Virtual IT Group merges with The Instillery

Australian MSP Virtual IT Group (VITG) and New Zealand’s The Instillery have merged to form what the two companies say is one of the largest integrated trans-Tasman managed services and security providers in the market.

The combined company will have over 400 people, primarily across Australia and New Zealand.

Terms of the transaction were not revealed.

The businesses will continue to operate with local leadership teams and brands, while integrating and leveraging shared capabilities to provide technological breadth and depth.

The Instillery works across cloud, modern work, connectivity, managed services, security and security intelligence.

The Instillery had already begun to expand into Australia with technology partnerships with Wiz and Zscaler, including collaborating with VITG on joint customers.

Virtual IT Group was founded in 2015 by Australian entrepreneur Christian Pacheco and employs over 240 staff. The Instillery CEO, Michael Russell, founded Origin IT in 2000 before merging with The Instillery and adopting its brand in 2019 and employs over 160 staff.   

In June 2025, VITG announced an investment agreement with The Riverside Company to bolster and grow VITG’s platform through M&A and organic growth.   

Instillery CEO Michael Russell said the company's journey over the past five years has been to evolve through growth and innovation alongside its customers.

“With Christian and the team at VITG, we saw something special," he said.

"There was an instant connection. We were talking the same language and focused on customer outcomes.”  

“We’re looking for further opportunities to grow the platform both geographically and with complementary capabilities."

VITG CEO Christian Pacheco the addition of The Instillery strengthens the company's platform across both geography and service offering.

“Their leadership team and culture align closely with ours, and we look forward to what we can build together," he said.

“We collectively saw gaps within the ANZ market where customers were looking for cybersecurity and technology partners who weren’t scared of change and innovation. We value long-term relationships with our customers, rather than speed-dating. There is a vacancy in this space."

In 2023, Macquarie Cloud Services expanded its agreement with VITG to provide secure private cloud services for its healthcare clients.