Intelliworx taps into the talent pool to triumph in business

The ‘Partner Spotlight’ series explores partners operating in the local channel landscape right around the country, from Cape York to Hobart, Byron Bay to Fremantle and beyond. This edition focuses on Sydney-based managed service and cloud solutions provider Intelliworx.

While looking outward for new talent during the ongoing IT skills crisis, building up skills from within should also not be ignored, which is a task Intelliworx has been tackling to broaden its pool of talent.

Intelliworx set out 11 years ago with a mission to take an intelligent approach to work with just three employees. Now, the business boasts a global workforce of over 50 employees, with its sights set on expanding its presence in Chicago, London and Sydney.

According to managing director Shane Maher, it’s also planning to build a team in the Philippines, but building up its employee base—whether at home or abroad—has always been a challenge.

“One of the notable challenges we’ve faced over the past 11 years is building the right team of experts. It comes with its difficulties. Finding and retaining talent in the cyber security field is not easy. We must compete with other companies and organisations that are also looking for skilled professionals who can handle complex and dynamic threats,” he said to ARN.

For at least part of the answer, the MSP has looked from within to build up the skills of its own employees, having recently promoted Blake Jeffery to general manager of Australia and Joshua Paulus as head of security and identity, as announced in April.

Jeffery had originally joined the business as a cloud lead in March 2021, while Paulus was hired as a cloud engineer in September 2021. Now, the two employees hold significant positions within the company.

“We’re in this position because we hired the right people more than three years ago, and we invested in their training and development,” Maher said.

Regardless if it’s hiring new employees or training up existing ones, cultivating talent is key for Intelliworx.

“By tapping into the talent pool, we aim to strengthen our capabilities and deliver even better results for our clients. We foster a culture of collaboration and innovation, where everyone can contribute to our vision and mission. It has been a rewarding journey that has contributed significantly to our success, as we have built a strong and diverse team that delivers high-quality solutions to our clients. We are proud of our team and the work they do every day,” Maher added.

Since its beginning, Intelliworx has also formed a number of vendor relationships that have helped it find its success as a global company. From day one, the MSP has been a Microsoft partner, to which Maher claims has been instrumental in the business’ growth, as well as Crayon and rhipe for cloud solutions. While not from the beginning, Intelliworx considers Veeam a longtime partner.

On the more recent side, Intelliworx has also partnered with Nerdio within the last two years, Sendmarc in 2023 and Neat in February of this year.

Additionally, Maher said cyber security is a top priority for the business at the moment. Aside from this, Intelliworx is also aiming to grow alongside advancements in generative AI to help its clients become AI-ready.

Looking back on the last 11 years, Maher added that while there were some aspects of the business he might have approached differently, those challenges made Intelliworx the company it is today.

“Sometimes, learning the hard way is part of the journey and it’s those experiences that shape the business and personal growth,” he said.

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