves was appointed executive director, and later CEO when Battersby retired. Datacom merged with computer-services company CCL (not to be confused with Computer Concepts Limited) in 1989, added facilities management and payroll divisions.

1990s

In 1991, Datacom signed its first large outsourcing contract in Auckland with Telecom Directories. The same year Datacom Wellington merged with the IT department of

, boosting staff numbers by 90. In 1992, Datacom established a contact centre in Sydney, and in 1994 its first Australian office. This expanded its NZ-based services to Microsoft Australia. This regional service provided diagnostic technical support services to clients and customers. Datacom began exporting some of its facilities management and IT services into its Australian offices in the late 1990s, leading to the company's first data centre in Australia. 1996 saw the company open its first office in Asia, in Malaysia's

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

. The business also further established partner programs and sales services with the channel and reseller community.

2000s

During the 2000s, Datacom made a series of acquisitions that spread its services to other locations in Australia. In 2004, it purchased GlobalCenter for $7.15 million, its second data centre, and the following year, the company purchased NetOptions to establish a presence in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. In 2003 Datacom merged with Connect Interactive Business Services to create Datacom Connect, which largely expanded their call centre offerings. It expanded from this base in 2007 after acquiring IT services company Agire Pty Ltd, located in

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

. Through start-up opportunities with local partners, Datacom moved into

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in 2006, and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

in 2007. By the end of 2007, the company had acquired a third data centre in Sydney through Hansen Professional Services. Its fourth data centre came in 2011 in Western Australia. Datacom commenced business in Asia in 1994, building contact centres in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

in 1996, and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in 2008, at the same time establishing a presence in China. In 2009 Datacom opened its Auckland data centre, Orbit.

2010s

Datacom Technical Security Services is founded by former DSD security expert, Richard Byfield. Datacom opened a sister facility to Orbit, Kapua, in Hamilton in 2013. In 2013 Datacom also sold the contact centre arm of its Asia business, but continued to serve the market with IT services. In the same year Datacom acquired a

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...

payroll firm in Melbourne to establish a strong relationship in the Australian health sector, and as a provider of SAP services. Datacom purchases WA-based IT services provider, XciteLogic, after it collapses. In 2014, Datacom announced its acquisition of Tauranga-based software company Origen Technology Ltd. August 2014 - Datacom co-founder, Paul Hargreaves, died after a short illness. September 18, 2014, Datacom acquired a 20% stake in health informatics company
Smartward
The company also produced the (then) world's largest SAP migration to the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, with the world's largest

kiwifruit Kiwifruit (often shortened to kiwi in North American, British and continental European English) or Chinese gooseberry is the edible berry of several species of woody vines in the genus '' Actinidia''. The most common cultivar group of kiwi ...

exporter,

Zespri Zespri International Limited is the world's largest marketer of kiwifruit, selling in over 50 countries. Zespri was first established in 1988 under the name of the "New Zealand Marketing Board" before it formed as a co-operative of kiwifruit gro ...

. For its work, Datacom was awarded Microsoft's Cloud Enterprise Award at the 2013 Microsoft NZ Partner Awards. In March 2015, Datacom won the Australian Federal

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...

support services contract after a competitive tender process. The $242 million, five-year deal will see Datacom providing technology infrastructure and support services under a fully managed, consumption-based model. This joined its other Australian long term government contracts, such as Australian Customs,

Australian Border Force The Australian Border Force (ABF) is a federal law enforcement agency, part of the Department of Home Affairs, responsible for offshore and onshore border control enforcement, investigations, compliance and detention operations in Australia. Thr ...

and CrimTrac, the

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

, the

Australian Taxation Office The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system, superannuatio ...

, and Airservices Australia. In July 2015, Datacom was announced as Australia's first company to join

Amazon Web Services Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments, on a metered pay-as-you-go basis. These cloud computing web services provide d ...

Managed Service Program, one of only 20 worldwide. In November 2015,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

Australia announced Datacom as one of the latest partners to join its one-tier Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program, which allows them to own the billing for products such as Office 365. Datacom opened its third office in Melbourne in April 2016, bring 100 new jobs to the region. In August 2016, Datacom launched its Augmented Reality practice, the ANZ region's first, focused around Microsoft's

Hololens Microsoft HoloLens is an augmented reality (AR)/ mixed reality (MR) headset developed and manufactured by Microsoft. HoloLens runs the Windows Mixed Reality platform under the Windows 10 operating system. Some of the positional tracking tech ...

. In September 2016, Datacom was selected to deliver the Western Australian State Government's $1bn GovNext-ICT programme. This will encapsulate a blend of data centre, server, cloud services, storage and telephone services across all state government departments. In December 2016, Datacom won a contract to supply IT infrastructure and support services to Toyota Australia, delivering end-to-end services following a competitive tender process. In March 2017, Datacom New Zealand consolidated its five existing Auckland offices into a single location in Auckland's Wynyard Innovation Quarter. Datacom completed Australia's first migration of SAP HANA into AWS, by taking $800 million-turnover resources company Oz Minerals into the cloud in early 2017. Datacom Chairman, Craig Boyce, announced in November 2017, that Greg Davidson, Datacom Systems ANZ CEO, would succeed Jonathan Ladd, as Group CEO. Ladd became the Chairman of the International Business, and Greg Davidson formally took over the Group CEO role on March 31, 2018, alongside a new leadership team and organisational structure.

Financial Results

At the conclusion of the 2018/2019 NZ Financial Year, Datacom reported revenue of NZ$1.29bn, an improvement of 17% like for like over FY18. Datacom Group has adopted the NZ IFRS 15 accounting standard that has a material impact on the Group’s accounting policy but the company has not restated FY18 figures. Net profit after tax was NZ$42.02m.{{cite web, url=https://www.datacom.co.nz/About-Us/Our-News/Datacom-Reports-Revenue-Growth,-Announces-Appointm.aspx, title=Datacom Reports Revenue Growth, Announces Appointment of New Board Members, date=2019, access-date=6 October 2019, archive-date=27 November 2020, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127100604/https://www.datacom.co.nz/About-Us/Our-News/Datacom-Reports-Revenue-Growth,-Announces-Appointm.aspx, url-status=dead

References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em Information technology companies of New Zealand Conglomerate companies of New Zealand Information technology companies of Australia Companies based in Wellington Conglomerate companies established in 1965 Privately held companies of New Zealand New Zealand brands New Zealand companies established in 1965