Optimation poised to continue hiring spree

At least 40 new staff by year end, 35 already hired in past six months

New customers and increased project work have sparked a move by IT services company Optimation to add to its Auckland-based staff, primarily in technical roles.

General manager north Verdon Kelliher says the company expects to hire between 40 and 70 people by the end of 2010, and will fill some of these positions through its graduate recruitment scheme in partnership with the University of Auckland. The company uses the programme to employ graduates as testers.

Optimation currently has 70 staff in Auckland and wants to add project managers, architects, designers and developers.

“I had a new account manager start with me in Auckland and I’ll be hiring another person within the next three months,” says Kelliher. “We’re growing so fast that I have hired nearly 35 people into the business over the past six months.”

He does not reveal exact revenue growth numbers due to the company’s private ownership, but says it has achieved year-on-year revenue growth of 25 percent.

Among the firm’s newly-adopted customers is Aldous, a software house specialising in the development of order capture management for telcos, and insurer Southern Cross. The existing customer base also includes Vodafone and Air New Zealand. Kelliher says in the first half of last year there was a real decline in project work going in the marketplace because of the state of the economy, but believes the business community is more confident now.

“The market thinks we’re through the worst and it’s okay to use capital expenditure again. The secondary driver [of the growth] is there are some businesses using up their traditional budget before the end of the financial year.”

Read the Coffee Break profile on Verdon Kelliher