Celebrating a Decade of Success

Welcome to the celebration of our first decade. What follows is
an account of 10 years in business, told through photos, quotes,
interviews and memories that depict the essence and achievements
of Intergen through our first 10 years.
As you read through the book, I hope you will get a sense of the
pride and dedication that has been a feature of the people who
have made Intergen what it is today. These people have become
known as Intergenites, wearing the colour yellow proudly as they
represent Intergen in business, in sport and in their private lives.
Intergenites are dedicated to delivering the absolute best solution to
their clients, and they will always go the extra mile even if it means
personal sacrifice. From the all-nighters, cancelled holidays and call-
outs in the middle of the night, there never seems to be any question
that the customer comes first. Intergenites take great pride in being
innovative and technically excellent. They like nothing better than to
make something right where others have failed. They love to see the
difference they make and see people benefiting from the solutions
they deliver. They do all this without egos, never afraid to ask for
help nor reluctant to acknowledge those who go above and beyond.
Being an Intergenite is like belonging to an exclusive club: it is hard
to get in and once you’ve been a member, you are changed forever.
This book is by no means just the story of a company. It is the
story of the people, the Intergenites, who together have created
a reputation envied throughout our industry. We salute these
Intergenites, past and present, and know that their spirit will carry
Intergen forward for the decades to come.
Tony Stewart, CEO

Contents
The Intergen Brand Imagined............................................................page 1
Tony Stewart Interview.....................................................................page 4
10 Years of Intergenites – a Roll Call...............................................page 9
The Intergen Launch, 2001.............................................................page 10
The Importance of Partnerships......................................................page 13
10 Years of Intergen Events...........................................................page 14
The Auckland Story..........................................................................page 17
10 Years of Sporting Intergenites..................................................page 18
10 Years of SMARTS.........................................................................page 21
Paddy Payne Interview....................................................................page 22
10 Years of the Intergen BHAG in Action......................................page 24
Intergenites......................................................................................page 26
The Southern Story..........................................................................page 29
Wayne Forgesson Interview............................................................page 30
Desktop Personalities.......................................................................page 32
The Intergen-Microsoft Relationship..............................................page 35
Interviews with Intergen’s Old-Timers..........................................page 36

Contents
Intergen’s Work with Microsoft Corporation................................page 40
10 Years of Microsoft Technology..................................................page 41
10 Years of Intergen Awards..........................................................page 46
Chris Auld Interview.......................................................................page 49
10 Years of Graduates.....................................................................page 52
Intergen Technology Path...............................................................page 55
Simon Bright Interview...................................................................page 56
10 Years of Industry Recognition..................................................page 58
10 Years in the Media.....................................................................page 60
ActionThis........................................................................................page 62
Richard Westlake Interview............................................................page 64
The Intergen Family Tree.................................................................page 66
Decade Party, June 2010.................................................................page 70
The Sydney Story.............................................................................page 73
The Perth Story................................................................................page 74
Summary...........................................................................................page 76

decade {1.0} 1
The Intergen brand imagined
In June 2001, after brainstorms and roundtables, musings and
research, late nights and loud debate, the Intergen brand was
born. It could have been orange, or even purple, but after careful
consideration yellow shone through (in all senses of the word).
But why yellow?
As a brand new company with grand aspirations and a shoestring
budget, Intergen wanted to punch above its weight and get
noticed in the New Zealand IT crowd. In choosing yellow, we
found a way to distinguish ourselves in a competitive market;
and over the years yellow has become not just a differentiator in
business, but a cultural talisman as well. “Being yellow” has come
to represent a quality, not simply a colour.
And why Intergen?
INTERGEN = INTERNET + GENERATION + INTERNATIONAL
(GENERATE / INTERNAL / GENERAL / INTO)
What might have been – the contenders
(As at May 28 2001) Intergen might have been called…
Ignition, Radix, GEM Systems Limited, B2B Solutions Limited,
Bizware, Resolve Solutions, Intergrate, Halousinate, Topaz,
Partical, Breach, Matric, Nova, Mirage, Pyramind, Illousion, Impel,
Vatic, Cohere, Ultra, Pure, Paradigma, Cynosura, Object, Zygo,
NovaSys, Grilse, Groove, Wave, Intrinsic, Singularity, Ground Zero,
Quincunxial, Stream, Accelerate, Assert, Beyond, Focal, Release,
Span or Volume
What would Intergen look like if you met
it in a bar?
As part of the brand envisioning phase in 2001, the founding
Intergenites went to great lengths to give dimension and life
to their newly-imagined brand by visualising the company as a
person (and completing many other exercises besides). Here’s
how Intergen manifested in human form…
Youthful but experienced (late 20s or early 30s), sophisticated
(rather than sexy), male, smart, well-mannered, well-dressed,
polite, trustworthy, business-savvy, intelligent, opinionated,
creative, dependable, innovative, works hard and plays hard,
dedicated, a bit left field, serious but fun to deal with.

decade {1.0} 3
“Great brands aren’t created by design agencies, they’re hard
earned by an organisation’s total commitment to delivering on a
promise. For Intergen, that doesn’t just mean a logo design (or
a splash of yellow!), but an identity that is rooted in the culture
and determination of every team member. By building the brand
from within, the original staff had a high sense of ownership that
in turn drove a cultural norm around expressions of the brand.
Over time, staff have become Intergenites, fiercely proud of their
yellowness and everything it represents as a smart, youthful
player in an otherwise dry IT landscape.
So how did we get there? None of the founders had any special
affinity with the colour yellow – that was never the point. Yellow
was a way for us to make a bold statement; we knew we could
make a big splash on a small budget. We did a visual analysis of
what everyone else was doing and yellow was the only colour that
no one in the IT industry was using exclusively. It was efficient,
economical and distinctive, and very quickly became the Intergen
footprint. The colour yellow became an expression of everything
the company represented, and people just got it.
The brand has proved to be a definitive part of Intergen’s culture
– it doesn’t just stop when someone hands over a business card.
And when you get one of the company directors (Wayne) wearing
a full-length yellow coat at a black tie function, or you manage to
convince the CEO to put padded and studded vinyl banana-yellow
doors on all the meeting rooms, you know the brand is alive
and kicking”.
Eamon O’Rourke, Creative Director, 2001–2009
“We’ve had a number of opportunities
present themselves to us that have made
us what we are today. The challenge for
any good business is to seize upon the
best of these opportunities when the
proverbial door opens and act on them in
a timely manner. Our history and our
track record have been shaped by the
doors that have opened to us.”
Tony Stewart.
Thinking outside the (yellow) box.

decade {1.0}4
Interview
TONY STEWART – DIRECTOR
How did Intergen come to be?
In January 2001 I was on holiday in Taupo and was called by the
then-CEO of Advantage e-Commerce. He told me the forecasts were
not looking good and that Advantage Group management wanted
to reduce costs in the e-Commerce division. I cut my holiday short to
go to a meeting in Auckland. At the meeting, they asked how many
positions we could make redundant. I was set a target and so was
the GM of Auckland. At the time, the Auckland business wasn’t
doing particularly well, but we were not so bad in Wellington.
They’d gone through a number of different GMs, and all the original
Auckland Glazier staff had left. They had hired quickly to “meet
demand” but there was no one there who really understood the
business.
It was my first experience of making people redundant. I managed
to make about 20 people redundant and then, to my disgust, when
they reviewed the Auckland team they couldn’t come up with any
positions to make redundant.
I had an 18-month contract with Advantage as part of the sale and
purchase agreement of Glazier Systems, which was coming to an
end. Things had not been going well, so I decided to resign. And
then for the first time since varsity days I started to look for another
job. I’d only just started looking when I was in Auckland and I
was asked to a meeting by two of the Advantage Group directors.
They asked me if I would buy back the Wellington business. My first
reaction was to say no. After a bit of a discussion with Paddy and
Wayne, we agreed to make them an offer. They didn’t give me any
information for me to be able to establish a value, so I came up
with one on my own based on my knowledge of the business.
Advantage wanted to retain a stake in the business, initially more
than I wanted them to have. After some negotiating, we agreed to
buy the Wellington business for approximately
10% of what they had paid 18 months ago. The
original agreement was that we would buy 80%
of the business and Advantage would keep
20%, but at the last minute they sold 100%
and gave us a loan for the value of
the 20%.
The deal was signed on 6 June 2001 and was
to be backdated to 1 March. As part of the deal
we took on all lease obligations (one out of two
of the floors, desks, chairs and a whole lot of
ex-Glazier assets that weren’t on the register).
We collected all profits from March to June and
paid all the expenses. January and February had
been bad months (as is standard) but March,
April and May had been very good. The cash
returned to us as a surplus from trading was
about the same as we had paid for the business.
This was to prove extremely important because,
with the September 11 attack, the market hit
a low point and signalled some pretty difficult
times ahead.
We had our official launch party on the 13th September 2001.
The mood was subdued. By that point our weekly chargeability
had dropped to about $26,000 for 40 staff. We didn’t have
enough work to cover costs and started seriously eating into our
cash reserves. We had the option of making people redundant
but made the conscious decision that we did not want to become
a small business. Faced with no other choice, at the beginning
of December 2001 we asked all staff to take a 10% pay cut,
effective 1 January 2002, so they could at least enjoy their
Christmas. Because it was across the board it had a much larger

decade {1.0} 5
effect than making 10% of the staff redundant. We knew if we
scaled back our capacity we would never recover. The cut gave
us some breathing space and allowed us to live to fight another
day. The lesson about not making a kneejerk reaction and laying
people off paid dividends during the recession that followed the
Global Financial Crisis in 2009. We focused on how to make
more revenue, not just on cost cutting.
With all the spare time we had on our hands, we decided to
invest in learning the new .NET framework that Microsoft was
about to release. We built .NET applications wherever we could
and by the time .NET was launched we had amassed a great
portfolio of applications.
In January things immediately started picking up. We secured
some big projects, like Vodafone (through Andrew Kissling) and
Context Connect (through Rod Drury). .NET launched in February
and by that point we’d delivered 20 .NET applications, and we
were onstage for the NZ launch. Our experience allowed us to
win more than our fair share of the .NET development work that
followed. In January our bank balance had got down to $13, and
had been trending down since June. In mid-January it started
going back up again.
There had been a really positive reaction to the buy-back, and
even the staff on board who hadn’t been with us in the Glazier
days immediately changed to the old Glazier way of thinking.
There was a noticeable change in attitude – people were no
longer working for a faceless public company and it showed
straight away. Our clients had the same viewpoint, and many
started moving back to us. I am pleased we saved the business,
firstly from Advantage, who would have no doubt have shut it
down, and secondly from the effects of the Dot Com Crash and
the global slowdown that followed 911. Survive year one. Tick!
What does 10 years mean to you?
People say, “Can you believe it’s been 10 years?” Well, actually I
can. Not because it has dragged on or not been enjoyable, but
simply because of everything that has happened. In 2001, we set
a Big Hairy Audacious Goal, that “everyone, every day is touched
positively by the things we do.” We set that goal because we
believed that technology had an important part to play in society.
Over the years we have completed many projects that we believe
contributed to that goal but when you take a step back, it’s
not just the projects that have had a positive effect – our whole
business has. And that’s really satisfying.
I don’t often look back, but every now and then I’ll be talking
to someone outside the business, and when I start saying,
“We have almost 300 staff now”, I think, “Well, actually, maybe
it is significant. If you look at all our stats now you can really
say we’re not a small business anymore. And when you think of
all our offices – Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin,
Sydney, Perth, Redmond – it’s all quite different to 10 years ago!
In 1995 Glazier Systems was
formed by Pat Ryan, Rod Drury,
Andrew Kissling and Tony
Stewart. With its tagline “we do
Windows” explaining the choice
of company name, the key tool in
Glazier’s arsenal was Microsoft
Access. Glazier was purchased by
Advantage e-Commerce in 1999.

