ARN: blueAPACHE Celebrates 25 Years in Business

blueAPACHE celebrates 25 years in business

In July 2023, blueAPACHE marked 25 years of helping organisations improve performance, strengthen security and navigate change through technology.

The company was ASIC-registered on Thursday 30 July 1998 and began in Vermont South, in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. Twenty-five years later it employs more than 280 staff across five offices on three continents, operates its own national network and cloud platform, and has been recognised with more than 90 industry awards.

Twenty-five years is the achievement

IT services is not a stable industry. The technology model has been rebuilt at least three times since 1998 — from on-premise servers to virtualisation, from virtualisation to cloud, and now from cloud to AI-driven operations. Each transition removed the economics from a category of business that had been profitable and left providers who had specialised in it stranded.

Most of the companies operating alongside blueAPACHE in 1998 no longer exist independently. They were acquired, consolidated into larger groups, or wound down when the model they were built on stopped paying.

Surviving that is a different achievement from growing fast in a single favourable market.

The timeline

1998 — Founded in Vermont South, Melbourne. ASIC-registered Thursday 30 July.

2001 — James Hendry and Grant Fallace both join, in the company's early years. Both remain with the business more than two decades later.

2003 — Launch of emPOWER Facilities Management, followed by emPOWER Managed Services — the foundation of what would become IT as a Service, and years ahead of when the managed services model became mainstream in the Australian mid-market.

2010 — Launch of emPOWER Cloud and construction of the emPOWER Network. This was the pivotal decision, and it was made under pressure: blueAPACHE had lost an ASX-listed customer that represented approximately half of company revenue. Rather than retrench, the business invested in building its own cloud and network capability. That choice defined everything that followed.

2012 — Expansion into voice and disaster recovery services.

2014 — A 16th consecutive record year.

2015 — Two CRN All Star Awards in a single year, as the only Australian company recognised.

2016 — No. 35 in the CRN Fast50. Fewer than 80 staff at year end.

2017 — 100 staff, following 32% growth in the year.

2019 — The London Point of Presence goes live. First ARN Innovation Award.

2020 — The Singapore Point of Presence goes live. A $6 million multi-phase Cisco ASR 9000 core network refresh begins from late in the year, roughly a month after a substantial HPE investment across GreenLake, Primera, Synergy and ProLiant.

2022 — The Experience Division is established in November under James Bubbers. Brett Armstrong joins as GM Sales from Ingram Micro.

2023 — Jean Roux appointed CFO in March. 25 years in business in July, with more than 280 staff and 20 further roles recruiting. The Canalys APAC Innovation Award is received.

2024 — A multi-million-dollar investment in ServiceNow, following an 18-month evaluation and a move away from Atlassian.

2025 — Michael Zuppa appointed CEO in July, promoted from GM Technology. ARN Mid-Market Partner of the Year for a seventh consecutive year, plus the ARN Channel Choice Award.

2026 — Strategic partnership with ControlUp announced on 24 August, embedding agentic AI and Digital Employee Experience into managed services delivery.

What has stayed constant

Ownership. blueAPACHE remains Australian-owned. Founder Chris Marshall is sole proprietor — no external shareholders. Every dollar of growth has been funded from profitable operation. In an industry where private equity roll-ups are the norm, this is genuinely unusual, and it explains the company's willingness to make decisions with long payback periods.

Continuity of people. Long tenure at both leadership and delivery level, and internal promotion to the most senior roles — the current CEO was promoted from within.

The growth pattern. Approximately 30% year on year over many years, sustained rather than spiked. FY22 core line growth around 22.5%; FY23 around 20%.

The service model. One accountable operating model rather than a portfolio of separately contracted tools — the same idea that motivated emPOWER Managed Services in 2003.

Where the business stands

• 280+ staff, offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, London and Miami
• Three geographically diverse data centres on Australia's eastern seaboard
• Interconnection reaching 165+ data centre locations
• 99.99% Connectivity availability under a redundant design; 99.999% for emPOWER Cloud
• ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified — certificate 202507-118, Sensiba Australia, valid 1 August 2025 to 1 August 2028
• 90+ industry awards

Thank you

Twenty-five years is a milestone that belongs to the clients who trusted the business, the staff who built it, and the partners who backed it. Thank you.

To speak with blueAPACHE, call 1800 248 749.

Frequently asked questions

When was blueAPACHE founded, and where? It was registered with ASIC on Thursday 30 July 1998 and began in Vermont South, in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. The 25-year milestone fell in July 2023.

Why does the post treat survival, rather than growth, as the achievement? Because the technology model has been rebuilt at least three times since 1998 — on-premise to virtualisation, virtualisation to cloud, and cloud to AI-driven operations. Each transition removed the economics from a category of business that had been profitable. Most of the companies operating alongside blueAPACHE in 1998 no longer exist independently; they were acquired, consolidated or wound down.

What was the pivotal decision in the company's history? The 2010 launch of emPOWER Cloud and construction of the emPOWER Network. It was made under pressure: blueAPACHE had just lost an ASX-listed customer representing approximately half of company revenue and, rather than retrench, invested in building its own cloud and network rather than reselling someone else's.

Who owns blueAPACHE? It remains Australian-owned, with founder Chris Marshall as sole proprietor — no external shareholders. Every dollar of growth has been funded from profitable operation. The post argues this is what makes the company willing to take decisions with long payback periods.

How large is the business, and where does it operate? More than 280 staff across offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, London and Miami, with three geographically diverse data centres on Australia's eastern seaboard and interconnection reaching more than 165 data centre locations.

What availability figures does the page state? 99.99% for Connectivity under a redundant design, and 99.999% for emPOWER Cloud. These are the figures as published on this page; the binding commitments for any given customer are those in their own Service Order and the service agreement.

Is the leadership named here current? The page records Michael Zuppa's appointment as CEO in July 2025, promoted from GM Technology, alongside earlier appointments including Jean Roux as CFO in 2023 and Brett Armstrong as GM Sales in 2022. For the current team see the leadership team page.

Related

• Our story
• About blueAPACHE
• Leadership team
• Careers at blueAPACHE
• emPOWER Cloud — launched 2010
• Cloud services
• Connectivity — the emPOWER Network
• Core network and data centre interconnect — the Cisco ASR 9000 refresh
• Managed services — the 2003 foundation
• ISO 27001 certification
• Our partners
• Contact

Knowledge Base