Datacom acquires NSW IT outsourcer for $10.5 million

Effective from September 1, Datacom will receive control of Hansen Professional Services' data centre assets, client contracts, partner relationships and the 75 systems support professionals who work at the facility.

The company will also relocate to the Hansen Professional Services'
facilities in Riverside Corporate Park and rename itself Datacom Systems NSW.

"The personnel we're picking up were a key ingredient in going ahead with this acquisition," said Datacom Australia/Asia's CEO, Michael Browne. "It will provide us with a needed increase in skilled personnel, to ensure we can meet the strong growth in market demand we continue to experience."

The extra personnel will increase Datacom's NSW IT services team to 170 staff, taking its total Australian employee count to 800. Datacom also employs 400 staff in Malaysia and 1250 in New Zealand.

Browne said the purchase was fuelled both by the company's organic growth in NSW and its desire to expand Datacom's outsourcing business.

"We are building Datacom to be the regional partner of choice in the IT services space for Australasia," he said. "We believe there is a very receptive market at the top of the tier two system integrators space because currently, there is no one organisation that adequately addresses the demands of that client layer."

Browne expects the acquisition to boost Datacom's revenue by $20 million, pushing its Australian annual takings over the $150 million mark.

Next on Datacom's expansion plans are the areas of the ACT and Western Australia, with a Christmas time acquisition in WA likely, Browne said.

The Hansen purchase is the latest in a string of acquisitions for Datacom, which bought Sydney-based Web and application development company Relate, Sun Microsystems hardware specialist, Agire, and Brisbane-base IT services firm, Syncroplex Systems earlier in the year.