decade {1.0}6
Our monthly salary bill just passed $2.5 million. A person once
told me, “When your monthly salary bill exceeds the value of your
house, you should give up worrying. If it goes bad, you’ll be so
far gone it doesn’t matter anymore.” But it doesn’t stop you from
having a strong sense of responsibility and pride.
A professional services business like ours will always have its
challenges. I used to think, “One day, when we get bigger, things
will be easier. We’ll have enough people to do the work and a
much steadier flow of work to keep everyone busy.” I’ve learned
that it is just not the case. As we’ve grown, we’ve grown by taking
on more clients, more projects and more staff. The result is more
people, more projects and a bigger challenge to match them
together.
When you’re reflecting on the last 10 years,
when did you know Intergen was big?
Sometime in 2006, I realised that I could no longer run all the
finances myself. It was a pretty big call, as I had done them all
since we started Glazier. We hired Murray Newman, and he started
after Labour Weekend in 2006, when we had about 100 staff. Up
until then I was still doing everything. We’d just got Therese Lloyd
in to do accounts payable and Liz Fauatea was doing accounts
receivable. I did all the monthly accounts and payroll. I authorised
all payments and had two logons so I could do this by myself
(don’t tell the bank) – and no one else could do it. If I wasn’t at
work on a payday no one could get paid and there was no one
else who knew how to do the payroll. It was pretty risky stuff.
Before Murray I used to get up in the morning and when I was
having breakfast, I’d log on, get the bank statement and enter all
the receipts. That way I’d get the job out of the way before I got
to work.
I wrote all our accounting and payroll systems and wrote
new features as the business got bigger and we needed more
functionality. Before Murray I knew the bank balance every day. I
didn’t need to do cashflow forecasts because it was all in my head.
I had to time my holidays so that they weren’t near billing or
payroll, and I couldn’t take more than two weeks’ holiday at a time
or I’d run into billing or payroll periods. That was just the way it was.
It’s a lot better now. Everything is much more robust. We are
protected from any single point of failure and have proper industry
standard solutions (even if I do keep saying that they have less
flexibility than the ones I wrote!). We have a really great leadership
team who are all focused on driving the business forward. I feel
really confident that we have what it takes to break through to the
next level.
What obstacles have there been along the way?
A major event for me personally in the last 10 years was being
diagnosed with Guillain–Barré Syndrome (GBS), an auto immune
disease which attacks the Mylar coating on your nerves. This results
in signal loss and sometimes even full paralysis. Intergen had
been in business for a year when it happened. I kept going for four
months not knowing what was happening. The feeling I had all the
time was like the feeling of exhaustion you get after a long running
race when you reach the finish line. I’d have to get my wife Andrea
to do up my buttons and tie my shoelaces because I couldn’t move
my fingers. On my drive down Ngauranga Gorge to work each day,
in the traffic, I had to take my car out of gear because I couldn’t
hold my foot on the clutch pedal. I’m not sure what would have
happened if I had to brake suddenly! I’d walk across the office to
see someone and have to sit down when I got to their desk because
I was exhausted from the long walk. When I got home from work
every day I had to go to bed straight away. I didn’t even have the
strength to pick up my two year-old.

decade {1.0} 7
I finally got to see the specialist the day I was due to catch a
plane to Los Angeles for my first Microsoft Worldwide Partner
Conference. He told us what he thought it was but referred me
to another specialist. I still caught the plane, much to the fright
of Andrea, who stayed home Googling the condition while I was
away. When I finally got to see the right specialist and got a
confirmed diagnosis, they decided that I needed to go on week-
long course of intravenous immunoglobulin. I went to work in the
morning then to the hospital each afternoon. And after a while it
got better. So the early days came with their challenges.
Why do you do it?
Because I can’t resign – I tried and failed! Seriously, though, I
enjoy working with smart, enthusiastic and successful people. I
get a buzz out of the projects we do and the impact we have on
our clients. I like challenges and I like to win. There are plenty
of things that happen that make you wonder why you keep
doing it, but at the end of the day you just face the challenge,
fix the problem and move on. And when you know you’ve done
something great, especially if no one else could have done it
better, then you get a great sense of satisfaction.
What have been our greatest achievements over
the past 10 years?
I guess I would look at our achievements in terms of the
opportunities we have taken advantage of and the good decisions
we have made, like:
• The purchase of e-Centric – this was a really successful
acquisition (and brought with it Lee Herd, Laurie Hogg
and Eliza Hyde), and we still have some original e-Centric
customers with us to this day.
• Getting Chris Auld on board with the acquisition of Kognition.
• The decision to go with EPiServer – this was something we could
easily have missed.
• Talking to Microsoft about their ERP software and making a play
to get in this space, acquiring Interfusion in 2005, and then
bringing on Simon Bright and his team in 2008. Now this area
of the business represents nearly one third of our revenue. A lot
of other companies missed the boat in this space, but we didn’t.
How do you see the next 10 years?
I think that the idea of the cloud (or at least the ideas that are
being labelled “the cloud”) will continue to grow. We will need to
position ourselves accordingly on the back of that and work out
how we want to position our business on top of the cloud and do
something else (e.g. move down into the infrastructure
management space).
What you might not
know about Tony…
An accountant by trade (with
shades of the frustrated old-school
developer who’d happily return to
the world of code if only he knew
how), Tony is a keen motorsports
enthusiast and car racer AND a
long-time cake decorator.

decade {1.0}8
People often think that we fall into new business directions
accidentally. We may be opportunistic, but we’re not accidental.
I see Intergen Australia growing as big as Intergen New Zealand
(in numbers rather than market share). If you consider that
typically we’ve grown at 30% per year, this means we double in
size every three years. So, following this equation, in 10 years’ time
we’ll be a $264 million company with more than 1500 staff.
What impact has Intergen made on the New
Zealand market in the last 10 years?
We’ve had a lot of organisations watching what we’ve been doing
and have led the way in a number of areas. It’s things like our
involvement in TechEd and our involvement in Hands on Labs, and
our yellow shirts… We’ve put some colour into the industry.
I also think that the way we engage with Microsoft has helped
more organisations engage in a positive way with them.
We’ve built some really neat systems and have had a positive
impact. We’ve sponsored user groups and training. We’ve had a
MSDN Regional Director on staff since we started (Rod Drury, Ian
Morrish, Jeremy Boyd and now Chris). We’ve put a lot back into
the developer community, and we’ve had a lot of staff who have
gone on to do great things.
At an individual level, what is the greatest thing
that Intergen represents for you?
The things I’m most proud of are the people that we’ve got and
that we’ve had, and the positive influence that we’ve had on their
careers. It’s really important to have a successful business, but
at the end of the day I can’t see the point in any of it unless you
care about the people in the business. I still get upset every time
someone leaves, even if I don’t personally know them. It especially
upsets me if they’re not leaving for a better opportunity.
What gets you out of bed in the morning?
I have a great sense of pride in Intergen. Glazier/Intergen
represents two thirds of my working life and yellow has become
my favourite colour. For me there is only one way to go, and that’s
up. What gets me out of bed in the morning is the challenge
to help keep Intergen moving forward. Sometimes it’s tough,
sometimes it’s challenging, but I work with such great people
that there is always a resolution. I am always very proud of the
fact that we always think there is a better way and we are always
striving to improve. I think everyone genuinely wants Intergen to
be the best.

