Hosting and Data Services (HDS) founders Wayne Norrie and Roger Cockayne now own 100% of the company after buying out the remaining 49% shareholding of Hitachi Data Systems.
“It was good for Hitachi because in the three years the business has been running, the arrangement has evolved,” says chief executive Wayne Norrie.
“They’re moving more into channels.”
He says the entry point back then for getting into Hitachi storage was $1 million. Today, it’s around $30,000. “They’re not far off getting into the likes of Dick Smith now. That market is not us.”
HDS will become a Hitachi value-added reseller, which will free it up to offer product from other vendors. “We’ll be targeting top-end work,” Norrie says. “Hitachi wants to reach the smaller parts of the market. However, we are still their biggest reseller in Australasia.
He says it is not the immediate focus to bring on other product “but we have the potential to do that”.
Norrie expects HDS to do around $22 million in turnover this financial year compared with $16.9 million a year ago. The company has 55 staff. Major customers include MAF, TelstraClear and Air New Zealand. All up, there are 109 customers.
The buy-out of Hitachi’s shareholding won’t affect the Australian business of HDS, which is data centre services.
Norrie says Hitachi is likely to set up a channel operation in New Zealand.