Harbour MSP Management Team
Six years ago, Harbour MSP's CEO John Howl and Commercial Director Andrew Hardy met through a chance meeting between friends, and the timing couldn't have been better. With Howl's technical expertise and Hardy's commercial acumen, both joined forces with Frontline Systems Managing Director Steven Murphy to make Harbour what it is today; a company that has grown organically, from 4 to 38 colleagues and with views to expand in Australia and South East Asia, Harbour's future is looking promising.
Hardy says Harbour MSP is a business built on reputation. With the majority of clients coming from referrals, it's a good affirmation that they're doing something right.
"We continually try to improve and grow the business. We constantly ask ourselves, where is the market going? How can we increase our service levels and what can we do better?" says Hardy.
Howl agrees. "We keep a customer-service attitude in our heads. It doesn't matter how many hours you work or how quickly you can complete tasks. Ultimately, this business is about putting the client first."
Meet Andrew Hardy - Commercial Director
Qualifications: Bachelor of Business
Bachelor of Electrical Engineering
Andrew Hardy runs the commercial operations for Harbour MSP including all sales, marketing, pricing, products and service delivery.
Working in the telecommunications and co-location services industry since he was 17 years old, Hardy has seen enormous change in technology, attitudes and client expectations and believes the secret to any successful operation is keeping the business dynamic.
"We are genuinely more dynamic and flexible than our competition; we strive to please our clients and are cognoscente of price; we tailor the solutions around our client rather being rigid in what we do."
Self-described as slightly chaotic but considered, Hardy says the work environment must be vibrant too and strives to make it a no-conflict zone.
"I hate conflict in business. I want to create a space where colleagues can bring great ideas and work together towards a common goal."
Meet John Howl - Chief Executive Officer
Qualifications:
BA (Hons) Computing and Artificial Intelligence
MACS
John Howl was co-founder of Harbour MSP. John's background was initially
in Artificial Intelligence and advanced computing systems working in the
UK and Europe. In the late 80's John relocated to Australia and
delivered many advanced system for the Government and airline industry.
He later worked as a leading consultant in telecommunications and
Internet based systems for Telstra and Optus where he ran a number of
leading programs in IP systems development and deployment.
John's vision for managed services developed from his CTO experience in
the application service provider space. More recently John is extending
this vision for Harbour's new offerings in the Asia market place.
John has over 25 + years IT and management experience.
Meet Jamie Hamlin - Operations Director
Qualifications:
Starting out his career in electronics and weapons control systems for
the Royal Australian Navy, Jamie eased into civilian life working in the
IT communications industry for the past 15 years.
Joining Harbour MSP in 2006, Jamie is now responsible for its technical
operations and delivery.
For Jamie, the great thing about working for Harbour is the people.
"My team has the right attitude, right culture; they love technology and
more importantly they enjoy what they do. My role is about making sure
we find this balance against what our clients need," says Jamie who is a
strong believer in collaborative outcomes, he also believes that being
successful in business is not complicated.
"Just be honest, consistent and professional!" says Jamie. "Clients
appreciate it."
With a team of technical experts to manage, Jamie understands that a bit
of give and take is critical in building long-term client relationships.
"There are times when the client takes a bit extra and we do a bit
extra. We try to add value and a find balance in the relationship. In
other words, we appreciate our clients and they reciprocate!"
Meet Joseph Smith - Service Delivery Manager
Qualifications: Diploma of Business (2009)
ITIL Managers Certificate
ITIL Infrastructure Managers Certificate
With 15 years experience in the IT industry, Service Delivery Manager Joseph Smith says work days should be filled with humour, fairness, but never a compromise on standards.
Responsible for managing the client relationship from signing of contracts through to operational services, Smith ensures Harbour MSP follows best practise guidelines in all work deliverables.
Smith started his career in operations and eventually moved to "the dark side" because he saw a real need for resources in a service delivery capacity to have a technical understanding too.
"I thought with my decade of experience in technical implementations and delivery, I could add value through combining this with my genuine belief in following a customer service ethic," says Smith.
As far as Harbour MSP goes, Smith says it is not what they say, but what they do, that makes Harbour stand out from the crowd.
"My job is to listen to what the clients ask for and constantly evolve the service we deliver. We are very fortunate to have smart clients who sometimes ask for services that don't exist in the market. When we see the right idea we back it as a project and implement it," says Smith. "This approach has a two tiered effect; not only do we improve our service to existing clients, we become more attractive to potential clients through this continual refinement of our product offering."
Smith says having the right approach to clients generates a positive work culture too.
"Colleagues at Harbour look out for the company as if its their own and without sounding like a tacky Hallmark moment, its not something that's been pushed, said or encouraged, but strangely, Harbour is like a family business!" says Smith.
Meet Tarquin Bellinger - Product and Development Manager
Qualifications:
Diploma of Business (2009)
Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (Hons)
Masters of Management Science (Hons)
Sloan Fellow
Bellinger is responsible for developing new products and services and
taking them to market.
With over 20 years experience in the telecommunications and web hosting
industry across Australasia, Europe and North America, he has seen a
number of vastly different approaches to taking IT services to market.
"What really appeals to me about the Harbour approach that it offers
maximum flexibility to the customer; they can take what they need now
and can change their service as their own organization evolves; too many
other service providers offer a one size fits all
For Bellinger, taking new services to market requires a insane focus on
solving customer problems. "I've seen too many new products taken to
market without a really understating what customers need; at Harbour, we
will continue to try and get it right for customers".
Meet Steve Murphy - Director
Steve is a director of Harbour MSP and also Frontline's (HMSP's majority share holder)
Managing Director. Steve founded Frontline in 1992 and is proud to say the company
is still Australian-owned and in the hands of its founders and staff. London-born,
Steve's early career was with the UK's National Westminster Bank in operations and
programming. In 1979 he came to Australia to work in the oil exploration and
engineering fields, and entered the world of IT sales in 1985.
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