James Robinson (IT360)
Auckland-based managed IT service provider IT360 has expanded into Taranaki in a further development of the company's partnership with Spark.
IT360 developed a relationship with Spark in Auckland over the last few years, becoming an official Spark IT partner for the North Shore and Waitakere Spark business hubs. This enabled Spark business customers in those areas to access IT services and to tie that into their existing Spark relationship and billing.
Earlier this year, the opportunity arose to work with Spark further afield, in the Taranaki region.
IT360 CEO Dave Wilson reached out to long-time friend, Taranaki local and IT industry veteran James Robinson, to lead the new business, which has now opened and is serving customers both through the Spark partnership and directly.
While that certainly has IT360 eyeing other regions, for the moment the company is focused on creating an operation in Taranaki that is as "successful and sustainable" as that in Auckland, Robinson said.
A family-owned business, IT360 said every part of the business is championed by individuals whose focus is to deliver a "fantastic" customer experience.
Robinson was excited to introduce new Taranaki customers to the team and enable them to experience what he described as the “white-glove” customer onboarding process led by customer service manager Chris Jordan. In accounts, director Ruth Wilson also happens to head up pastoral care of employees and even of customers.
"Our ideal customers are those for whom this approach to business really matters," Robinson said.
IT360 said it backed this people-centric approach with technical expertise and a "strong strategic game".
"Technical skills are the bare minimum requirement for any managed IT service provider and IT360 has plenty," Robinson said. "Where the organisation really strives to stand out however, is in their ability to help customers take a strategic approach to IT."
This required lifting the focus from technical support onto uncovering where customers are trying to go with their business and creating a strategy for using technology to help them get there.
IT360 is operating in the new region through a new company, IT360 Lower North, of which Robinson is a significant minority shareholder.
IT360 is a partner of HPE, HP, Aruba, Microsoft, Veeam and Watchguard among others. It is also a partner of specialist telco service provider Digital Island, which Spark acquired in 2017.
