ASI Solutions' Nathan Lowe
New customer wins, expansion and growth initiatives have led ASI Solutions towards surpassing a new record of $120 million in revenue for the 2020 financial year, ending June 30.
This year also marks 35 years in business for the company that started back in 1985 as Anabelle Bits.
“About five years ago we were a tick under $40 million in revenue, to hit just over $92 million - just the ASI business on its own - is exciting, particularly as we’ve faced a few headwinds in the market with COVID-19 and natural disasters such as the bush fires,” ASI managing director, Nathan Lowe, told ARN.
“What we do well is evident in our relationships with our customers and providing innovative technologies to really underpin what they’re trying to achieve in their business, whether that be in a modern workplace, end user computing and all the way through to the data centre, hyper converged infrastructure and networking.”
During the 2020 financial year, ASI finalised two acquisitions in Canberra-based Forward IT and BEarena. This expansion and growth has seen the business achieve another year of record financials with consolidated earnings up 40 per cent at about $120 million.
BEarena was acquired in February and is a specialist provider of virtual infrastructure, public and hybrid cloud solutions, managed services and back-up and disaster recovery platforms.
The acquisition opened up ASI’s pathway into the New Zealand market, taking advantage of a strong base of customers including the University of Auckland, which recently undertook a new project with BEarena to implement Datrium for disaster recovery as a service on VMware Cloud on AWS.
The acquisition of Canberra’s Forward IT further increased ASI's customer hold within the government sector.
Lowe pointed out the Microsoft Modern Workplace, audio visual and video conferencing as some areas driving significant growth for the business.
“We’ve got a broad portfolio and our customers trust what we can deliver for them,” he said.
Looking ahead, the 2021 financial year will see ASI focus on integrating BEarena and Forward IT; expanding its New Zealand presence along exploring further acquisition opportunities across the country in Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne as well as considering a regional play.
“We’re looking at potential areas that we can bolt on, where we’re seeing a gap in the market,” Lowe said.
Lowe said ASI will continue to build upon its Microsoft relationship, seeking out further expertise within cloud computing.
“It’s a good opportunity now to upskill across the company and double-down on what we’ve done so far, ready for the next stage of our growth in 2021,” Lowe said.
Recently, ASI invested in a new Netsuite ERP system, delivering operational efficiencies which flow on into an improved customer experience.
During the past 12 months, ASI’s laser focus on the mid-market sector has seen some new customer wins including Metricon Homes, Victorian College of the Deaf, RSL LifeCare and Peddars Group, along with securing a range of government contracts in Queensland, Tasmania, ACT, NSW and Victoria.
Some of these projects include a unified communications integrated fit-out for NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment consisting of 17 floors and more than 180 meeting rooms; and fitting out a mobility and video conferencing solution for Victoria Police.
