2. Katana1
For someone whose company has been named one of the fastest-growing integrators in the country, Nick Russell never thought he’d end up in the channel. In fact, he jokes that his journey has been one “from channel-hating lunatic to a convert”.
The plan clearly worked out, as a year of 211 percent growth has propelled Katana1 to second place in this year’s CRN Fast50, and, at $8.1 million turnover, the largest integrator in the top 10.
The importance of this journey cannot be discounted. Russell’s lightbulb moment was to take this high-touch model he had developed and apply the same logic to a standalone integrator. The company now has a group of account managers each focusing on four to six customers that he dubs “antimatter clients”.
Why? Because “antimatter is the most expensive product in the universe,” laughs Russell.
Russell is joined by fellow director Ross Ogilvie, whose CV included almost 10 years on the client side at Deloitte. Most recently, Ogilvie was working as a senior consultant at BMC Software.
Growth: 211.105%
Location: Sydney
Website:
katana1.com