Local service provider finds its sweet spot

The Australian IT service market is not without its problems. Local service providers have to compete with vendors, oversease service providers setting up local offices and the offshoirng of local IT jobs.

Six months after opening an office in Singapore office, Trippoint has hired three new staff members to keep Tripoint’s systems integration and managed services business in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Woollett told CRN that Singapore was chosen as an international office for tax purposes and it would also prove to be a convenient base to service its clients located in Asia, Canada, Brazil and North America.

He said the wholly-owned Australian IT service company was in no way "offshoring" jobs and opened the office because some of its ASX-listed clients, like Aristocratic Ledger, Cochalear and the British American Tobacco acquired Rothmans have gone from strength-to-strength on a global scale and have chosen to stick with Tripoint as their service provider.

"Finding and working with locally grown companies that go global are our sweet spot," said Woollett." "We have been with some of these companies since we started ten years ago and that is how we have been able to grow as an organisation."

He said the competition is intense in Australia but having good references that have returned time after time helps Tripoint win jobs.

As for offshoring he said, "Indian IT service organisation won't survive in the Australian marketplace unless it has a local presence and even then it won't be able to provide cheaper labour costs then anyone other IT service organisation.

He also believes finding key vendors that provide healthy competition and getting in early helps make all the difference.

"We happy doing what we are doing. The answer is yes [apporached for acquisition], but the expansion has to be profitable. You can be successful and make money, but clients have to satisfied enough to want to come back," he said.