This is a big year for us. Kinetics turns 30, and OutSource (a year older, having started in 1995) has now passed the 30-year mark too.
Thirty years is a long time in any industry. In technology it’s practically forever.
When we started, Novell NetWare ran the server room and Windows 95 ran the desktop. Networks were built on NE2000 Ethernet cards, businesses got online through dial-up modems, and a 100MB ZIP drive felt like more storage than you’d ever need.
One of my favourite reminders of those days is the little technology museum in our office: old Macs, floppy disks, ZIP drives, early smartphones, PDAs and all sorts of gear that was cutting-edge once. It’s hard to look at it without smiling.
Almost all of it is gone
The products changed. The platforms changed. The manufacturers changed. Whole categories of technology arrived and disappeared.
That’s the thing about technology. It’s temporary. Every generation thinks it’s living through the biggest shift in history, and every breakthrough promises to change everything. Sometimes it does. More often it gets replaced by something newer, faster and better.
Today it’s AI, cloud, automation and cyber security. Thirty years from now, a lot of what feels groundbreaking today will probably be sitting in a museum next to those ZIP drives and modems.
What really matters is people
Thinking back over the last 30 years, I’ve realised the most important part of our story has very little to do with technology.
When I look back, I don’t think about server platforms or software versions. I think about the people who helped build the business. Hiring our very first engineer, and the leap of faith that was for both of us. Watching people grow, build their skills, step into leadership roles and build real careers. Today we have a team of nearly 50 across Auckland and Christchurch, and every one of them has helped get us here.
I think about the clients who trusted us with their businesses too. Many of those relationships go back years, some go back decades. We’ve worked alongside businesses as they’ve grown, adapted to changing markets, taken on new technology and got through the unexpected. We’ve celebrated the wins together and helped through the tough times. In quite a few cases we’ve watched a business pass from one generation of owners to the next.
Those relationships mean more to me than any technology milestone ever could.
Faster, but the same
It still makes me smile that there was a time when sending an email didn’t mean you expected a reply straight away. You’d send it, get on with your day and hear back tomorrow, maybe the day after. No phone buzzing in your pocket, no endless stream of notifications.
The world is faster now, the technology is far more sophisticated and the pace of change keeps picking up. Yet the fundamentals haven’t moved at all:
- People still want to work with businesses they trust.
- Staff still want meaningful careers with people who value them.
- Businesses still succeed because of relationships, not technology alone.
Technology matters. It’s what we do every day, and it helps businesses be more productive, secure and competitive. But it’s never been the reason we come to work in the morning. That’s always been the people.
Thank you
To mark the anniversary we’re holding a series of client events over the coming months. It’s a small way of saying thank you to the people and businesses who have backed us along the way, and we’re looking forward to catching up with many of the clients, partners and friends who have shaped the last three decades.
More than anything, I feel grateful. Grateful to the team members who trusted us with their careers. Grateful to the clients who trusted us with their businesses. And grateful to the partners, suppliers and friends who’ve supported us.
The next 30 years will bring even more change than the last, I’m sure of it. The tools will keep changing. But if three decades have taught me anything, it’s that great people, strong relationships and trust will always matter most.
Here’s to celebrating it together, and to the relationships that made it all possible.
Want an IT partner that has been looking after NZ businesses for more than 30 years? Book a free health check, or call us on 0800 688 768.