Umbrellar

Umbrellar Technology Group LimitedType of business| Private

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Founded| 1997; 29 years ago (1997)
Headquarters| Auckland, New Zealand
Area served| New Zealand, Australia, Asia-Pacific
Key people| Ian Hassell (CEO)

Caroline Young (CFO) Luke Golds (CFO)

Shavvah Aldred (Chief sales & Marketing Officer)
Industry| Cloud computing, data center services, Co-location, Cloud Managed Services, cloud migration,and Modernization, AI Design, implementation & support
Website| www.umbrellar.co.nz

Umbrellar Technology Group Limited is a New Zealand–based cloud solutions and technology services provider headquartered in Takapuna, Auckland. While the Umbrellar brand traces its origins back to 1997, the current legal entity known as Umbrellar Technology Group Limited was formally incorporated on 19 February 2024 following a management buyout from their American owners, Pax8, back into New Zealand ownership. [1]

## Contents

* 1 Early Origins (1997–2014)
* 2 Private Equity Ownership and Azure/Azure Stack Era (2014–2022)
* 3 Pax8 Acquisition (2022)
* 4 Formation of Umbrellar Technology Group (2024)
* 5 Business Focus and Evolution (2024–Present)
* 6 References
* 7 External links

## Early Origins (1997–2014)

Umbrellar’s foundations lie in the consolidation of multiple New Zealand hosting, domain, and internet service brands. Originally established as Digiweb in 1997, the business expanded through a series of mergers and acquisitions involving well‑known local providers, including Web Drive, Freeparking, and other hosting and domain ventures. These integrations formed one of New Zealand’s largest aggregated portfolios for data‑center services, website hosting, domain registration, and managed infrastructure services. [2]

## Private Equity Ownership and Azure/Azure Stack Era (2014–2022)

In September 2014, Umbrellar was acquired by New Zealand–based Pencarrow Private Equity. [3] Under Pencarrow’s ownership, the company continued consolidating infrastructure brands and began a strategic shift toward cloud‑first services.

During this period Umbrellar became an early New Zealand adopter of Microsoft Azure, investing heavily in engineering capability for cloud transformation. By 2018 Umbrellar had launched hybrid cloud offerings built on Microsoft Azure and Azure Stack.

(Note: Microsoft later rebranded Azure Stack HCI as Azure Local, modernising the platform and unifying Microsoft’s distributed infrastructure portfolio.)

Umbrellar’s cloud‑led execution and technical capability earned national recognition, including being named Microsoft New Zealand Partner of the Year (2019). [4]

## Pax8 Acquisition (2022)

In August 2022, Pencarrow exited its investment when Pax8, a global cloud marketplace provider, acquired the Umbrellar Cloud business.[5] This acquisition incorporated Umbrellar’s Microsoft cloud services, managed service operations, data‑centre operations, and engineering teams into Pax8’s Asia–Pacific expansion strategy.

## Formation of Umbrellar Technology Group (2024)

On 1 March 2024, Pax8 divested its New Zealand direct‑customer business in a management buyout, enabling the establishment of Umbrellar Technology Group Limited as an independent, locally owned cloud‑services organisation.[1] This transition returned the business to New Zealand ownership.

Ian Hassell was appointed CEO and became the majority shareholder. The newly formed entity inherited the engineering teams, customer portfolio, and managed‑service operations previously run under Pax8 NZ, marking the formal beginning of Umbrellar Technology Group in its current structure.

## Business Focus and Evolution (2024–Present)

Umbrellar Technology Group positions itself as a cloud‑led services organization specializing in:

* Cloud infrastructure management across Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services
* Cloud migration, modernisation, and architecture
* Private cloud and colocation services within Auckland and Christchurch datacenters
* Managed services, including Umbrellar FinOps (UFO) and proactive care
* AI design and implementation services
* Data services
* Strategic IT consulting, advisory, and professional services

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Talevski, Julia (11 March 2024). "Pax8 divests NZ MSP unit, helps Umbrellar Technology Group come to life". Reseller News. https://www.reseller.co.nz/article/1312637/pax8-divests-nz-msp-unit-helps-umbrellar-technology-group-come-to-life.html.
2. ↑ "New Zealand's largest domains & hosting company sold". IT Brief. 8 September 2014. https://itbrief.co.nz/story/new-zealands-largest-domains-hosting-company-sold.
3. ↑ "Pencarrow Private Equity: Company Profile". Pencarrow. https://www.pencarrowpe.co.nz/.
4. ↑ Moore, Ben (13 June 2019). "Umbrellar named Microsoft's NZ Partner of the Year". Channel Life. https://channellife.co.nz/story/umbrellar-named-microsoft-s-nz-partner-of-the-year.
5. ↑ Panettieri, Joe (1 August 2022). "Pax8 Acquires Microsoft 365, Azure Cloud Solutions Provider Umbrellar". ChannelE2E. https://www.channele2e.com/news/pax8-buys-microsoft-365-azure-cloud-solutions-provider-umbrellar.

## External links

* Official website

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