Data #3 expands into CBD

National IT services company Data#3 has joined many other businesses taking advantage of good leasing deals in the CBD market, moving this week into a new office that is double the size of its West Perth premises.

General manager WA Kingsley McGarrigle said the new office in the EY building also provided scope for growth.

Its move from West Perth comes shortly after international IT firm DXC Technology shifted from Subiaco to new offices in the QV1 Building.

Data#3 chief executive Laurence Baynham said that, despite the recent challenging market, the business’s Perth office had experienced substantial revenue growth, which was the catalyst for the move.

“It’s been a fantastic year of milestones for us at Data#3,” Mr Baynham told Business News.

“In 2008, we commenced business in Perth with only four employees, and focused on selling software.

“Ten years later, we have a team of 80, with further expansion planned, and provide a full portfolio of solutions and services to our growing number of Western Australian customers.”

Mr McGarrigle said the move to the CBD aligned with the group’s corporate objectives, as it put Data#3 closer to its clients and key vendors.

He said the main growth driver was the digital transformation undertaken by its customers.

“We’re seeing growth across our cloud services business,” Mr McGarrigle told Business News.

“We’re seeing customers require managed services; their technology environment is being managed by us.”

Mr McGarrigle said its Business Aspect operation, an autonomous consulting arm that typically engaged with customers early in the process, had also recorded growth.

“We’re seeing growth in all the right areas, that’s leading to revenue growth but its also leading to profit growth for the business in WA,” he said.

“While revenue is an indicator of market share, the exciting thing is the underlying profitability of the business, which allows us to invest in our growth strategy.”

Mr McGarrigle said Data#3’s key reference client in WA was Edith Cowan University, which has outsourced management of its communications network infrastructure

It also has contracts in the mining, oil and gas and government sectors.

Local clients include Jason Windows, for which Data#3 recently completed an audit of Microsoft licences to ensure compliance and gain a better understanding of costs.

Nationally, the group is strong in the health and education sectors, and Mr McGarrigle said those ‘verticals’ would be important in future.

“As we continue to plan for growth next year and beyond, we will pivot our business to have more of an emphasis on looking at an industry vertical approach, where we deliver insight,” he said.

“Our customers are asking us more and more to bring insight to the table and help them overcome their challenges.”

The office opening comes two months after Data#3 hosted its annual JuiceIT showcase, which attracted 30 vendors and 480 delegates in Perth – up 30 per cent.

It was the sixth time Data#3 has hosted the event in WA which Mr McGarrigle said was the largest, long-running event of its type in the state.

Listed on the ASX in 1997, Brisbane-based Data^#3 reported a revenue of $1.1 billion in the 2017 financial year and has more than 1,100 employees.