42. Comvision Australia

Revenue: $4.7 million
Growth: 48.2%
Founders: Owen Johnson (40)
Head Office: Wheelers Hill, Victoria
Employees: 22
Industry: Information and communication technology
Website: https://cvv.com.au/
Year Founded: 2004

How it started

After graduating university in 2004, Owen Johnson started Comvision Australia to help SMEs primarily in the manufacturing and engineering sectors to make better use of technology.

“While computer adoption in the workplace was relatively commonplace in 2004, many smaller organisations did not understand the potential positive impact that it could have on productivity and efficiency,” Johnson explains.

Comvision stepped in to help its customers move beyond email order-taking towards process automations. The business would manage critical systems, operating as an outsourced IT manager.

Growth

From a revenue base of $3.17 million in 2018-19, Comvision has grown by 48% to hit $4.7 million in 2020-21. Johnson attributes the success to stepping back from working in the business, to working on the business, rethinking his role, and working with a business coach.

“Being skilled in a profession does not automatically make you a skilled business owner or manager, and the faster that you can gain these skills, the faster you can regain a sense of work-life balance that is almost inevitably lost in the early stages of a business,” Johnson tells SmartCompany.

Where to next?

Johnson says the goal is to build on the strong momentum within the business, bringing more than 2000 computers and servers under Comvision management by June 2022.

A key part of that will be expanding the company’s cyber security services portfolio and team, delivering to advanced manufacturing business and SMEs in defence supply-chain sectors across both Australia and the US.