Bigger is better as The Instillery & Origin merge to amplify their impact on Aotearoa

15 August 2019

Aotearoa's number one in cloud, The Instillery, and nationally renowned managed IT and security services provider, Origin, today announced their merger. The merger will create a unique future-focused provider of cloud, automation, connectivity and security professional and managed services for Kiwi midmarket, enterprise, local and central government organisations.

The combined organisation will retain The Instillery brand and will deliver more than $40 million in revenue with 200 staff across Aotearoa.

The merger represents one of the most significant M&A events for the Kiwi tech sector in a decade and will establish The Instillery as a genuine tier one ICT provider committed assisting Kiwi public and private organisations to realise the well-documented benefits of cloud technologies, while also ensuring the security and protection of their critical data.

Mike Jenkins, CEO and founder of The Instillery, will continue to lead the newly-formed company. Origin’s CEO and founder Michael Russell will join the executive team of The Instillery as Chief Sales Officer.

Jenkins says the merger is a "statement of intent to lead the cloud revolution. Emerging technologies led by cloud and automation (in particular) continue to disrupt, creating new opportunities. The tech sector here in Aotearoa has been screaming out for change and looking for a genuine alternative option to partner with. Trust and confidence have never been more critical to our clients as they embark on their cloud journey, so Michael and the Origin team’s twenty years of experience across both security consulting and managed services is massively compelling."

The Instillery and Origin both come from humble beginnings. The Instillery was founded six years ago, from a co-working space in Parnell. Origin was established in a West Auckland garage twenty years ago. The Instillery merged with Vo2 in July last year, while Origin also has recent M&A experience, following its acquisition of Optinet in 2015.

The Instillery is known for its public cloud and DevOps capability. Its merger with Vo2 brought extensive modern workplace, managed services and support capability. Origin brings further depth to The Instillery stable, with twenty years of managed services, private cloud, network and security experience. The combined business will offer one of New Zealand’s leading cybersecurity practices. 

Michael Russell says the merger of The Instillery and Origin means focusing on growing in the right area. “Origin has twenty years of experience in delivering innovative solutions and managed services. The merger is an exciting opportunity to take another step towards where our customers need us to be with the growth of cloud, leveraging the unrivalled experience The Instillery have in this area."

“As a customer with Origin, I’m extremely excited about the merger between Origin and The Instillery. I couldn’t have picked a better merger of two highly respected companies as this one.

With this merger, the two companies combined will provide Kotahi with a key strategic partner that can not only support its environments and protect it through its security practices, but they can also now further challenge us on our cloud journey. We look for partners that can push us and drive us beyond our current capabilities. And with this merger, we now will have a partner that has a global reach in this space and further drive Kotahi’s cloud priorities.

I truly think this will create a partner to be reckoned with.”

Wayne Bloem, Head of Operational Excellence - Kotahi

According to Jenkins, “Most enterprises today utilise a hybrid, multi-cloud approach. Origin’s strength in security, network design and optimisation, combined with our agnostic approach to cloud, means that customers will get the proven formula, tailored for their business, irrespective of where they are on their cloud journey.”

"The Instillery have worked with us from the start of our cloud journey, from helping us build our first production systems on AWS, then automating their deployment. Keeping security in front of mind and having local skills is very important to us, and has been a key part of the engagement with The Instillery. The access to further depth and capability through the merger with Origin opens up further opportunities to grow what we do together."

Hamish Archer, GM Technology - TSB

Jenkins says the newly formed company will address largely unmet demand in the enterprise arena. “We know that large businesses, including enterprise, local government and central government agencies, are looking for a fresh, agile approach that allows them to move faster. ‘Velocity with confidence’ is in our DNA. In this exciting new chapter, we’re excited about the immediate opportunity to scale to up to help more businesses innovate and realise the well-documented benefits of cloud.”

The new company will have offices in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Napier, Wellington and Christchurch. It will continue to invest in and focus on local growth, along with attracting top talent in cloud, automation, security and connectivity from across the country.

The Instillery also delivers services for several Trans-Tasman and global clients, and is eyeing up expansion into Australia in the near future.

For more information or to talk about working with The Instillery, please contact us via email: contact@theinstillery.com