Company History
Back in 1997, when the Internet was slow and expensive to access, before social networking, before spam, and before self-made internet millionaires, five teenage friends came together and formed Web Drive Limited out of a passion for web design, and the realisation that the Web would be the next big thing.
While still studying at university and polytech the five began designing and publishing websites for the business owners they knew in their families and social circles. With little business knowledge or experience the road ahead was filled with a mix of successes and hard lessons. Early on, the company won several industry awards for websites, and while they enjoyed the recognition amongst their peers, and the increasing demand for their services, the guys soon made the decision to concentrate on the web hosting market, where they saw an opportunity to become a niche provider in a market dominated by the big ISPs.
After working separately from the bedrooms of their parents' houses for two years the company leased its first office in Albany in early 1999 after they completed their studies and began working full-time on the business. They finally had a place to work together each day, however another problem quickly surfaced... how to pay 5 full-time staff on a monthly income of only a few thousand dollars.
One of the early lessons learnt was the downside of mixing business and pleasure and in 1999 three of the founding directors left the business in pursuit of other opportunities, leaving current directors Daniel Williams and Steve Hogg to upskill quickly and focus the company in the direction they had been wanting to take it.
In late 1999 the business began building its New Zealand-based infrastructure after their single US-based server went down for a week leaving hundreds of customers without websites or email just weeks before Christmas. This was a critical turning point as the company took total control over its fate and removed the risks associated with hosting servers overseas.
This single server that carried all customer sites, email, and databases quickly grew into a robust network of redundant machines where services were separated out into multiple machines ensuring minimal to zero interuption in the event of hardware failues. Today the shared hosting network comprises over 60 servers, housed within leased space at ISP Maxnet's data centre on Auckland's North Shore, just minutes from our offices.
In early 2000 Web Drive took on its first employee, a graphic designer to help with internal projects, and staff numbers steadily grown over the years to a total of 15 employees today.
Over the last three years the business has acquired 13 smaller competitors, including fast-growing discount players Webbase and Openhost, which continue to run as separate brands.
Through a mix of perserverance, smart marketing, fantastic products, and mutliple acquisitions Web Drive has grown rapidly in recent years and is now one of New Zealand's largest and longest-established web hosting companies. We operate four strong and well-known brands in the market and we're proud that one in every ten of New Zealand's three hundred thousand Domain names is managed through us.
Our revenue has increased 65% per year on average for the last three years, and continues to grow. In 2006 we were recognised as one of New Zealand's fastest growing companies in the Deloitte Fast 50, and expect to achieve the same in 2008.
We provide services to thousands of New Zealand businesses, both directly and through our vast network of resellers, and we're proud to be a supplier to some of New Zealand's best-known and leading companies, including: CallPlus/Slingshot, Subway, State Services Commission, Stagecoach, Fletcher Building, Trustpower, Carpet Court, Healtheries, Transit NZ, and Karen Walker.