decade {1.0} 9
SimonSmith|Ajay
Khanna|KeriClimo|BryceScanlen|Peter
Golconda|NiamhMcManus|CeliaBlack|ThomasReil|Jeremy
Glubb|SarahEpps|SueQuigley|HamishDobson|GavinBarron|Sjefvan
Gaalen|SimonBaker|RobertStewart|BryceTelford|RichardBrown|GlennConner|Mark
Ginnever|JeffreyHarris|KatySweetman|AdrienneYap|DaveWallis|MattScrafton|Rosie
Rear|JasonMcBratney|StevenHiggan|MarkWaller|SethVeale|RobertReese|SimonGardiner|Chris
Auld|DebAuld|RonKim|AlasdairMitchell|JohannesPrinz|TonySinclair|RobinDoddridge|Lloyd
O’Keefe|TraceyLennon|GabriellePilgrim|AaronSinclair|AngelaKnight|PeterMcClymont|Andrew
Watson|DaveKeyes|TimHowell|JianSun|SteveChappel|ShannonWilliams|NathanWatson|John
Murdoch|JacquiSun|BenCarmichael|JessicaNickelsen|JuniorEse|ScottJackson|HarryBarton|Carl
Hickton|RyanHolguin|StuartHolley|SimonOvens|ChrisWest|PieterJansenvanVuuren|SaisaiWright|Christina
Gillmore|DavidClayton|TommyOlesen|MartinHolman|CliveVermeulen|MartinJohnston|KirkFitzpatrick|Stephanie
O’Keefe|BenBishop|SimonNoble|NasKhan|AndyRailton|HenrikNystrom|NickLattey|AndyCahill|Trish
Jenkins|DebbieGillam|JoshBoisjoli|ArtiSangwan|NaomiLind|AnnarMerrirand|DavidBarr|SeanYoung|Mary
Aziz|NikolaiL’Estrange|DanielHorwood|KirstyHolmes|UteLambrecht|LucyO’Neill|NikolaLakatus|HamishHill|Soon
Wong|LukeRyan|MattThomas|JasonMurray|MatthewBoniface|GregParker|KurtPreston|Chandima
Kulathilake|GemmaCoe|MagnusOsterhult|OwenMachill|RobertNugent|GregSuter|TomHughes|MattTulloch|Jean
ClaudeBasio|RaymondShaw|JohnGale|PaulaMountford|GordonSaunders|MattBrown|MikeIfield|Michael
Hamilton|BarryDahlberg|ManuMailau|MattSmith|IanLarsen|DuncanHunter|NeilModrich|JamesGoodwill||Michelle
O’Loughlin|TimBell|DavidMorrison|Travis Hlavka|SallyJansenvanVuuren|RyanHarte|Robert
Lechte|ChakkaradeepChandran|Matthew Gatland|MajidSahib|RexWessels|Arpan
Bhagat|DavidvanZijlldeJong|AlexNatelli|Mike Campbell|SimonBright|JolannvanDyk|Craig
Keenan|MarkYoung|FaranakTorabi|Blair StJust|BenYu|AmandaMcGeorge|Martin
Wildash|AlanWhitton|SteveScarbrough|Hans vanHeerden|TonyYoung|JenniferLai|Hana
Zawodny|JenniferWray|LucyBentley|Patrick Harkins|MartinMares|MaryseBotros|Jeremy
Walker|EmillieMcKenna|DianaHennessy|Oliver Wong|JustinKing|JocelynVillanueva|Ivor
Whibley|PaulSimpson|JonathanBosch|Hadley Pettigrew|GraceXu|ChrisHatton|Mellissa
Lee|ShaneelSingh|AaronHall|PhilJudd|James Page|YuganYugaraja|MargaretZou|Vlad
Zaytsev|BryceNewman|DavidLyes|Jordan Mayer|BenjaminMcKernan|Amy
Palamountain|DarcyThomas|Karl Dowland|PhillipWong|JacquieFisher|Mohit
Kapadia|MatthewNgan|BericHolt|Geoff Fisher|StevenFoster|TonySaywell|Chris
Klug|MichelleHolmes|DavidPorta|Brantyn Yates|AndrewMarr|RichardFortune|Melanie
Highet|JanineTiu|SophieKhun|Kim Pannell|JonaidAlam|RobertEarle|Fabian
Deelen|KaisaWilson|ColinKropach|Alan Whiting|VictorMaceda|JaanaKrause|Anna
Davies|NicholasUrry|JefferyChi|Derek Lamb|OscarMartin|StewartMartel|Satish
Divakar|ChrisPilcher|RossJourdain|Craig Sanders|SvenObermaier|Jay
Macilquham|AnnaGould|ElaizaBenitez|Ben Pitkin-Douglas|KirstenAlexander|Steve
Lapwood|WillJurie|HenkVerhoeven|Nolan Ratu|GeoffBlair|SaurabhSawant|Joanne
Gailitis|AndrewCahill|AmyGordan|Mark Clearwater|JulieWise|BlairScott|Nigel
Blair|RyanCrawCour|AndrewSknar|Benjamin Fox|MartyFlemming|HannesNel|Aron
Chantelau|NickDraper|JoelGuevara|Nicholas Johnson|PhilWarin|NickJohnson|Margot
Need|TobySpendiff|GregSimmons|Jessica Painter|AdamLancashire|IngridSchyns|Robert
Tan|HorstSarubin|AlanLillebaek|Mark Jones|NikhilMishra|AliceFaull|Warren
Sparks|LorenScheuerman|DanielMunns|Bryan Gallagher|JoanMascardo|LJvanHeerden|David
Shorter|ParamdeepKour|RyanDay|Bryan Casey|JimHunter|DavidYack|GilesBrown|Roanne
Steele|PatrickSquire|TimRowe|OndrejSturma|Nicholas Hadlee|JohnAlivio|BrucePollock|BrentDickens|Eugen
Buzoianu|AnaLissaLaya|PeterNevalainen|SteveSharpe|DamianMorgan|JamieMcLean|MurrayFalconer|James
Sullivan|SteveFrampton|AngelaPinchuck|JayTempleton|KanchanChatterjee|RobbieMay|RichardWells|MarkFenwick|
AndrewKosmadakis|GarryLinney|ChrisMcKoy|SamYoung|ChrisBennett|ShaneRogers|TedFuller|NickPickford|Abi
Cameron|DanHayman|JulianBrown-Santirso|JackyLiang|RajYegnaraman|StuartOliver|CludioSaccomandi|Jackie
Holley|TuiKapo|RuthCarpenter|JulieArndt|JanelleTilly|LouisaKipling|TristyanLebrun|ShereenYong|Aben
Samuel|KennethYip|KarlGallimore|RoseHarris|KelvinShen|ZakiSemar|MarkCarver|JulianRobinson|Alex
Aitken|LaurenceLau|AndrewLaing|LindaPettigrew|JosephineHall|HongZhang|MoanaVa|KyleMuir|Suzanne
East|HaydenParata|DavidPracilio|JamesTunnell|BevanSinclair|AlanMonnox|DanBuckley|AriaanRootman|Maggie
Tarry|JeremyStevenson|JamesCarpinter|CherylAdams|SeanJackman|DavidSandeberg|FranklinZhang|Gary
Floyd|AriMoyal|RoryMcGibbon|KatherineDebney|AndySaul|GrahamHood|MoyaRadley|AlvinSami|Keith
Lopez|PhilBush|FionaSalmen|LauraCrowe|JasonPeters|JamesFitzsimons|StefanThieu|StevenRoberts|Ian
Dominguez|DiannaSmith|DulanDeZoysa|KalyanRavi|MichaelMurphy|BrettRattey|Philippa
Soderstrom|KatrinaSomers|JudeThomason|JillSanders|JeffShort|SimonAusten|BrynHeveldt|Belinda
Bithell|StevenCrossley|LizPollock|HaydnSkolmen|StevenWu|YangYu|BruceEdwards|Martin
Doms|TimSchofield|EvrenOzan|LindaRabson|GillianHayes|SteveKoppens|Nick
Besseling|AngelaMeads|TamzinMackley|AprilHague-Smith|TonyLaird|Anna
Gibson|JulieWilliams|JenvanderZwet|BenGracewood|JanaGray|Santosh
Achanta|AngelaGilbert|MahendraMohan|FionaHedley|Neil
Lloyd|JoCaudwell
TonyStewart
GinaHarper|Gabriel
Smith|WayneForgesson|Andrew
Jamieson|PaddyPayne|Liz
Fauatea||KimTunzelmann|Mark
Trotter|SharonAskin|ShaneHassan|
AlisonKing|ChrisGedye|DarylGill|Jillian
Ross|DerekWatson|AdamGreen|DamonCoursey|
EamonO’Rourke|DavidBrown|BarrySpriggs|Richard
Petrie|RichardHolmes|JoshuaRobb|AnnaLambrechtsen|Alan
Avery|BevanSouster|JeremyBoyd|PaulQuirk|KarenYoung|AndrewBlore|
MatthewBatchelor|HayleyMunro|DawenLi|FultonHargreaves|MarkOrange|Adam
Barnes|DwayneBace|JasonMoon|MarkFowler|SteveBrookes|JohnJameson|Kevin
Hayman|ShaunDonaghey|MarkDelaney|RoshanPerera|CherylThompson|Elaine
Whelan|AndrewTokeley|RobertIngledew|SelenaMoon|StewartRobertson|Mark
Johnson|KahuKirikiri|NigelParker|NealBlomfield|DolanMcGinley|Lawrence
Hodson|CraigMusker|TanaIsaac|DanielReed|RebeccaCox|PaulMurray|Scott
Mason|StevenQuick|BruceSmith|RodneyChong|Nathan
Croad|John-DanielTrask|AlanDoak|Nikolai
Blackie|JeremyNorman|KarlWoollaston|Emma
Barrett|KurtMudford|TimMole|Jojina
Scott|ReneSchaller|MalcolmWilliman|Gavin
Raine|PeterTorrSmith|AndrewBreach|Jeff
Sutherland|GregOlsen|TonyYee|BeckySt.
Just|NgairePham|ImeldaLyons|Paul
Blair|ShaneMelton|MatthewPearse|Bryce
Saunders|KellyLewis|EdRobinson|Kristie
Plummer|CliffRiordon|MatthewYee|James
Story|StephenAndrew|JulietWhite|Judy
Mallalieu|JonathonMitchal|MichalSolc|John
Lewis|BenDavidson|BlairRobertson|Allan
Maoz|StuartClark|KirstenBockett-Smith|Piers
Chamberlain|BrendanLaw|Andrew
Peters|DwayneSimmiss|Rachel
Goldthorpe|SallyCoe|AjitPrasad|Wayne
Bowman|TreyGuinn|MarkChambers|Nadine
Newport|StuartDonald|KeithNewton|Tao
Wang|RobinTay|ChristopherBoys|GangXu|
RachelDevany|LeeHerd|LaurieHogg|Matt
Norman|DavidOsborne|Ashley
Petherick|JayeshRavla|ChrisSmith|Anthea
Whitlock|AndyWong|ColinBevan|Jason
Walker|PhilipDrury|RebeccaBell|Ferry
Nugraha|AmyTrlin|HaydnThomsen|Toby
Crowther|JoChapman|Daniel
McGaughran|Philip Lee|ThereseLloyd
MelissaChase|RichardAngus|Duncan Smith
Ingrid Trollope|HenriettaRiddiford
StephenDujakovic|Sanjeev
Vaishnav|AbbyRogerson|SamAllen|Kelly
Cliffe|Lidia Tavassoli|SiobhanCahill|Brian
Twomey|PhilipPlimmer|RubenScrivener|Stefnie
Davies|RichardMalloch|SharanOberoi|Ian
Piddington|DavidRussell|Sandra
Worsley|CampbellMartin|RichardButler|David
Roys|RichardJacobs|PeterJones|Justin
Thirkell|OlmecSinclair|DavidBarnes|Jeff
Snelson|ChrisCatherall|WayneStiven|Danielle
Kimpton|AndyBeaumont|ElaineZhou|Brent
Wimmers|AntheaSoteros|ChrisAbbott|Claus
Hamman|ScottEdmondson|Trent
McKenzie|CandiceBurgess|TamlynKemp|James
Newton-King|PaulStreeter|Bernardine
Slagter|ElizaHyde|JoeNewton|Simon
Brierley|MurrayNewman|BaroonAnand
TenYearsofStaffatIntergen...

decade {1.0}10
June 2001: Intergen was born in Wellington. September 13, 2001: The Intergen brand was officially launched, marked by Intergen’s first yellow knees-up. And while the mood
was sombre in the shadow of 911, Intergen’s founders, staff and friends still managed to gather together to paint their corner of the town the appropriate shade of yellow
(Pantone 109, to be precise).
The Intergen Launch

2001“2001 was an interesting year for
us. We had 38 people, times were
hard in the IT world with the Dot
Com bubble bursting, and some
people went their different ways.
When we started Intergen we had
enough money to last us for three
months. When the money ran
down we made what I think is a
culturally significant decision.
Being a people-focused company,
we decided to consult with and
talk to our people about it, rather
than making redundancies. We
needed to do something for the
sake of all of us, and decided
on everyone taking a 10% pay
cut. And apart from one or two
people who went their own way
at this point, everyone stayed.
This sent a really strong signal
that we were all in it together.”
Paddy Payne – Director
38 STAFF * THE PC TURNS 20 * BLACKBERRY
RELEASES FIRST INTERNET CELL PHONE *
WIKIPEDIA IS FOUNDED * USB 2 INTRODUCED * HP
PURCHASES COMPAQ * IPOD RELEASED * INTERGEN
FORMED * INTERGEN PROJECTS SHOWCASED AT
NEWZEALAND.NETLAUNCH*WINDOWSXPLAUNCHED
DOT COM CRASH UNDERWAY * INTERGEN ACHIEVES
MICROSOFT CERTIFIED GOLD PARTNER STATUS *
MICROSOFT’SFIRSTVERSIONOFSHAREPOINTLAUNCHES

decade {1.0}12
In 2001 the average age of
Intergenites was 30, with an age
range spanning four decades.
In 2011 the average age of
Intergenites is 34, with an age
range spanning six decades.
Intergen has had a presence in Australia since 2004. Martin
Johnston (right) represented Intergen in Sydney from 2004 to
2010 and Ben Bishop (left) represented Intergen in Perth from
2007, joining the full Intergen Perth team in 2010.

