Tech over time - celebrating 40 years
WideBay IT is part of the Webb Bros. Group, which recently celebrated 40 years in business.
That’s no easy feat given what’s happened during that time (a global pandemic being just one of them!).
WideBay IT joined the Webb Bros. Group, in 2013, which now has offices in Mackay, Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg, Hervey Bay and Darwin.
We spoke with Webb Bros. Group CEO Andrew Phillips, to find out what’s changed in technology over 40 years (we suspect a lot – floppy disks anyone?) and what affect this change in tech has had on our work lives.
WHAT ARE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGES OVER 40 YEARS IN OFFICE TECHNOLOGY?
Print has gone from analogue to digital, making quality, colour printing available in house. This is a standard feature in a modern office but in the past, printing brochures and booklets had to be outsourced.
For office phones, changing from on-premises PBX to cloud PBX has changed not only how people communicate, but how they work. You can now make or take a call from anywhere in the world with ease.
Over 40 years the internet has become a staple of modern life and nbn® has enabled highspeed connectivity across Australia. There were hiccups with the initial roll out, however designing and delivering infrastructure for a country of this size is a mammoth task. nbn® is now upgrading earlier technologies to fibre as well.
Smart phones, iPads and iPods changed the computing landscape forever. These products were designed from a user’s point of view and both Apple and Android converged multiple devices we carried around in the 80s-90s into one. Music player, PDA, pager, camera and of course – a phone!
Cloud computing has revolutionised the way people work in today’s office. Being able to work from anywhere with an internet connection plus the ability to scale programs up and down was simply not achievable in the past unless you were a large company.
WHAT HAS HELPED Webb Bros. Group STAY IN BUSINESS FOR 40 YEARS?
The three key ingredients have been people, delivery, and innovation. We pride ourselves on the fact we have five staff members in the Mackay office who have ticked over 10 years in tenure and three staff members who have been with us for over 20 years.
ARE THERE ANY CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE BEEN WITH Webb Bros. Group SINCE DAY ONE?
WHAT ARE SOME MEMORIES YOU HAVE DURING YOUR TIME WITH WebB Bros. Group?
Throughout my 20 years with the business, there are several customers that have been with us since I started, and some had relationships to the company prior to that. I have developed lifelong friendships with our team and customers alike.
I remember seeing a technology on one of our printers called job flow, pushing a button to program multiple tasks. That tech seems ubiquitous now, but at the time we were genuinely blown away! My other favourite memory is relaunching our telecommunications business into what it is today – going head-to-head with major carriers. We took a big risk and thankfully our customers welcomed the change.
HOW DID YOU CELEBRATE 40 YEARS IN BUSINESS?
We arranged a three-day cruise from Brisbane with our staff and their families, with approximately 100 people in attendance. It was such a wonderful celebration to share with our team.
About WideBay IT
Widebay IT services Bundaberg, Hervey Bay and the Wide Bay regions, provide cost effective and customised managed print, telecommunications and ICT solutions to maximise business efficiencies.