Provoke’s new Auckland office has just opened on the back of six years significant growth in the Wellington market.
Provoke Auckland have already started working with a selection of new northern customers and are currently looking to close their first big deal with a large Australian-based company. With a budget of seven figures over the next nine months, this one project will provide the momentum to grow staff numbers from 3 to 15 very quickly. Rob Benson who leads the Auckland operation says “we’re looking to grow quite rapidly – in line with the demand for our services”.
Provoke is a Wellington-based software development company that builds custom and product-based applications using Microsoft technologies. This northward push has been driven by combined pressure from Provoke’s existing Auckland-based customers and from Microsoft New Zealand.
Microsoft’s Managing Director Helen Robinson is more than aware of Provoke’s achievements to date and looks forward to the team replicating their success via a physical presence in Auckland. “Provoke has consistently been one of our over-achieving Gold Partners, growing from strength-to-strength. They are well respected for their innovative use of Microsoft technologies and the energy, enthusiasm and smarts of their management team makes them an absolute pleasure to partner with.”
Rob Benson is no stranger to the Auckland IT services market. He was a founding partner and former Managing Director of the successful Oracle shop Theta Systems. Rob recently sold his shares in Theta after an exceptional, eleven year track-record, building Theta into one of New Zealand’s most successful Oracle services companies.
Benson is excited about taking on the challenge of building Provoke’s Auckland presence.
“The strong brand that Provoke has established and their fantastic reputation in the Wellington market will definitely help my cause. Although we only officially started trading in August, the buzz is already widespread and the hype and demand is growing on a daily basis“ says Benson.
Provoke is positioned as New Zealand’s premiere Microsoft SharePoint 2007 implementor. This has generated significant demand for their services throughout New Zealand. Boasting one of the most qualified SharePoint teams and employing one of only two Microsoft MVPs (Microsoft Most Valued Professionals) in the country is certainly helping this along says Provoke’s Wellington-based Managing Director Mason Pratt.
Provoke’s new Auckland office has just opened on the back of six years significant growth in the Wellington market.
“We haven’t seen or heard of any design-led software business in the Auckland market really taking advantage of the demand for the new SharePoint platform. We’ve been fortunate enough to work on New Zealand’s first SharePoint 2007 implementation for the Civil Aviation Authority which provided invaluable insight into the product’s capabilities.
This took place well before the final version from Microsoft was ready for public release. By coupling our User Centred Design (UCD) methodology with our technical expertise I believe we’re uniquely positioned in this burgeoning new market.”
John Bessey, Sales & Partner Director at Microsoft New Zealand has encouraged Provoke’s move into the Auckland market. “Provoke has clearly demonstrated their commitment to the Microsoft platform having achieved the pinnacle of Gold Partner status. They’ve worked extremely hard over the last few years to prove themselves as technology innovators but also as first class usability experts. We’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with Provoke and excited about the value they can bring to our Auckland customers, especially in the SharePoint 2007 space.”
Provoke’s customer base has primarily been in the public sector, working for large Government agencies and SOEs such as the New Zealand Fire Service, the Department of Internal Affairs, the Department of Conservation, the State Services Commission, Meridian Energy and ONTRACK. More recently Provoke has been focussing on developing partnerships with private sector clients such as Loyalty New Zealand, Transpower, Contact Energy and the ANZ National Bank. Pratt feels this will hold them in good stead for further developing a market dominated by private enterprise.
Pratt’s business track record speaks for itself. He recently received the highly-regarded New Zealand Institute of Management accolade of Young Executive of the Year for the Central Region. This award he hopes will strengthen Provoke’s reputation as a market leader. Pratt is now up against the Northern and Southern finalists, with the winner of the New Zealand-wide NZIM Supreme Award due to be announced later in the year.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
MASON PRATT
Managing Director, Provoke Solutions Ltd
P: 04 916 4360 | M: 021 848 400 | E: mason.pratt@provoke.co.nz
ROB BENSON
Managing Director, Provoke Solutions Auckland Ltd
P: 09 379 0693 | M: 027 672 2906 | E: rob.benson@provoke.co.nz