Ackama has established an Australian beachhead in Melbourne, Victoria
Rabid Technologies is rebranding as Ackama as it expands into Australia with the acquisition of two Melbourne-based companies.
The software development company will offer the same digital strategy, design and development services as before, as well as expanding its offering to include a new consulting service.
Ackama is expanding its business into Australia by buying two Melbourne-based companies, Squareweave and Plot Digital, in the last three months.
The company was started by New Zealand entrepreneurs Breccan McLeod-Lundy and Josh Forde.
McLeod-Lundy said the Rabid name was perfect for the company's early days, delivering short, sharp bursts of work.
"Now that we are building longer term relationships with our clients as a full technology partner, we need a brand that reflects that as we expand into South-East Asia and across the Pacific," he said.
“We’ve always done work overseas and now with a permanent base in Australia we can leverage our experience of working for government and commercial clients here, and an established team there, to create a trans-Tasman company with the scale to make a huge difference,” said Forde.
The new consulting arm of the business will be run by head of consulting Kimberly Brabazon.
“The aim of the consulting service is to enhance the customer experience through providing wrap-around services," she said. "We’re not just building clients a tool, we’re looking at the whole ecosystem to achieve sustainable business outcomes."
Ackama recently coming 25th in the Deloitte Fast 50 list of high growth companies.
McLeod-Lundy said the company is making lots of new hires and recently added two new big government clients in New Zealand.
Ackama is a small native New Zealand tree with white flowers and red seeds. McLeod-Lundy said he chose a name based in nature to reflect the fact that Ackama work on large digital ecosystems, and nature is the biggest ecosystem of them all.
