The Instillery joins VITG to form trans-Tasman IT group

New Zealand IT services provider The Instillery is joining Australia’s Virtual IT Group (VITG) to form one of the largest integrated trans-Tasman managed services and security providers in the market. 

VITG was founded in 2015 by Christian Pacheco and now employs over 240 staff, while The Instillery employs over 160 staff.

“The addition of The Instillery strengthens our platform across both geography and service offering,” said VITG CEO Christian Pacheco. “Their leadership team and culture align closely with ours, and we look forward to what we can build together.”

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. However, VITG partnered with global mid-market private equity firm The Riverside Company last June to accelerate growth through a combination of strategic acquisitions and organic expansion.

The Instillery had already begun to expand into Australia with its leading technology partnerships, such as with Wiz and Zscaler, and had collaborated with VITG on joint customers. 

“Our journey over the past five years has been to evolve through growth and innovation alongside our customers,” Instillery CEO Michael Russell said.

“With Christian and the team at VITG, we saw something special. There was an instant connection. We were talking the same language and focused on customer outcomes.”

Both organisations come with a focus on partnering with customers to keep them ahead with their security and technology needs. VITG in particular brings experience in hyper-automation, adapting with customers to a rapidly changing world with the growth of AI. 

“We collectively saw gaps within the A/NZ market where customers were looking for cybersecurity and technology partners who weren’t scared of change and innovation,” Pacheco said.

“We value long-term relationships with our customers, rather than speed-dating. There is a vacancy in this space.”

The group was now looking for further opportunities to grow the platform both geographically and with complementary capabilities, Russell said.

The businesses would continue to operate with local leadership teams and brands, while integrating and leveraging shared capabilities to provide technological breadth and depth.