Contact centres Datacom Australia and Connect Interactive have merged their operations to save money on infrastructure and facilities. The move is expected to save the newly formed Datacom Connect, that will operate from a site in North Ryde in Sydney, up to $2.5 million per year.
Datacom CEO, Michael Browne, will continue in the same role with the newly formed company. Connect Interactive CEO John Purdie-Smith has been appointed to the board. The only casualty of the merger is Connect's financial controller who, Browne said, "had decided to pursue a different direction".
"There will be no job losses. In bringing both companies together we will need all of the existing staff," Browne said. "Savings will be based around infrastructure and facilities by moving the business into a new facility that costs less than the two we currently occupy."
He said the two management teams had been holding serious negotiations since August. Datacom Connect will now focus operations on IT companies, a specialist area of the former Datacom business, as well as government and corporate clients brought to the table by Connect Interactive.
"We will be focusing on what we have already got and extending the range of services we provide," Browne said. "Connect has been extremely good with CRM (customer relationship management) services. That is something Datacom can take advantage of. It also has a good outbound campaign model."
The Datacom Group has annual revenues of more than $200 million and employs 1500 staff in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia.