IT company to open city branch

An IT company will expand its services to Invercargill, saying demand has prompted the need for a southern base.

Computer Concepts chief executive Andrew Allan said the move was a reflection of the growth of business in the south.

The company, which is a wellestablished South Island-based IT company with 260 staff throughout New Zealand, delivered a variety of services, from infrastructure as a service to fully managed IT solutions.

‘‘We have been exploring a move to Invercargill time,’’ Allan said.

‘‘Our traditional model is to grow a local business to the point where it can sustain a local office, rather than ‘build it and they will come’.’’

He said business – with existing clients in Southland – had grown to the level where an office was for some necessary. ‘‘We are excited about the potential for growth in Southland.

‘‘An Invercargill base will help us provide better support for our clients.’’

The market in Invercargill was moving forward, he said.

‘‘I can’t see any reason why it’s not going to continue.

‘‘We are quite embedded in the farming sector and in health. We provide a lot of service to the Southland District Health Board.’’

However, it was only in the last year that the company had begun to explore options in Invercargill, he said.

‘‘It’s an opportunity to bring more competition to that market.’’

Allan said there would be a strong ‘‘local focus’’ in the office.

Invercargill job vacancies were being advertised.

Allan said that the company would start with eight employees, but was likely to expand.

Local people built ‘‘great local businesses’’, he said.