Christian faith kept IT expert's company dream alive

Jaco van Rensburg has set up a new IT company in Whangarei. PHOTO/JOHN STONE

Jaco van Rensburg and his wife Dalet had a secret. Mr van Rensburg wanted to start his own IT company. In 2015 he shared that ambition with no one else but her.

Being a Christian he said he never doubted it would happen.

"We prayed about this and asked God to lead us but also to send us a vision or confirmation. Then one day we had a pastor over at our house and we started talking and he said to me, you want to start your own business and I said yes.

"I was looking directly at my wife at the time. We were both shocked at what he had said, as we had kept it a secret between us [the IT company idea].

"I said yes to him, without the pastor knowing about this [secret]. It just confirmed my trust in God."

In 2016 Mr van Rensburg officially launched PCTECH NZ Ltd, based in Whangarei.
The IT consultancy specialises in the maintenance and service of small and medium enterprise networks (SMEs).

Mr van Rensburg said business was good, with PCTECH NZ having clients in most sectors including manufacturing, construction, agriculture, accommodation and retail.

"PCTECH NZ endorses the outsourcing principle as the most logical option for SMEs looking to optimise their IT investments," he said.

"Making a decision to outsource the day-to-day, online monitoring and management of the network can dramatically reduce SME staff costs, and this reduction in cost translates to an ongoing management benefit."

Mr van Rensburg said PCTECH NZ's culture within the organisation is its greatest sustainable competitive advantage.

"At the heart of this is our core focus on supporting great partnerships that are built on the foundation of a shared purpose and shared values.

"So, at PCTECH NZ, we do more than just provide our clients with outsourced IT support solutions that make doing business seamless and efficient.

"As a key strategic partner, we look to nurture our clients' [and individuals] values and goals by allowing for platforms that grow their needs and dreams, knowing well that they will become a reality."

Mr van Rensburg grew up in South Africa. He finished school in 1994, then started as a junior IT technician at South African IT company PCS in 1995. He taught himself "everything about IT".

"Little did I know what was going to happen in the next 20 years. I was thrown into the deep end. This taught me how to identify potential IT problems, IT concerns, assess risks, decision making and problem analysis.

"Since then I have never looked back. I gained lots of exposure travelling the world, working in New York, London, Melbourne, Florida, South Africa and New Zealand.

"Working with various international companies and clients in various industries was a great stepping stone for me. I learned about the different cultures within the organisations and the importance of it, collaborating and working as a team, made me respected by clients. Seeing solutions and opportunities instead of failures."

In his 22 years in IT, Mr van Rensburg has had the opportunity to see companies change, making use of IT service management, policies, procedures and solutions he implemented to help them become successful.

And on the other side he had seen companies fail because they weren't doing the basics right.

"The classic mistake many IT companies make is to believe the implementation of technology will solve their change management issues."