decade {1.0} 13
The Importance of Partnerships
Over the years Intergen’s key partnerships have played a vital
role in us delivering the very best of breed solutions to our
customers. From local partners just a stone’s throw away to as
far afield as Sweden, the Intergen partner ecosystem is alive
and well.
The beginning of the EPiServer/Intergen relationship went
something like this…
“Mike, I got a call from a company in New Zealand. I told them
we don’t have an office there and therefore we don’t do any
business in the region.”
“Are you mad? I would love to do business there. Give me their
number – I’ll call them myself!”
After many Skype calls and about a zillion emails, we were
ready to have a meeting with our first potential New Zealand
customer. I bought a cheap plane ticket with leg space that
would have been illegal in most countries, folded my bad knee
inwards to avoid any accidents with service carts and went the
long (long) way to Wellington.
I remember the yellow invitation to the launch of EPiServer in
New Zealand. It said something like “What’s as cool as Absolut,
as reliable as a Volvo and as chic as ABBA?” And the invitation
even went out in Swedish, with the English version following
the next day.
Approximately 800
staff have worked
at Intergen.
I have since sold EPiServer but I can still from time to
time remember the years when everything was possible
and the world was uncharted. And winning the EPiServer
International Partner Award was recognition of the
professional spirit surrounding Intergen.
Intergen was my favourite EPiServer partner. I don’t really
know exactly why, but the kiwis have a mindset similar to
ours and an “anything is possible” attitude. Congratulations
to Intergen decade {1.0}!”
Mikael Runhem – Founder, EPiServer AB.

decade {1.0}14
Intergen has taken serious swathes of yellow to the crowds and surprised the
eyes of many an unsuspecting delegate at hundreds of tech and business events
over the last decade. From Microsoft’s much anticipated TechEd to the total web
immersion that is the Webstock experience, from to GOVIS to ALGIM (and with
many more conferences in between each year), we’ve kept the IT beat and web
scene colourful.
And, adding up a decade’s worth of Intergen’s Twilight seminars and Intergen’s
own ever-popular Dynamics Days and THINK events, we’ve hosted more than
300 free events since we set out in the world.
10 Years of Intergen Events

2002“2002 was the year that pure
bespoke development started to
give way to implementation and
customisation of products. Where
we would have previously developed
portals and intranets from scratch
we are now building on the features
providing by Microsoft SharePoint
Portal Server and Microsoft
Content Management Server.”
Tony Stewart, SMARTS 2, 2002
PAYPAL ACQUIRED BY EBAY * APPROXIMATELY 1 BILLION
PCS SHIPPED SINCE 1970S * CAMERA PHONES
INTRODUCED TO THE NORTH AMERICAN MARKETPLACE

decade {1.0}16
We first started Glazier Systems
in Tony’s dining room table many,
many, years ago. Little did we
know then how many jobs would be
created and new companies would
flow out of the network. Our core
values were professionalism and
individual responsibility. But
laughs were never far away. When
I see people from Intergen now I
know that they are the very best.
Congratulations on building a
world class business and culture.
Rod Drury – CEO, Xero
(Glazier Systems & Advantage Group 1995–2001).

decade {1.0} 17
The Auckland Story
AS TOLD BY SHAUN DONAGHEY, EX REGIONAL MANAGER –
NORTHERN (2002 – 2010)
Intergen Auckland was born in May 2002. I’d been keeping an
eye on Intergen and sent Tony Stewart an email to see what plans
he, Wayne and Paddy had for the Auckland market. I thought
they might be interested in expanding out of Wellington and – as
it turns out – they were. For a while there the Auckland office
was just me, a laptop and a dial-up connection. Then Paul Quirk
(now Microsoft New Zealand) joined us from Wellington and
our headcount doubled overnight. In those early days, with the
Intergen brand virtually unknown in the Auckland market, we
pounded the pavement pretty hard, talking to anyone who would
listen to us. I spent so much time in at Microsoft’s offices that
Annie, the receptionist, would joke about reserving me a carpark.
Our first milestone client and project was the Shared Valuation
Data System (SVDS) for Environment Waikato, and we had to
win the work before hiring the staff. In recent years our key
cornerstone project has been Vulcan Steel. SVDS was really the
catalyst for growth for us, and we’ve never looked back. We
ramped up our project manager and developer capacity and in
2003 went through our first relocation to accommodate this
growth. When we underwent relocation number three in 2008 we
didn’t have to go far – we took over the same floor of the same
building (we’d been in a space not much bigger than a cupboard)
as well as securing naming rights to the building.
With more than 50 staff on board in Auckland now, there have
been lots of highlights (and some lowlights) along the way, from
our first presence at TechEd in 2002, to being named finalists
in the Auckland Business Excellence Awards in 2004. We’ve had
births, deaths (just one) and marriages – you name it, the Auckland
office has done it. We’ve had a lot of firsts and broken our way into
the Auckland market
When I look back on the history of the Auckland office, the
first thing I think of is the great people. I think about how fast
everything was back in the days when we were getting established.
It was like a start-up, and those were probably the most satisfying
years for me, all-nighters and all.
I look at Intergen Auckland now and it’s sustainable; we’ve really
built something. Intergen’s Northern region has critical mass and
has a life of its own. I remember Tony saying when he visited
all Intergen’s offices he wanted to feel they were all part of the
same company. And there’s no doubt that Auckland office is truly
representative of Intergen as a whole, not just in terms of delivery
but from a cultural perspective as well.
Shaun at TechEd.The Auckland office relishes
the opportunity to display
some impressive geek chic.

decade {1.0}18
Intergenites seem to love letting off steam on the sports field almost as much
as they love tinkering with technology, and Intergen has long encouraged these
bouts of oxygen to the brain, helping to fund sports teams and individual sporting
endeavours. From the dragon boats on Wellington Harbour to the ski fields of
Japan, the Intergen sporting attire has made its mark.
And if you’ve ever picked up on a strong Intergen motorsports theme over
the years, you’re not imagining it. There’s just something about geeks
and petrolheads. Not to mention Intergen’s esteemed leader’s passion for
racing (if Tony’s not at work you’ll probably find him – or his children –
on the track).
10 Years of Sporting Intergenites

“We find ourselves in a different
market to that of the past two
years. Organisations are once again
investing in information systems.
In contrast to Y2K and the Dot
Com boom, information systems
investments are now being made in
the name of efficiency. E-Commerce
is alive and well!”
FIRST INTERGENITE ACHIEVES MSDN REGIONAL DIRECTOR
STATUS (AND WE’VE HAD ONE EVER SINCE) * MICROSOFT
CRM RELEASED * THE INTERNET UNOFFICIALLY CELEBRATES
ITS 20TH BIRTHDAY * GOOGLE CLAIMS A SEARCHABLE
DATABASE OF 3.6 MILLION WEB PAGES * CHRISTCHURCH
OFFICE OPENED BY TIM MOLE AND BRYCE SAUNDERS
2003

decade {1.0}20
I treasure the special connection I have with
your very bright yellow brand, and all you
talented Intergenites that I have worked with
over the years. My journey began during those
hairy Advantage days. Then I bit my nails with
you during the cliff-hanging transition to
Intergen, and now am most honoured to help
out whenever you guys ask me to do that
PowerPoint jig. The Intergen alumni has a
strong sense of accomplishment in having been
part of building the foundations of that highly
successful talent engine – which Intergen has
become. I also have a very strong feeling that
you guys are going make a positive difference
to the planet, in more than just growth terms.
Go yellow! Or should that be green?
Mark Fowler – Director, Global Foresight (Advantage Group,
2000 – 2001, and Intergen ‘tenant’ until December 2004).

decade {1.0} 21
10 Years and 25 Editions of Smarts
Intergen’s 25 issues of SMARTS, the Intelligent Business magazine, span a decade of technology change and thought leadership. They also capture 10 years’ of Intergenites in their
work habitats… and at play. And if scanning through all 25 issues of SMARTS can teach us anything, it’s that while things may change at pace in the world of technology, just as
much stays the same. The technologies themselves may evolve but the underlying need to provide Intelligent Business through the application of technology remains unchanged.

decade {1.0}22
Interview
PADDY PAYNE – DIRECTOR
The last 10 years have been an exciting ride. It’s been a
rollercoaster ride at times – some times have been fantastic and
some have not been so great. Sometimes we’ve been upbeat and
optimistic and sometimes we’ve been doom and gloom.
Over the past 10 years Tony has had to carry the weight and
responsibility of the business. I don’t really think about that kind
of thing, so I don’t have that burden. I’m a happy-go-lucky kind
of guy. A lot of life is out of control and worrying won’t help that;
you’ve just got to do the best you can to keep going and deal with
what comes when it happens.
What have our greatest achievements been
over that time?
I think our biggest achievement has been our growth, and
retaining more of the culture and values than I thought we’d
be able to with the amount of growth that we’ve gone through.
To have been able to have retained the essence and the heart
of Intergen is awesome. And it’s not down to the directors; it’s
down to everyone who has ever joined us and contributed a bit
of themselves over the years. Of any organisation I’ve seen, we’ve
employed a far greater proportion of quality people in terms of our
hiring decisions. And as we grow bigger and don’t know everyone
in the organisation, it’s really important to be able to trust these
hiring decisions.
Our growth will carry on. We can’t not grow. Growth
has become part of our DNA. One of our bumpy
patches happened when we reached a point where
a lot of people liked the size, scale and feel of a
60–100-person organisation. There was a lot of
resistance to this continued growth, and quite
a few people voted with their feet, going on to
smaller organisations and start-ups. We’ve gone
past that now. Now people join Intergen because
we’re big and established. Back then, people
wanted to be part of a hot, small company.
We aspire to grow the business to be able to
provide more opportunities for people and to
deliver more value to 1) our stakeholders, 2) our
clients (offering and delivering more in terms
of depth and breadth) and 3) our shareholders
(growing the value of the company from their perspective).
All three stand to benefit significantly from this growth.
I’ll be 60 next year, so the chances are I won’t be working here in
four or five years’ time. I hope to make a graceful exit and still be
part of the Intergen family for years to come.
In the next 10 years we will become a truly global company,
with strong Australian growth. We’ll also grow the work we do
for Microsoft, which has been a key differentiator for us in New
Zealand and the wider market as well.
What you might not know about Paddy… Giver of the infamous “man hug”, Paddy is a man of mystery, intrigue and
colourful attire. He has hung out with Audrey Hepburn, Sir Peter Ustinov, Roger Moore and Sir Richard Attenborough, loves making
and flying kites, and used to make his own tofu. And being the sort of Microsoft advocate you’d expect an Intergen director to be,
Paddy has visited every state in the US except for Washington (where Microsoft is headquartered).

