Melbourne MSP in administration after winding-up notice

Melbourne-based managed service provider Big Red Group has called in the administrators.

The problems started when supplier Metaswitch Networks filed a winding-up order against the five-staff company.

The directions hearing was set for 12 February but was adjourned after Big Red Group's directors filed for voluntary administration on 10 February.

Big Red Group is a managed IT provider, with co-location services out of Sydney and NextDC in Melbourne. It was established in 2009 by chief executive Jamie Williams.

Williams chose not to comment when contacted by CRN, deferring to the administrators.

Administrator Steve Gladman of Hall Chadwick told CRN he expected the company to trade out of its difficulties.

"The whole purpose of the voluntary administration is to enable the company to continue trading and for the business operations of the company to continue into the future," said Gladman.

He expected Big Red Group's directors to put forward a Deed of Company Arrangement, which would be "a better result than if we wound it up".

Big Red Group's technology vendors include Citrix; in fact, just a week before filing for voluntary administration, Big Red Group announced it had signed a new agreement to become only one of three other IT service providers to offer Citrix's CloudPlatform and CloudPortal Business Manager in Australia.

Metaswitch Networks would not comment on Big Red Group.

However, Metaswitch director of corporate communications Phil Harvey told CRN that the UK-headquartered company had been "in the global telecoms space for 30 years so our software is used in networking equipment and service provider networks all over the world".

"Most of our customers are in North America and Europe, but we are doing business in Australia, too," said Harvey.