Simpl Group

By CIO New Zealand staff | Monday, November 10 2008

IT integrator and consultant Simpl Group works on the premise that through innovative IT integration and connectivity, organisations can place customers at the centre.

HQ: Auckland
Website: www.simpl.co.nz
Global leader: Bennett Medary, CEO
Core activity: Systems integration, consulting and software development
Revenue: Not disclosed
Key customers: Ministry of Health, British Telecom Global Services, Shell Oil, Auckland District Health Board, Telecom, Fonterra, Microsoft
Employees: 150 including 30 contractors


IT integrator and consultant Simpl Group works on the premise that through innovative IT integration and connectivity, organisations can place customers at the centre.

“Our focus is on engaging lives with technology. We have gone global and started to participate in our areas of strength — bringing integration and connectivity to project and portfolio management and helping organisations put their customer at the centre,” says CEO Bennett Medary.

He says Simpl saw 30 per cent revenue growth during its 2007 financial year, on the back of strong performance in the health, contact centre and government sectors.

Simpl Group works with almost all New Zealand District Health Boards, the Ministry of Health and Auckland Healthcare. Global customers include British Telecom, Shell Oil, contact centre companies in Poland and the Philippines, and health sector organisations in the Arab Emirates.

Simpl also works alongside Microsoft globally, delivering integrated solutions in England and Australia, where it is building online pharmacy capability with pharmacy software provider, Fred Health. In the US, Simpl co-develops with IT partners Healthphone. Microsoft purchased sole licensing rights to Simpl’s ‘health connection engine’ in 2006.

Medary says delivering integration and connectivity within health information systems is a “huge area of growth. There are [positive] implications for accuracy and safety, convenience for the patient and lots of good information for [agencies.]”

He says despite a strong 2008 financial year, Simpl projects moderate growth for the year ending March 2009.
“This is a dangerous year economically, which has forced our business plan down and will lead us to aim to hold a constant level of revenue. We will consolidate on previous growth and would [eventually] like to see international revenue grow to be half of [total revenue]. We are not trying to see how many signs we can put up around the world, but we would like to be in a position to participate anywhere in the world where we can make a difference,” says Medary.