decade {1.0} 23
What impact has Intergen had on the New
Zealand market?
We do have a phenomenal reputation as the go-to organisation
for all things Microsoft. I think our ability to deliver value and
really successful projects for clients has stood us in good stead.
And this has improved enormously over the years. This has come
about through putting more process around things, like reviewing
our solutions and taking more care in pitching.
We have contributed significantly to the marketplace by providing
a really good training ground for people. Our focus on providing
top quality Microsoft solutions has rippled out into the IT
community and had an impact on other organisations where
Intergenites or our partners have gone on to work. I believe people
can make a better contribution to the overall IT marketplace
because of the time they have spent here.
On an individual level, what’s the greatest thing
that Intergen represents for you?
Being able to succeed in business without being hard-nosed, doing
business in a fun and cooperative way. To be able to do it without
losing sight of the culture and be nice people to work with and
for. So many organisations lose that when they grow. I still think
Intergen is the best company I have ever worked for – by several
orders of magnitude.
The thing I love is that as a company we’re always wanting to do
better. We’re never satisfied by the last job we did. We’re always
critiquing, looking to do better, keeping a mentality of always
getting better at things – not just cranking the handle, but doing
it better every time you do it. It’s a defining characteristic of
Intergenites and the organisation on the whole.
He tangata! He tangata! He tangata! I love the people I work
with. I love the clients I work with. I love everyone. I can’t help it
– it’s all about the love for me. I get to work with smart people on
projects that make a difference using cool new technologies.
I get to help people and to do my bit in making the world a better
place.
What are some of the biggest challenges Intergen
has faced over the past 10 years?
One of the biggest challenges has been retaining the Intergen
culture and not becoming too bureaucratic and corporate as we’ve
grown. The bigger you get, the more process you need and the
more effective you need to be; but at the same time this all needs
to be done in a human way.
We’ve had our rocky moments. At times the pendulum has swung
too far and we’ve been too black and white in our thinking. But
we’ve been more successful – particularly in holding onto the
things that make us unique – than I ever thought we would be.
And I’m more confident now than ever that we’ll be able to hold
onto our cultural values.
Highlights?
A highlight for me has been watching Intergen mature. We’ve
grown from being a little kid to a mature, sensible adult. Along
the way we’ve had our turbulent and spotty adolescent times
and now we’re a respectable, socially conscious and responsible
corporate citizen. But of course there’s still a lot more for us to do.
And the fact that the founders are all still together is another
highlight. We all work in our own little spheres but have trust and
confidence in each other and know that everything is moving in
the right direction.

decade {1.0}24
The Intergen BHAG in action – 10 years of making a difference
Intergen’s founders had high hopes and big aspirations for
Intergen, and one goal in particular rang truer and more urgent
than the rest. Work shouldn’t be about blood, sweat and tears
or Monday morning dread. It shouldn’t be about surrendering
yourself to a faceless empire and losing the best part of your
working years to the man. Work needed to be fun and to have
meaning. It needed to make a difference.
And so the Big Hairy Audacious Goal (aka the BHAG) was born.
It was a mission statement of sorts, a modus operandi for all
projects, big and little. Everyone, every day is touched positively
by the things we do. 10 years on, the BHAG is as relevant as it
ever was. In the space of a decade, the number of projects we
2001
Community Funding goes online
Manual processing of thousands
of applications for millions of
dollars’ worth of funding every year
becomes a thing of the past when
the Community Organisation Grants
Scheme (COGS) goes online.
“COGS Online has brought us
nearer to communities – virtually as
well as physically.”
Donald Shand, Department of
Internal Affairs
2008
The NZI Sevens website takes the
party to the web, helping guarantee
sell-out crowds
“We want to constantly extend
our interactions with fans, so we
need to be fresh and innovative all
the time. Intergen steps up to the
challenge each year – they’re willing
to give it their best shot each time,
coming up with creative elements
that add a new dimension to the
site, so fans see and experience
something new.”
Steve Walters, General Manager,
New Zealand Ruby Union
2002
Local Government goes online
Wanting to help councils achieve
real online interaction with the
public and raise the bar in the web
space, the Community On Line web
project created a toolkit for councils
across New Zealand, using a model
that allowed for sharing and re-use.
2008
carboNZero takes its E-Manage
greenhouse emissions management
tool to the world (2008)
“To take us forward we engaged
Intergen to design the most
effective and appropriate solution
possible using integrated Microsoft
technologies that would allow us
to bring carboNZero to a diverse
audience worldwide.”
Mike Tournier, Business Manager,
carboNZero
2003
The Maori Language Commission
gets an automated language
translation tool
A Microsoft Innovation Centre
initiative to create an innovative
CMS 2002 solution to provide an
email-driven multi-lingual workflow
engine translating all English
content into Maori.
2009
ButtercupReader shows how rich
internet applications can remove
accessibility barriers, making digital
accessible information systems –
“talking books” – freely available
within the browser using Silverlight
“ButterCup’s design is exciting and
intuitive to use. Intergen has done
really clever things with all the
interactive design interfaces and
the result is a really sharp, well-
designed experience. The key to it
all is that it’s absolutely accessible
– it can be there, ready to go on
a web browser, with no special
applications or expense required.”
Kevin Prince, Adaptive Technology
Services Manager, Royal New
Zealand Foundation of the Blind
2003
The Correspondence School creates
an interactive online learning
tool – the first of its kind – to allow
collaboration and flexibility for
20,000 students
A mini website built with CMS
2002, giving students an
unprecedented ‘live’ learning
experience.
2009
The Department of Internal Affairs
makes searching for historical
births, deaths and marriages a
simple matter of going online
11 million births, deaths, marriages
and civil union records dating back
to 1848, and finding information
could take days or weeks. When
DIA got the green light to make
the information online, they got
Intergen on board to build an easy
to use online search service. The
13,507 unique visitors to the site in
its first 12 hours seemed to indicate
that the service is a popular one!

decade {1.0} 25
2004
The State Sector Retirement Savings
Scheme spreads the word with an all-
new web presence
“Our launch date was six weeks out, so
we chose Intergen as they had a lot of
public sector and e-govt requirements
experience. They leveraged their
existing CMS experience, shortening
the development timeframe, giving us
a flying start into the project.”
Paul Parlane, State Services
Commission
2010
The New Zealand Navy reaches
potential recruits with a new Naval
Display Unit, a bus that visits
schools, job fairs and career days,
and engages Intergen to make the
experience engaging and interactive
through the use Windows
Presentation Foundation.
“We needed a channel that was
more interactive and engaging.
Students expect to see and use
technology. It’s part of who they
are today.”
Michael Hester, Project Manager,
Royal New Zealand Navy
2005
Statistic New Zealand engages
Intergen to automate the 2006
census for the first time
“If it wasn’t for Intergen’s approach
and professionalism we wouldn’t be
where we are now, and certainly not
ready for March 2006.”
Gary Goddard, Project Manager,
Field Data Services, Statistics
New Zealand
2010
Spectrum Care sets a new standard
for the disability sector, using CRM
as a tool for its people (2010)
“Our CRM system has helped us
achieve our vision of providing
bespoke, person-centred outcomes
for the people we serve. Kudos
to Intergen for taking the time to
understand our business, seeing the
big picture and then designing a
solution that really matched what
we were aiming to do.”
Aaron Overington, IT Manager,
Spectrum Care
2006
Department of Internal Affairs
handles soaring rates rebate
applications by bringing the process
online
From a paper-based system using
Microsoft Access to a simple and
intuitive electronic management
system used by more than 73
councils. Six weeks in operation
and 60,000 applications processed,
totalling $17 million.
2011
The Charities Commission is
the first New Zealand public
sector organisation to make its
information freely and dynamically
available to the public online
“This is seriously useful data. I
hope that the new Australian
Charities and Not-for-Profits
Commission will take the lead
from Charities Commission NZ and
facilitate access to their data in a
similar way.”
Lisa Harvey, Australian blogger
2007
The Modern Apprenticeships
programme creates a website
that entices youth to sign up for
vocational training
“To sum up how far we’ve come, I
feel we’ve gained 100% control.
The end result is funky, youthful and
appealing and the site was turned
around in a matter of weeks – on
time and on budget.”
Kate Clode, Team Leader, Tertiary
Education Commission
2011
STAMP, the Subtitling Add-In
for Microsoft PowerPoint, makes
closed captions and audio files
within PowerPoint a reality, making
Microsoft Office more accessible
and user friendly for those with
hearing disabilities
“We’re pretty passionate at Intergen
about overall accessibility. One
of the themes of the accessible
applications that we build is
that they should be amazing
experiences. It’s not just making the
accessible experience the lowest
common denominator.”
Chris Auld, Chief Technology
Officer, Intergen
Quick disclaimer time… This is just the very tip of the iceberg
(constrained by time and space… and, okay, a little bit of information
overload in the face of 10 years’ worth of project documentation)
complete may have leapt off the scale, but our reasons for doing
them have stayed exactly the same. Here’s a very abridged decade’s
worth of BHAG-worthy highlights:

decade {1.0}26
Intergenites
Being an Intergenite is about more than just being part of a working family… It has a way of extending well beyond the four walls of work, enveloping children and pets, family
and friends. It’s as much about an attitude as it is about a colour… although, having said that, there’s definitely no shortage of yellow in the life of a trusty Intergenite.

