Regional resellers: Coffs Harbour

Coffs Computing Services: Matthew Osborne, managing director

The business was formed in 2002. I bought into it about three years ago and then acquired complete ownership of it in July this year.

We are a strong player in the small to medium enterprise market. We’re strong with Apple technology as an independent reseller and service centre, and we have a full in-house workshop. Our strength is we can integrate both Mac and PC into a workplace. 

We do a lot of work for McDonalds through Unisys, and for the Department of Education. We have brought on board an ex-teacher on a part-time basis to assist in implementing into school environments. That has been a step in the right direction and is getting some traction.

We also do a lot of work in the medical sector. We started with a product called Genie and have a strong relationship with them, and have expanded that. There is a lot of new technology coming out with wearables, and that is going to integrate a lot more into the medical sector.

FACT FILE

Staff 9 full-time and five casuals

Founded 2002

Director Matthew Osborne

Main vendors Apple, Genie Solutions

Advanced Technology: Mark Pelt, director

We started trading under the name of Advanced Technology two years ago. My previous business was PC Professionals, and a good friend of mine, Tom Baker, ran a telephone and security company. 

We noticed that different areas of IT were converging, and realised that we could service our clients a lot better by sharing resources and merging into one group. Customers now only need to call one company for either phone, security, computers, or fire alarm systems. Coffs Harbour is a great place to build a business and we are aiming to become the number one service provider in town. 

We can definitely feel the pinch as Microsoft is taking a bigger cut of the market – so while this is happening, we are tirelessly working on finding new ways to service our clients better in a changing market place. 

The NBN created a lot of new business for us because people needed to upgrade to the new technology. The impact is mainly through increased accessibility.

FACT FILE

Staff 12

Founded 2013

Director Mark Pelt, Tom Baker

Main vendors Microsoft, HP, Panasonic, Cisco 

Triple A IT: Leonard Rogan, director

I got started in IT 20 years ago, and started my own company in Melbourne in 2003. Then in 2007, I moved up here and started Triple A IT. There are two of us in the business, and we offer everything from quotation and consulting through to post-implementation. 

We’re a Microsoft small business solutions provider, servicing companies of one to up to 100 seats. We also do a lot of firewalls and site-to-site VPNs. We set that sort of stuff up for retail franchises up here.

The server market isn’t necessarily there anymore, as the subscription services mean the need for a server is becoming less and less. Over the next year, we’ll change a substantial part of the business model, because moving people to Office 365 means the margins are just not there.

FACT FILE

Staff 2

Founded 2007

Director Leonard Rogan

Main vendors Microsoft, Citrix, SonicWall