IT among the vines in Martinborough

Mike Lace's company has a varied customer base in the lower North Island

By Darren Greenwood, Auckland | Friday, 12 March 2010
“Even though a lot of work can be done remotely, it doesn’t cut the mustard when you need the face-to-face [time] with an engineer,” he says.



One engineer travels to work from Wellington, one was recruited from overseas after being attracted to the region, while another is a local who specialises in wireless installations and has previous experience in engineering work.

Lace says his company spends time understanding clients’ businesses to gain trust. “Quite often, we will add value to their business by keeping an eye on the technologies that can assist their business. Essentially, you become each company’s IT manager,” he says.

However, finding the staff to offer such “strong partnerships” is not easy, and Lace says he is fussy about who he hires.

“We tend to hire on personality as well as skill set. Our engineers act as the face of the company. We don’t want an excellent engineer who has no people skills.”

The firm’s suppliers include Ingram Micro, Dove and Renaissance-owned Insite, and HP, Toshiba and Sony are among its main brands.

Interlace Technology also distributes Peak memory sticks and SD cards. Lace expects business to be steady in 2010 and he is advising clients to spend cautiously to gain the best value from existing hardware, while looking for new technologies to invest in. Many of his have struggled in 2009 so they need to constrain their spending. He also tips a rise in remote work and an even greater focus on quality.