Company Background
School specialists since day one...
Edtech was established in 1992 by John Somerville, the former principal of Glendowie College, with the aim of helping schools to manage the administrative changes brought about by the advent of Tomorrow's Schools.
Initially the company focused on providing support for electronic administration systems. Edtech formed a close partnership with MUSAC and developed a successful strategy for implementing their software. A team of consultants now provide consultancy, training and support for over 700 schools throughout the North Island of New Zealand. In association with our software support, a full accounting service was formed. Edtech is now a leading provider of Financial Services in the top half of the North Island. Nearly 200 schools use Edtech to assist during the year and to produce the annual accounts at year end.
A Network Services department was formed in 1997 as schools began to develop comprehensive campus wide networks. Since that time Edtech has designed, developed and implemented several hundred networks in schools. These networks are designed to meet specific individual needs and range from single server networks in small primary schools to the complex infrastructure necessary to meet the requirements of very large secondary schools. Over 220 schools are contracted to Edtech for ongoing support of their network.
In recent years Edtech added software development and software hosting to its core activities. Development of our Ultranet Learning Management System (LMS) commenced in 2004. It has a strong reputation in the market as an LMS that not only delivers on functionality and usability but more importantly for the clear pedagogical benefits it espouses and facilitates. With over 250 schools - and a combined student roll in excess of 120,000 - using Ultranet, it has become the leading Learning Management System in New Zealand schools.
A hosting service for MUSAC and Ultranet was developed in 2006. An ever increasing number of schools are choosing to host these core student/learning management systems. Edtech now hosts these software applications for over 300 schools across the country. In response to the success of software hosting, Edtech has invested in the development of an innovative and unique suite of cloud-based solutions. These cloud services include backup, Single Sign-On, legacy software application hosting, and an integrated complete solution under the Nimbus brand.
Edtech is an established company with a staff of 110 and a customer base in excess of 1,400 schools. Five of the company’s shareholders have extensive experience in the education sector and are actively involved in the management of the company. All are passionate about making a difference in schools.
Edtech’s head office is located in Mt Wellington, Auckland. A full branch office was opened in Hamilton in 2000 to service our customers in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions. In 2007 a branch was opened in Palmerston North to service our customers in the lower North Island. In 2009 we established a partnership with eTime to service our customers in the South Island.
Edtech has an excellent reputation in the market and is enjoying strong growth in customers and revenue.