Computer reseller Portacom celebrates 40 years in business

Perth-based computer reseller Portacom has celebrated 40 years in business since its founding by Neil Hancock in 1983.

The company said it was the first-ever Australian business to specialise in portable computing, such as hand-held devices, laptops and notebooks, and started from humble beginnings.

Hancock said he started the business from his parents’ garage without any business training.

He said the company gradually grew to occupy its own building, while evolving to stay ahead of the changing technology landscape.

“The growth of networking, the internet, email and cloud computing drove our team to constantly learn and evolve to continue our success,” Hancock said.

“While customers have become more computer savvy, we have found that our depth of knowledge in our mobile computing specialisation still gives us a leading edge,” he added.

Hancock highlighted the importance of being part of a larger business community for longevity as Portacom has been part of Australia’s largest retail membership groups, Leading Edge Retail, since 2013.

This meant the company could access unique products, competitive pricing and reliable business support.

“We became a Leading Edge Computer member in 2013 because of the people focused on growing your business. Having access to the extended trading terms and the products and distributors I would not normally have access to are some of the reasons we joined,” Hancock said.

Portacom has experienced several wins over the years, including Sharp’s Notebook Computer Dealer of the Year in 1997, Western Australia’s largest Sharp dealer in 1999, Sharp’s National Computer and Communication Dealer of the Year in 2000 and 2001 and NEC’s Largest Notebook Computer Dealer of the Year in 2005.

Hancock said one of his biggest personal milestones was playing a key role in developing the world’s first touch mouse, where he came up with an idea to remodel the plastics where the laptop modem originally went and designed the electronics for a capacitive touch sensor.

He also acknowledged the challenges Portacom has faced over the last 40 years, including the dot-com bust, the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a long-term business, Portacom also faced the challenge of having to replace all company infrastructure.

“The longer you’re in business, the higher the costs will hit you at a major point in time. This cost was not anticipated and was a true challenge to overcome,” Hancock said.

Looking ahead, Hancock said he is looking to grow Portacom’s managed services division.