Why Kinetic IT is one of Australia’s best managed companies

Perth-based MSP Kinetic IT was named one of Australia’s Best Managed Companies in 2021 by Deloitte.

The program, now in its second year in Australia, identifies and celebrates privately-owned and managed companies across Australia that excel across four main areas – strategy, culture and commitment, capabilities and innovation, and governance and financials.

Kinetic IT was one of 10 Aussie companies (pdf) that Deloitte named for the Australian portion of the global program.

Being the first time the company entered the awards, Kinetic IT CEO Michael North told CRN that winning was a pleasant surprise.

“We entered the award to get a bit of an understanding of where we sat as far as organisation and our management capability goes,” he said.

“To be selected as one of the Best Managed Companies in Australia by Deloitte is a fantastic outcome and one we're super proud of, but I don't think we actually expected to come out on top.”

When it comes to the four key categories of the awards, North said that culture was the most important to the company’s success.

“The adage that culture eats strategy for breakfast is pretty true and, certainly, as a company that's one thing we've been really proud of from inception back in the 90s all the way through to today. It's been super important as an organisation that culture sits at the core of the decisions we make. There's a lot of systems and processes and practices that are built within the company, to try and make sure that our culture is sustained as we grow.”

With a presence in five states and territories, North said the company’s leaders are “really proud” of being able to maintain that strong culture.

He said that it is through this culture that strategy is able to flow throughout the organisation and onto the customers.

He credits the “cohesion across our organisation; the strategy flowing through to our values and culture and the way that manifests itself in our delivery of services and the way that flows through to customer satisfaction and the benefits that we can provide our customers as a whole.”

Operating across a diverse range of sectors including large Government organisations, education, travel and transport and mining, North said that success in capabilities and offerings comes from the level of customisation that it offers customers.

“One of the really key success factors of our organisation is that customisation and tailoring of the way we deliver services to each of those sectors, and ensuring that the activities that matter most to the customer flow through into the activities that matter most to us.”

Improving and maintaining diversity is also of importance to the company, which is involved in a range of programs such as Victorian ICT for Women’s Go Girl and Women in IT in Western Australia.

“It's one of the key pillars within our strategy around increasing diversity across our workplace for gender, [culture], capability – there's a whole push across our business to try and make sure that we're inclusive and can improve the organisation in the ways that we support and accommodate different needs. I think we're really conscious about the fact that we need to do a lot of work in this space as an industry.”