“Our staff numbers now exceed 75
and we have established an office
in Christchurch so we can better
serve our South Island clients. Our
Auckland office has moved in to
larger premises in Takapuna that will
provide us with a long term home.”
INTERGEN’S OWN WEBSITE REDESIGNED AND LAUNCHED
FOR THE FIRST TIME * INTERGEN SYDNEY PRESENCE
LAUNCHED * INTERGEN FIRST EPISERVER PARTNER OUTSIDE
EUROPE * MYSPACE, FLICKR AND FACEBOOK ALL LAUNCHED
* ‘WEB 2.0’ AS A TERM ACCEPTED INTO THE MAINSTREAM
2004

decade {1.0}28
What an awesome company to have
been involved with! I’d like to pay
tribute to Tony Stewart, who has
guided and grown this organisation
from its very humble beginning.
Intergen owes its stature to Tony’s
outstanding leadership, and I’m sure
all of us who have worked with and
for Tony are more competent
professionals for the experience.
Well done Intergen. You are an
enduring success story in
New Zealand’s IT industry.
Andrew Kissling – CEO, GetStaffed Ltd.
(Glazier to Advantage, 1995 – 2000).

decade {1.0} 29
The Southern Story
TIM MOLE, REGIONAL MANAGER – SOUTHERN
The Christchurch office opened in September 2004. Before moving
to Christchurch I’d been with Intergen back in the Glazier days,
went on my OE and returned to Intergen’s Wellington office. In the
early Christchurch days it was just Bryce Saunders and me and we
were working in an office the size of a shoebox on Armagh Street.
When Intergen acquired Interfusion we inherited Scruff (Richard
Malloch), and we hired our first project manager in March 2006.
The Dunedin office came into existence when Intergen acquired
Kognition in 2007, and we employed our first office manager in
December 2007.
Before the first earthquake in September 2010, the Christchurch
office had already moved four times. Since the second quake
in February this year our Hereford Street building has been
completely out of bounds, and we worked out of three Portacoms
and a caravan while we wait to occupy our new premises in the
Airport Business Park.
As we hit the 10 year mark, the Southern Region has a team of 46
(38 in Christchurch and eight in Dunedin), with customers spread
as far north as Nelson and as far south as Invercargill. In our first
year we made $90,000, and in the financial year just been we
turned over $5.3 million.
When I think back on the most memorable events of the
Christchurch era, the Christchurch Christmas party of 2006 stands
out… It was Intergen’s most expensive Christmas party yet (costing
more for 10 of us than the whole Wellington party cost that year).
It resulted in very stern words from Tony and still gets talked
about today.
The Christchurch office is a laidback, family-oriented bunch. We
don’t dress posh like the Aucklanders, for example, and we’re not
quite as young and trendy as the Wellington team. The pace is
slower here and we enjoy the southern lifestyle and the outdoors –
the wide open space and being away from the rat race.
When I look back on Intergen’s journey over the past 10 years I
can see how much we’ve grown and matured, especially in the
last two years. We’ve gone from being a local IT consultancy to
a structured international organisation. We have so much more
focus and we’re just starting to realise our potential. We have
a super strong identity and a reputation that’s second to none.
We’re better structured and organised now and we don’t have to
put in so many late nights these days to get things done. Being
part of the journey is more enjoyable now than it has ever been.
Intergen takes on
Dunedin in 2007.
The Christchurch team
celebrating Intergen’s first
$3 Million Dollar Month in
the old Hereford Street office.

decade {1.0}30
Interview
WAYNE FORGESSON – DIRECTOR
In my mind, it means we’ve gone beyond the status of a recent
arrival; we have substance in the market and ongoing recognition.
We’ve been around for a while and people are aware of us simply
because of this fact. We have plenty of stories of people who have
worked for us and then gone away for a number of years and then
come back.
We haven’t changed the world in 10 years. What we’ve achieved
has been the cumulative result of our past incarnations before
Intergen, having spent a total of 15 years in the Microsoft world.
Our BHAG has played a key role over the last decade, and there
are numerous projects we could highlight to show how the
solutions we build have a positive impact on the world around us
(or, in the words of our Big Hairy Audacious Goal, how “everyone,
every day, is touched positively by the things we do”); two
examples that spring to mind are online motor vehicle licensing
and the Births, Deaths and Marriages register. It’s great to be able
to look back on the last 10 years and reflect on the projects we do
that make a difference. It gives me warm fuzzies.
What do you think Intergen’s greatest
achievements have been over that time?
Firstly: survival. We started in 2001 in the middle of a massive
downturn and have just been through another one. We’ve come
through both, although not entirely unscathed. I’m sure I didn’t
have any grey hair before we started Intergen.
Secondly: our growth. In 10 years we’ve gone from 38 to
nearly 300 staff, with projected growth based on demand well
beyond that.
Thirdly: the number of people we’ve helped along in their careers.
We’ve had approximately 10 graduates a year for 10 years and it
has been important for us to give people the leg up, and give back
to the community in this way.
Hopefully from my deck with a glass of fine wine! Seriously
though, I see continued growth and a much greater Australian
presence – in the medium term I see our Australian operations
being of the same size as our New Zealand operations. There’s
also a world of opportunity for us to grow our export revenue.
In terms of the technology itself in the next 10 years, I see New
Zealand continuing to lead in its use of technology, continuing
to pioneer and do things either before or better than others due
to our nimbleness and willingness to give things a go. I also see
continued consolidation of the services market.
What you might not know
about Wayne… As well as
holding Intergen’s brand reins and
creating market demand for all
things yellow, Wayne tends chickens
and enjoys a glass (or two) of fine
red wine. He parted ways with
formal education at the end of high
school and was a volunteer at the
1990 Commonwealth Games.

decade {1.0} 31
Over the last 10 years, what impact has Intergen
had on the New Zealand market?
We have helped promote and grow the use of Microsoft
technologies in New Zealand and have been a major contributor
in fostering the IT community, for example with our grads. We’ve
also been a part of people going on to bigger, brighter and better
things, for example the Mindscape founders, JB and JD, and the
Aptimize figureheads, Ed and Derek.
We’ve also made the IT world realise that yellow is a good thing –
we’ve introduced the colour yellow to the black-t-shirt-loving
geek world.
On an individual level, what’s the greatest thing
Intergen represents for you?
It represents a family outside my actual family. Outside of my
family, it’s everything I do. I take pride in our growth and our
achievements. I don’t do it very much, but when I sit back and
reflect, I see we’ve done some fantastic things. For me, Intergen is
a combination of colleagues, friends and family.
Being onstage at the Worldwide Partner Conference in
Washington last year (to pick up our Country Partner of the Year
Award) was also a huge highlight for me. Being able to wear my
yellow shirt in front of 10,000 people was certainly a highpoint!
The ongoing challenges and the competitive drive to continue to
succeed and to be at the forefront of what we do. It would be less
exciting if we weren’t always growing and progressing towards the
goals we continue to set.
What have been some of the biggest challenges?
Acknowledging that people are going to leave. Realising that no
matter how close-knit Intergen is, people are still going to move
on. We need to be supportive of this, but it is a challenge. A lot of
the team that do leave do it reluctantly, which in itself goes some
way to soften the blow of losing them.
Another challenge has been continuing to grow our systems
to keep pace with company growth. We’re completely different
process-wise than we were 10 years ago, and we’ll be completely
different again in 10 years’ time.
What highlights and
lowlights spring to mind?
One highlight was definitely being on-
stage in Washington, and also some of
the public recognition we’ve received in
the last three or four years.
In terms of lowlights, personally I
have learned the need to take regular
holidays. At a business level, one of
the lowlights is when we lose pitches
that we really should have won and the
client says to us, “I don’t know why we’re
not working with you,” especially if (as
often happens) we get called in later to
fix up what wasn’t done correctly.

decade {1.0}32
Desktop Personalities

2005“2005 was a year of strong
growth for Intergen. Revenue
was up by 25% and there is no
sign that things will ease. There
continues to be strong demand
across all our offices and markets.”
INTERGEN HITS 100 STAFF * INTERGEN ACQUIRES
INTERFUSION AND BECOMES MICROSOFT DYNAMICS
CAPABALE * YOUTUBE LAUNCHES * GOOGLE CLAIMS
SEARCHABLE DATABASE OF 8.2 BILLION WEB PAGES

decade {1.0}34
Thinking of my time at Intergen evokes the
memories of a passionate team and the
journeys spent building awesome software,
the challenging and diverse work mixed
with the amusement of the Brookes awards
and man-hugs from Paddy. All of this helped
spur me on to new heights.
Jeremy Boyd, Co-founder, Mindscape
(Advantage to Intergen, 2000 – 2007).
I count many Intergenites amongst my best
friends today. Seeing the success of Intergen
from the inside only spurred me on to do my
own thing. I can’t imagine how different my
life would have been without my years at
Intergen. I continue to watch Intergen grow
and I look forward to seeing how far they go
in the next 10 years.
John-Daniel Trask, Co-founder, Mindscape
(Intergen, 2004 – 2007).

decade {1.0} 35
“I do recall the very constructive relationship that developed
between Intergen and Microsoft in those early days – it was a
great example of how an organisation that focused explicitly on
the skill, depth and quality of its people could add real value to an
international organisation like Microsoft. Intergen was a great
example of what “value-add” really meant.”
Geoff Lawrie, ex-Microsoft New Zealand Managing Director,
1996 – 2001.
“Congratulations to the Intergen team for a decade of delivering
quality .NET innovation and services. You’re an exemplary Kiwi
hi-tech company and I wish you all the best for another stellar 10
years of excellent service and growth in your business.”
Ross Peat, ex-Microsoft New Zealand Managing Director
2002 – 2006.
Think Microsoft, think Intergen
“Partnering is defined by reciprocity and trust. These, amongst their
many other fine qualities make Intergen stand out as a true partner.
I consider many of the team in yellow my friends and would rush to
the front of the line if there was an opportunity to support them.”
Kevin Ackhurst, ex-Microsoft New Zealand Managing Director
2007 – 2010.
“Intergen has been a valued member of the Microsoft Partner
Network since their inception in 2001. Their specialisation and deep
engagement have contributed to a number of collaborations with
Microsoft and are testament to Intergen’s expertise. As a member of
the Microsoft Partner Network, Intergen has the knowledge, skills
and commitment to assist organisations in strengthening their
capabilities, help serve customers better and be part of a community
that sparks innovation.”
Paul Muckleston, Microsoft New Zealand Managing Director
2010 – Present.
Since Intergen’s earliest days, the Intergen-Microsoft relationship has sat squarely at the heart of everything Intergen has done and continues
to do so. Intergen does well when Microsoft does well is a familiar mantra amongst Intergen’s strategists, and one that has held true for more
than a decade, as relevant today as it was on day one.

