Technology consultancy Practiv launches in Australia
Auckland-headquartered technology consultancy Practiv has launched in Australia, appointing ex-Versent leader Jordan Greig as managing director of its fresh operation.
Founded in 2000, Practiv is a technology consultancy with around 50 staff in New Zealand and the United States. The firm now aims to establish a presence in Australia’s market through the setup of offices in Sydney and Brisbane.
Jordan Greig, who launched his own tech consultancy called Cloud House in 2014 before selling the company to Bulletproof Networks two years later, argues that consultancy in Australia has been plagued for years by the industry’s tendency to jump straight to technology solutions before understanding the business and the problem at hand.
“We’re looking to repair the reputational damage to the Australian consultancy industry caused by consultants’ lack of real technology knowledge. At Practiv, we focus just as much on understanding customers’ business problems as on assessing potential tech solutions in cloud, data, analytics and machine learning.”
A tech-agnostic company, Practiv partners closely with some of the world’s biggest and most highly regarded tech companies, including Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Snowflake and Databricks.
Practiv is seeking to land clients across several sectors including financial services, media, retail, energy and healthcare. The company works with the likes of Westpac, Bupa, IAG, Equifax and Xero.
Prior to joining Practiv, and after his successful venture with Cloud House, Greig was the regional general manager for digital transformation consultancy Versent, where he presided over the smooth running of business operations with more than 150 staff across New South Wales and Queensland.
He then became the professional services lead at Google, helping to establish the company’s cloud technology suite across Australia and New Zealand.
“I completely understand why so many businesses are hesitant to bring in external technology consultancies. They’ve been stung before by confusion, jargon, complexity, and most importantly, an unsolved business problem,” said Greig.
“The consultancy industry therefore needs a fresh approach – one that prioritises a knowledge of business, and one that is able to translate complex technology into business benefits that boards of directors can comprehend. Only then can we restore the reputation of an industry that is vital to helping businesses gain a competitive advantage in the digital age.”
