Sydney, Aust. – 10th May 2007 Datacom has acquired Sydney-based web and application development company Relate today and will merge the two company’s NSW development teams into one newly-branded entity known as Datacom Relate. The exercise values the combined entity at $5 million, which was acquired in a cash and share transaction.

The acquisition strengthens Datacom’s web and e-commerce capabilities, especially through Relate’s deep skills in Microsoft.NET, SharePoint and BizTalk Server technologies. Relate also has an established presence in the heart of Sydney which complements Datacom’s existing North Ryde and St Leonard’s locations.

Founded in 1990, Relate is a fast-growing software development company specialising in bespoke web-based business solutions ranging from simple websites to complex e-commerce environments. Relate’s client base includes commercial organisations like the Cross City Tunnel and several Government Agencies, as well as high-traffic sites such as Roses Only.

Datacom will re-brand the new entity as Datacom Relate, and will shortly relocate its existing team of 20 enterprise application developers, currently based in North Ryde, to the CBD to join the acquired company’s 35 solutions architects.

Michael Browne, Chief Executive Officer of Datacom, comments that the decision to acquire Relate is a strategic move that matches complementary competencies across the two businesses, and is already yielding dividends.

“By partnering with Relate, Datacom gains a raft of new development competencies that will help us work with our clients in different ways to benefit their businesses, and allow us to make more substantial contributions through an expanded service offering.

“I believe that combining Relate’s expert skills with Datacom’s proven capacity to deliver will prove to be a true differentiator in a market that continues to move towards commoditisation in many elements of the IT arena.

“In fact, the market is already voting in favour of this merger. Datacom Relate’s newest client, Scouts Australia NSW, is excited because they’ll be able to leverage the skills of the combined team to deliver Project STAR (Saving Time and Resources) – an initiative that will reengineer some 50 business processes and bring its entire operation online, to make it easier for its 5,000 volunteer leaders to participate in Scouts’ programmes.

“I am confident further wins will see us meet aggressive expansion targets, including growing Datacom Relate to more than 200 people in the next three years,” Browne says.

Vince Nicita, Relate’s founder and now Datacom Relate’s Managing Director comments, “Becoming part of the broader Datacom Group means our customers will gain encompassing capabilities, such as network and platform design and deployment, secure hosting, and comprehensive operational support services. This means we can now service contracts that were previously beyond Relate’s reach.”

This acquisition takes Datacom Australia and Asia’s locally-based team to over 900 and Datacom Group’s total development personnel to more than 500.