blueAPACHE’s nineteenth birthday celebrations

blueAPACHE's nineteenth birthday celebrations

blueAPACHE marked nineteen years in business — a milestone reached in a year that turned out to be one of the most consequential in the company's history.

Nineteen years in, and 2017 was a step change

The company was ASIC-registered on Thursday 30 July 1998 in Vermont South, Melbourne. By its nineteenth year it had:

• Reached 100 staff, having grown 32% in that year alone — from fewer than 80 at the end of 2016
• Recorded 16 consecutive record years by the end of 2014, and kept going
• Been ranked No. 35 in the CRN Fast50 in 2016
• Received three CRN All Star Awards, two of them in 2015 as the only Australian company recognised

Crossing 100 staff is a genuine threshold in a services business. Below it, an organisation can run informally — everyone knows everyone, escalation happens by walking over, and process is largely tacit. Above it, that stops working, and the company either builds real operational structure or the service quality degrades as it grows.

What nineteen years actually demonstrates

IT services is not a stable industry. Between 1998 and 2017 the delivery model was rebuilt twice — from on-premise servers to virtualisation, and from virtualisation to cloud. Each transition destroyed the economics of a business line that had been reliably profitable, and stranded providers who had specialised in it.

Most of the companies operating alongside blueAPACHE in 1998 no longer existed independently by 2017. They were acquired, consolidated, or wound down.

What allowed blueAPACHE to keep going was a willingness to move before it was forced to:

2003 — emPOWER Facilities Management and then emPOWER Managed Services launched, years ahead of when managed services became the standard Australian mid-market model.

2010 — The decision that defined everything since, made under pressure. Having lost an ASX-listed customer representing approximately half of company revenue, blueAPACHE invested in building emPOWER Cloud and the emPOWER Network — its own cloud and national network rather than reselling someone else's.

2012 — Voice and disaster recovery added.

What came after nineteen

2019 — London Point of Presence live; first ARN Innovation Award.

2020 — Singapore Point of Presence live; major HPE investment across GreenLake, Primera, Synergy and ProLiant; a $6 million multi-phase Cisco ASR 9000 core network refresh begins.

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

2023 — Jean Roux appointed CFO in March; 25 years in business celebrated in August with 300 guests at Melbourne's Plaza Ballroom; Canalys APAC Innovation Award; more than 280 staff.

2024 — Multi-million-dollar ServiceNow investment after an 18-month evaluation.

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

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

Why celebrating matters in this business

blueAPACHE sells continuity. Clients buy engineers who know their environment, an account team who understands their business, and a service desk with context — and every departure erodes all three.

A company where people stay delivers a materially better service than one with high turnover, whatever either says about its methodology. That is why events marking milestones are not incidental spending; they are part of what holds together the thing being sold.

The tenure record supports it: James Hendry and Grant Fallace both joined in 2001 and remain with the business more than two decades later, and the most senior role in the company was filled from within.

Funded from the business

blueAPACHE remains Australian-owned. Founder Chris Marshall is sole proprietor — no external shareholders. Nineteen years of growth, and everything since, funded from profitable operation.

About blueAPACHE

blueAPACHE delivers managed services, cloud, cyber security, connectivity, collaboration, procurement, Microsoft technologies and advisory services under one accountable operating model, from offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, London and Miami. It holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification (certificate 202507-118, Sensiba Australia, valid 1 August 2025 to 1 August 2028) and has received more than 90 industry awards.

Call 1800 248 749.

Frequently asked questions

What milestone does this post mark? Nineteen years in business. blueAPACHE was ASIC-registered on Thursday 30 July 1998 in Vermont South, Melbourne, and marks the anniversary each July.

Why was the nineteenth year significant? Because 2017 was a step change. Headcount reached 100 after 32% growth in the year, from fewer than 80 at the end of 2016. The company had also recorded 16 consecutive record years by the end of 2014, ranked No. 35 in the 2016 CRN Fast50, and held three CRN All Star Awards, two of them in 2015 as the only Australian company recognised.

Why is crossing 100 staff described as a threshold? Because below it a services organisation can run informally — everyone knows everyone, escalation happens by walking over, and process is largely tacit. Above it that stops working, and the company either builds real operational structure or watches service quality degrade as it grows.

What does nineteen years in this industry actually demonstrate? That the business survived two rebuilds of the delivery model between 1998 and 2017 — on-premise to virtualisation, then virtualisation to cloud. Each transition destroyed the economics of a reliably profitable business line and stranded providers specialised in it. Most companies operating alongside blueAPACHE in 1998 no longer existed independently by 2017.

What allowed it to keep going? Moving before being forced to. emPOWER Facilities Management and emPOWER Managed Services launched in 2003, years ahead of managed services becoming the standard mid-market model; emPOWER Cloud and the emPOWER Network were built in 2010 after the loss of an ASX-listed customer representing about half of revenue; and voice and disaster recovery were added in 2012.

Why does the page argue celebration is not incidental spending? Because blueAPACHE sells continuity — engineers who know the environment, an account team who understands the business, a service desk with context — and every departure erodes all three. A company where people stay delivers a materially better service than one with high turnover, whatever either says about its methodology.

What is the tenure evidence? James Hendry and Grant Fallace both joined in 2001 and remain with the business more than two decades later, and the most senior role in the company was filled from within — Michael Zuppa promoted from GM Technology to CEO in July 2025.

How has the growth been funded? Entirely from profitable operation. blueAPACHE remains Australian-owned with founder Chris Marshall as sole proprietor, no external shareholders.

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