decade {1.0}36
Intergen is proud to have clung onto a handful of relics that
have survived the ravages of a decade. For one: Tony Stewart’s
timesheeting system, Pracman, lovingly crafted in Access by his
own hands and tenderly nurtured to this day.
But most of these “relics” are in fact the people who have been
part of the journey since day one.
Not including directors, our 10-year stalwarts are: Dave Brown,
Karen Young, Mark Delaney, Liz Lei (now Fauatea), Fulton
Hargreaves, Mark Trotter, Barry Spriggs, Damon Coursey.
Here’s what some of these very loyal subjects had to say about
their journey with Intergen thus far.
MARK TROTTER
What strikes you as different
about working for Intergen?
It’s one of those places you don’t mind getting
up in the morning and going to work at.
There’s a new challenge every day across the
variety of projects we do. I think the best thing
though is the real tough stuff I’ve had the chance to do.
Why are you still here after 10 years? What
keeps you here?
After 12 years working with these guys – that’s a very good
question! I’ve had the unique opportunity to progress from a
grad doing Microsoft Access development, through to project
management and then into a sales role, accepting more
responsibility with each progression. Each stage had its own
challenges, and combined with the Intergen culture (where I’ve
made a number of lifelong friends and had some crazy adventures
– infamous Social Club Weekends, the very random Twizel hotel
incident with our resident retiree Andrew Jamieson, and my failed
attempt at an O.E… which are all folklore now) just make me keep
coming back for more. The opportunities and trust (or shall we
say a certain amount of rope to hang myself with) that have been
given to me by Tony, Wayne and Paddy I believe wouldn’t have
been afforded to me elsewhere. I’m sure they’ve wanted to bury
their heads in their hands at some of the stuff I’ve done along the
way, but it all seems to have worked out in the end!
Fondest/weirdest/most memorable memories?
Social Club weekends away, client Christmas parties, the Beer
Tasting Crew, Paddy’s man hugs, being able to work with like-
minded car enthusiasts – there’s so much to talk about.
One particular early memory is the whole company banding
together and taking a 10% pay cut for six months in 2001 while
we battled through the post-September 11 period and the Dot
Com flop. That’s the family environment Intergen created at its
best – you just wouldn’t get that anywhere else. Everyone shared
the dream and wanted it to work. But I’m pretty sure it was one of
Tony’s worst moments having to tell us all at the Friday meeting.
What’s changed about Intergen over the past 10
years? What’s stayed the same?
What’s changed… The take-off of the Internet, the movement
to product-based Microsoft platforms from purely bespoke .NET
development, and we’ve moved with the times across all of it. And
now here comes the cloud!
What’s the same… I can still walk up to Tony’s desk and bend his
ear on something. There have never been any barriers.
Chewing the fat with Intergen’s old-timers

decade {1.0} 37
Where do you see Intergen in another 10 years?
I see consolidation of the brand in New Zealand, and huge growth
in Australia, rivalling if not surpassing our presence in New
Zealand. And I might be still here at year 20 as the cleaner or
something.
DAMON COURSEY
What keeps you here after
10 years?
Working is a large part of your life, so if you
find somewhere you enjoy coming to each
day you should stick with it! The diversity of
products and technologies we get to work
with and being on the ‘bleeding edge’ means that things
are different from one year to the next.
Mark Fowler winning the Brookes award for locking himself out of
his hotel room at night... naked. Planning and moving the Data
Centre from the old Intergen offices to the new ones (all moved in
about a 30-hour period over New Year’s Eve!).
In the ‘old days’ you knew who everyone was and you saw them
all almost every day. Nowadays it’s a struggle to keep up with all
the new faces. Intergen’s core values have remained unchanged
over the years and I think this is a large driver for the culture
staying strong.
MARK DELANEY
Yellow! Since their inception in 2001, our
brand values have been tried, tested and still
stand true today.
Why are you still here after 10 years?
What keeps you here?
Yellow! After 10 years of working as a user experience design
consultant, I’ve had the opportunity to experience how the other
half live. I like my patch of grass better.
Yellow! I will always have fond (if somewhat hazy) recollections of
the early Intergen weekends away (Taupo, Turangi, Napier), Mark
Fowler’s crazy animated PowerPoint presentations, and Eamon
O’Rourke’s fascination with some guy called Reginald Futtock and
the name Barry, The Mark Trotter mysterious broken hand incident
and the Friday meeting.
Yellow! It’s still the same Pantone colour but now more than 280
people bask in the yellow glow.
Still yellow! And still doing more good work for more good people.

decade {1.0}38
LIZ FAUATEA
Intergen has always had a really strong
emphasis on personal development and people
doing well at whatever it is they want to do.
There have been and continue to be some
amazing people working here, and many who have left have gone
onto fantastic opportunities either here or overseas.
keeps you here?
Intergen has a really great working environment with awesome
people. It is great working for an organisation that excels at
being ahead of everyone else in the game. Although I still don’t
understand the tech talk, it’s really great to have seen the changes
in technology over the past 10 years and see Intergen leading the
way in New Zealand and now Australia.
I still have quite a vivid memory of the staff meeting Tony
called to tell Advantage E-Commerce staff that he, Paddy and
Wayne were planning on buying the Wellington business from
Advantage and offering staff the opportunity to invest in the new
business. There was relief for a lot of people, I think, and people
were excited by what was to come. The atmosphere in the office
changed overnight from gloomy to “Yeah, let’s get on with-it.” We
got off to a bumpy start with the downturn at the time, topped
off by 911 and the uncertainty that brought, but it has been an
awesome journey. Tony, Paddy and Wayne are an awesome team.
The memory I still chuckle at every now and then is of Trotter
and AJ being mistaken as bed friends when they checked into a
Tekapo hotel together back in 2002. They were there working with
a client.
My weirdest memory is probably Paddy dressed as Bad Jelly the
Witch one Friday October 31. (Fortunately he did get changed
afterwards to go to a client visit.)
Intergen is still a fun place with exciting, clever people. As we
have grown bigger we have had to have more processes and more
structure in order to support the growth, but fundamentally it is
still the same place it was 10 years ago, just bigger and with a lot
more clever people.
In 10 years I expect Intergen will be a dominant player in
Australia and have offices and staff at other overseas locations.
BARRY SPRIGGS
In my time with Intergen…
The biggest difference I see between Intergen now
and then is the size – I used to know everyone and
what everyone was working on. I’m still here 10
years on because of the people. My best memories
are of the yearly weekends away in the early days.
Where do I see Intergen in another 10 years? I predict
worldwide domination!

decade {1.0} 39
FULTON HARGREAVES
Intergen has a culture of adapting quickly to
market trends. Intergen has recognised the
value, put a lot of effort into and had a close
relationship with the Microsoft staff in the
Auckland and Wellington regions, and this has enabled us to
continue to adapt in line with a changing IT industry.
keeps you here?
The people and type of work definitely inspire me. I really enjoy
the various fun characters, and my role within Intergen. Over
the years I have had the pleasure of working with some of
the smartest people in the industry, working on leading edge
technologies. With the constant enhancements to technology, who
would want to move on from an environment that encourages
early adoption, working with such a great bunch of like-minded
go getters known industry-wide for leading the charge in the
technology space?
Fondest moments… There have been a few, however the best
would have to be when we celebrate specific milestones,
achievements, and social nights – that’s when you get to see the
characters within Intergen come out to play. The Intergen social
events are certainly a highlight. Specific mention needs to go
to the Intergen Christmas parties and social activities; a lot of
effort, planning and logistics have gone into creating themes
where everyone dresses up to have a blast and recognise the
achievements throughout the year.
A lot of personnel have come and gone over the years. We have
also had various changes in structure and new service offerings
that have been implemented to extend our capability which
have contributed to where Intergen is today. Although some of
the highly experienced staff and colourful characters that have
inspired us along the way may have moved along to new and
exciting challenges, Intergen continues to progress, grow and
aspire to new heights as new personnel with equally interesting
expertise, and equally colourful personalities, come on board. The
main premise of how we do business has remained the same –
having top of their field, experienced and smart people producing
top quality, creative, leading edge solutions to resolve today’s
business IT problems and having a lot of fun doing it.
In my rear view mirror while pulling a wheelie! ….. Er, I mean
while gracefully leaving the office to go to a client site. Bruce
(our colourful character GM of Sales) thinks I should get a T-shirt
saying “If you can read this I have lost my developer.”
Seriously, I think Intergen has huge potential and always has. We
are continually looking at ways to increase the footprint into the
market place and with the strategic planning success seen so far
from the management team, that old adage “past history dictates
the future” sends a clear message that Intergen is “in it to win it”
and will continue to do well. There has been a lot of change thus
far and I am sure there will be significant change in the future;
you just have to be adaptable and willing to be part of that.

decade {1.0}40
Our work with
Microsoft Corporation

decade {1.0} 41
Life on the bleeding edge
INTERGEN’S WORK WITH MICROSOFT CORPORATION
It’s been said that if you’re not on the edge you’re taking up
too much room. Maybe that’s why we like blazing trails with the
newest and shiniest Microsoft technologies before anyone else
has even remotely got their hands on them.
In recent years, Microsoft Corporation has become one of our top
customers. And in 2010 we established our first official on-the-
ground presence in Redmond.
There’s something about the tight deadlines, the Chinese walls
and the adrenalised late nights; something about playing a
central part in creating world-firsts; something about having the
creative freedom to bring new technologies to life and show just
what they’re capable of (often in front of crowds bigger than
small New Zealand towns). Whatever the secret ingredient is… we can’t get enough of this
stuff. And how many antipodean IT companies can say they’ve
delivered their work right into the hands of Steve Ballmer?
We’ve built keynote demos for Microsoft conferences around the
world – from the Worldwide Partner Conference, to Convergence,
Professional Developers Conference, MIX and TechEds far and
wide. We’ve built developer training materials and delivered
training from Bangalore to the States. We’ve helped Microsoft
make its Office products more accessible with creations like
ButtercupReader and STAMP. And along with the likes of TextGlow
we’ve taken brand new rich internet applications and made
them into useful tools, showing the world their potential. We’ve
mixed and matched and pushed the envelope with the gamut of
Microsoft technologies – SharePoint, Silverlight, Azure, Microsoft
CRM and AX, to name just a few.
At any given time, whole teams of Intergenites are hard at work,
up against non-negotiable deadlines, breaking new ground,
testing hitherto untouched limits, their lips firmly sealed until the
moment of the big international reveal…
The definition of a “Chris special”:
a Microsoft-commissioned project that
is high profile, top secret and due
tomorrow (or not long after). Usually
brought to the troops by Chris Auld
himself, these projects are high in cool
factor and big on kudos, giving people
the chance to break new ground working
with future Microsoft technologies.

decade {1.0}42 decade {1.0}42
26% of Intergen’s
employees have
been women, in
an industry often
dominated by men.
Madeline Stewart (daughter of Tony Stewart) poses for an
Intergen advertisment, 2008.

2006“Our focus on 2007 Office
System goes hand in hand with
our acquisition of a Microsoft
Dynamics NAV business and a
growing number of Dynamics CRM
implementations. There are great
benefits in combining Intergen’s
broad set of technical skills gained
through the development of
numerous bespoke solutions with
an increasing amount of business-
focused application implementation,
configuration and customisation.”
INTERGEN NAMED EPISERVER INTERNATIONAL PARTNER OF
THE YEAR * INTERGEN WELLINGTON CROSSES THE ROAD TO
ITS NEW OFFICE, AND THE NEW DATA CENTRE IS LAUNCHED
ON NEW YEAR’S EVE 2006 * INTERGEN ACQUIRES ECENTRIC
AND EMBARKS ON A JOINT VENTURE WITH FUSION5

decade {1.0}44
Intergen has a fundamentally unique
approach to delivering innovative
experiences through technology. Their
deep technology expertise and
flexibility in project management,
have resulted in award-winning
technology demonstrations of our
latest CRM product. I’ve really
appreciated their hands on approach to
large multi-faceted projects as well as
their incredible tenacity in turning
around complex pieces of work in
amazing time. Intergen has truly
helped us develop a unique story and
vision for how Microsoft as a company
delivers business value in the cloud.
Varun Krishna – Group Product Manager
Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

decade {1.0} 45
INTERGEN HAS
PUT $108 MILLION
IN SALARIES
BACK INTO THE
ECONOMY.

