Regional resellers: Shepparton

Compusult
Bradley Smith, managing director

I started as a sole trader, on my own until 2005, and expanded from there. 

We’re moving to a managed service provider approach. The original motivating factor was to flatten cash flow issues that a lot of small businesses have, but there was an extra benefit in how much the techs like that approach. Staff retention has been a lot better.

We are lucky enough to be in an NBN rollout area and that’s made a difference. If we go back to customers and start talking about things like cloud backup, remote desktop, VoIP and teleconference, we find we get good uptake. We have set up some demonstrations so they can see it, because it can be hard to visualise. There is a real push towards the cloud, accounting for 90 percent of our new deployments.

We do a lot with the fruit industry up here. Six months ago there was a lot of uncertainty. But it seems to have settled down a little bit and business confidence is starting to increase.

FACT FILE

• Headcount  12
• Established  1998
• Director Bradley Smith
• Main vendors  Dell, Microsoft

Data Parts
Adrian Jones, managing director

We’ve been operating since 1981. I’ve been here since 1983 and had the chance to take over in 1991.

We are very service-oriented. We have a retail shopfront and, being country based, we are all things to all people. Typically we sell branded products, plus we have guys who service products from chain stores and network support guys out in the field who look after typical small businesses.

We took Apple on in 1999 and have seen the resurgence coming through. Now there is lots of service work and we get the iPhones and all the accessories and bits and pieces.

We have adopted managed services over the past three years and that has run really well for us. It is all laid out for customers and we look after them from go to whoa.

Shepparton is pretty good, and we cover all the outlying areas. Our biggest competition is really the chain stores, but services is really the key and we get a lot of referrals from our service. Our name is what keeps us in business.

FACT FILE

• Headcount  12
• Established  1981
• Directors Adrian Jones, Kieran Murphy, Stuart Waite
• Main vendors  Apple, HP

Computer Tech Support
Jenny Northey, manager

We bought in 1989, so we’ve operated the business for 26 years. We aren’t a chain store, but we sell new and second-hand computers and laptops, printers and accessories.

We have technicians that do workshop and onsite work and we are service agents for many companies from Sydney and Melbourne. We deliver and set up new systems and support businesses, and do EFTPOS changeovers. We certainly do lots of repairs every week and perform software clean-ups.

We plan to do more remote support for business, so we are evolving that, but I like to keep it small and friendly. It all depends on your staff, and you can’t just learn out of a text book.

Rural cities are going through difficult times. But I’m an optimist – you’ve got to look for new things.

FACT FILE

• Headcount  4
• Established  1989
• Owner Jenny Northey 
• Main vendors  HP, Toshiba, Leader, Lenovo, Canon