decade {1.0}46
Intergen has had its share of public accolades and limelight over the years, but
the best and brightest tributes have always been the awards given within our own
ranks. We’ve recognised and rewarded a range of behaviours and achievements
with weekly and annual awards. No notable blunder or act of abject stupidity goes
unnoticed, and individual and team over-and-above efforts are lauded, too.
From the Big Bucks awards for sales to the end of year IAFTAs, to the regular
awards given based on customer feedback, there’s a chance for every Intergenite
to shine (or to gain infamy Intergen-wide).
10 Years of Intergen Awards

2007“We are very pleased to have the
clients and staff of Kognition join
us. They bring new capability in the
areas of Mobility and Smart Client
development and add strength to
our innovation commitment. I am
particularly happy to welcome Chris
Auld as Director, Strategy and
Innovation of Intergen.”
SILVERLIGHT RELEASED * INTERGEN ACQUIRES
KOGNITION AND A DUNEDIN OFFICE IS OPENED *
NEW INTERGEN DATA CENTRE LAUNCHES * iPHONE
LAUNCHES * KINDLE RELEASED * ACTIONTHIS LAUNCHES

decade {1.0}48
You might ask what makes a
great company. My answer is that
you need to balance the relationships
between vision, fairness,
management competence, and
getting right that delicate mix of
work space and home space. I see
clearly that getting this mix right
more often than not is what has made
Intergen a large and successful
company – and an over-sized
contributor to the economy in
New Zealand. Congratulations!
Andrew Jamieson – Business Development, ASPEQ Limited
(Glazier to Intergen, 1997 – 2004).

decade {1.0} 49
Interview
CHRIS AULD – DIRECTOR
How did you end up at Intergen?
Intergen was pitching for a project, and Kognition (my company)
did mobility as our specialty. Intergen wanted to bring Kognition
on board to tag team on the tendering process, so I got on my
bike, rode from Willis Street to Lambton Quay and we met at
Bordeaux Café for a chat (this was in 2006 when Intergen was
still across the road). We shook hands and decided to have a crack
at it, and we worked closely together throughout the RFP process.
We did the presentation and I did my usual arm-waving. We lost
the project, but nonetheless I’d had a great time working with
Intergen.
Tony Stewart and I continued our conversations and talked about
the various ways we intended on taking our respective businesses
forward. We decided that there would be definite value for
both parties in some kind of merger (I like that term better than
acquisition). We kicked around a bunch of ideas and in the end we
came up with a pretty simple plan. The Dunedin and Wellington
Kognition offices would both come on board with Intergen. Most
of the staff came across for at least six months; some moved
on eventually but most still keep in touch, like Skip, who’s now
focusing on another venture we did together called MedRecruit.
And it’s been four and a half years of hard work (and far too
much travel) ever since. I’m looking forward to my sabbatical
now. We probably do a bit less mobile than I was expecting and a
whole heap more work for Microsoft. I think it was a merger that
delivered great value for all parties.
All the way through university I had been lining myself up to
become a Microsoft developer evangelist. Six months after I
started Kognition, Microsoft knocked on the door. But by then I
had committed to a whole bunch of clients and didn’t really want
to drop the ball on them. I’ve never actually been a
Microsoft employee, but when you look at a lot of
what I do now, it makes complete sense that I lined
myself up that way.
In the early days Kognition was a business run out
of a bedroom. The first staff member was Jason
McBratney, who is still a part of our Dunedin office
today. We did a mixture of stuff for Microsoft and
mobility-related projects. Then we moved into the
Centre for Innovation at the University and moved
into an old biochemistry lab with linoleum floors
(which made it very noisy) and a chemical shower
but also an amazing glass-walled meeting room
looking out over Castle Street. It was pretty sweet
being part of life on campus but I have to say I ate
far too many Marlows Pies.
My wife, Deb, took a secondment opportunity in
Wellington and had so much fun she wanted to stay, so I set up
a Wellington office with Nick Head, who was our CTO and was
moving back to Wellington as well. And a year or two later we
both joined Intergen.
Although I haven’t been with Intergen for the full 10 years, I’ve
kept an eye on Intergen since it started. I remember TechEd well
– seeing Gabe and Derek in the yellow bowling shirts, looking like
Ali G. My first memory of Intergen is those bowling shirts – secretly
I think I liked them and really wanted to own one.
We’re a mature business now, and we’re still growing. We haven’t
come out of growth mode since we started; I think that’s the
amazing thing… 10 years on, nearly 300 people, and we still feel
like a pretty tight family group.

decade {1.0}50
What are our greatest achievements over
that time?
For me the greatest thing is seeing the young guys who’ve joined
us fresh out of university or polytech, watching them grow in
their roles and careers, going to the bank and getting houses. The
greatest thing has been being able to have built something that
has allowed people to have a cool lifestyle.
I think our biggest achievement is that we are unquestionably the
Microsoft platform experts in New Zealand. In the great spitting
match of life, no one else comes within cooee of us in this area.
In the next 10 years I see us getting bigger – and bigger in
Australia, especially. We’ll become a regional force there. It’s
called the “lucky country” and in the next 10 years we will
continue to invest and grow there, taking the Intergen experience
and culture from New Zealand and making it happen.
In terms of what the next 10 years has in store for us on the
technology front, 10 years is a hell of a long time in IT. But then,
if you think back 10 years, Windows XP was being launched, and
there are still a few people who are attached to XP. So I guess a
lot changes and a lot stays the same.
Connectivity is only going to get faster and faster. And any
concept of telephony is going to rapidly disappear and become
something of an anachronism as we move toward ‘IP connected
things’ instead.
Whatever happens, technology-wise, it’s important that we
continue to keep a razor-sharp focus on showing our clients
business benefits.
What impact has Intergen had on the New
Zealand market?
It’s tough to say at a local level, because I spend so much time out
of the country. We’ve had a significant impact in helping Microsoft
to build their business here. If you think right back to the late
90s, Intergen (since its previous incarnations) has been strongly
involved in Microsoft community events, like Developer Days.
TechEd, roadshows and national tours. Intergen has been at the
forefront in helping to foster developer culture in New Zealand.
This has also been beneficial to Microsoft partners. I don’t think
that any other partner has given back, or made the same impact,
as we have.
On an individual level, what is the greatest
thing Intergen represents for you?
It’s my largest shareholding in a single business, and I invest a
whole lot of time and resources into it. But it’s really more than
that for me – I live and breathe it every day. I paint my bike yellow
and have a collection of yellow shoes for which I am globally
renowned. I get upset when I can’t get the car I want in a suitable
shade of yellow. I only took yellow T-shirts on my trip to Europe
and everyone wondered if I actually changed my clothes. Intergen
is an integral part of my life and I’m pretty stoked to have it that
way. With Deb also working at Intergen and my amazing baby
daughter being big into yellow already it’s really an extended
family to us.
I’m up early most mornings because US West Coast gets me up.
5am our time is 8am their time, so I’m up early to deal with mail
from customers in the US.

decade {1.0} 51
I like playing with shiny new stuff, and the nature of what I do
means that I don’t stick long with any one technology – I am
forever hopping between technologies like the adrenalin junky I
am, always playing with the new stuff. It’s exciting, but it’s also
exhausting.
What have some of the biggest challenges been?
I fitted into Intergen reasonably easily, although when I started
in early 2007 it was a rough few months financially. Growth is
always a challenge. I come back to the office after time away
overseas and every time there’s a bunch of new faces.
What you might not know
about Chris… With more air miles
under his belt than an air steward and
more energy to burn than the Energizer
Bunny, Chris descended from a family
of lawyers, studied law and then
chose a career in… IT. A self-confessed
adrenalin junky with ADHD tendencies,
and Intergen’s own yellow clothes
horse, Chris is also a Microsoft MVP
and creator of the ‘Chris Special’ (see
page 41 for details).
10 years ago we were
paying $1.70 per MB
for internet traffic, with
monthly bills averaging
$6,500. If the same
rates still applied to us
now as they did then,
our monthly internet bill
would exceed $5 million.

decade {1.0}52
From universities and polytechs far and wide they come, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, eager for
their entrée into the seductive and ever-changing world of IT. We subject them to the rigors of the
week-long annual Boot Camp (and an overdose of PowerPoint presentations) and watch as their
eyes boggle and reality slowly dawns on them. Then they’re released out into the wilds and Real
Live Work begins. And within no time they’re accomplished IT professionals achieving big things.
72 graduates have
been Intergenised
over the past
10 years.
10 Years of Graduates

2008“We are extremely proud to have
been awarded Microsoft Partner of
the Year for 2008. Intergen (and
prior to that Glazier Systems) has
been a dedicated Microsoft partner
since we started out in the world in
1995. It was extremely rewarding
to be recognised by Microsoft for
our contribution to their success.
Microsoft has certainly played a big
part in our achievements over the
past 13 years.”
STAFF NUMBERS REACH 200+ IN NEW ZEALAND
AND AUSTRALIA COMBINED * INTERGEN ACHIEVES
PRESIDENTS CLUB STATUS FOR THE FIRST TIME *
INTERGEN AWARDED MICROSOFT NEW ZEALAND
PARTNER OF THE YEAR * GOOGLE CLAIMS
SEARCHABLE DATABASE OF ONE TRILLION WEB
PAGES (1,000,000,000,000) * SOCIAL MEDIA WELL
AND TRULY A PART OF THE TECH VERNACULAR

decade {1.0}54
“10 years is a long time in our industry,
and the pace and scale over the last
decade have been unprecedented.
Intergen has consistently delivered
outstanding customer solutions
throughout that period and their
business has evolved as software,
hardware and web-based services have
matured. Intergen is recognised as an
industry leader, both in New Zealand,
and internationally in the Microsoft
eco-system. Congratulations to Tony,
Paddy, Wayne and Chris for their vision
and commitment to the industry and to
delivering for their customers.”
Brett O’Riley, Chief Executive Officer, NZICT Group.

decade {1.0} 55
A very short history of Intergen’s technology path
“Glazier Systems was founded on the basis that smart business
people could use a high productivity tool like Microsoft Access
to build clever business systems without having to have a deep
technical background. As the business grew, we began to use
Microsoft SQL Server to allow us to build larger-scale systems and
we started to hire more technical staff. When Microsoft entered the
web space with Active Server Pages (ASP), we followed and began
building browser-based business applications, websites and intranets
and established our hosting capability. The business continued to
grow, our projects became bigger and more complex and our staff
became more technically focused.
In 2001, .NET came along. We embraced it and moved into a new world
of enterprise applications. At about the same time, we were introduced
to a new wave of application environments from Microsoft with the
likes of Content Management Server. We again stepped up, branched
out and broadened the scope of what we did.
More recently, as Microsoft has moved into the ERP and CRM markets,
we have followed suit and added those solutions to our offerings.
Microsoft now affords us the opportunity to provide an extremely wide
range of business solutions to our clients. We have grown our business
to support the increased breadth of solutions and have supplemented
our deep technical teams with a range of business-focused people
covering areas such as ERP and CRM consulting, knowledge strategy,
architecture and business process design.”
Tony Stewart, SMARTS 18 (late 2008)
FROM GLAZIER SYSTEMS TO NOW – THE MICROSOFT BASE TECHNOLOGY EVOLUTION IN A NUTSHELL.

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