Creating technology for social good

Ackama is a forward-thinking Trans-Tasman software company with an inspiring track-record and a heart for positive social impact.

Not surprisingly, like many significant software technology developers, Ackama has kept a relatively low public profile over the years, and comes from humble beginnings.

Its journey began in September 2010 when Breccan McLeod-Lundy started out as an independent contractor and web developer in Wellington. His business name Rabid Technologies was a reflection of his eagerness and enthusiasm to produce great work.

Josh Forde subsequently joined Breccan in the business, helping to grow more ambitious solutions, and rather than complain about government social good projects the two realised they would have to become an established and formidable influencer themselves.

Around the same time Breccan launched his start-up, Squareweave started out life across the ditch in Melbourne where Will Dayble and Luke Giuliani also began developing software and technology for social enterprise communities.

To this very day the founders of both companies, now merged into one and named Ackama, believe technology can make the world a better place. That’s because systems built on the back of technology impact many people.

Largely staying under the media radar, Ackama has steadily broadened the services they offer and have a steady flow of projects with meaningful challenges. Those projects include the likes of tackling climate change through the delivery of the NZX Emissions Trading Scheme system, promoting social inclusion with work on the New Zealand Sign Language Dictionary, and undergoing software development projects for foundations that promote the recovery of health such as the Alcohol and Drug Foundation of Australia.

Ackama continues to appoint highly talented and experienced people to continue its rapid growth. In October last year Jamie Baddeley was appointed as general manager – bringing 30 years’ experience and leadership across the telecommunications, Internet, IT and energy sector. While he was president of InternetNZ Jamie has overseen the organisation’s response to the Christchurch terrorist attack, as well as a significant increase in community funding initiatives.

Covid’s hiccups

Since the creation of Ackama in 2018 linked the teams on both sides of the Tasman, the company has managed to navigate the challenges of operating in two countries, particularly under the added stress of the pandemic.

Josh Forde remembers that the real pressure during Covid’s peak was personal.

“I had very young children, while feeling the stress of being responsible for a large team. It took a while to realise how to operate where this challenge couldn’t be controlled, and couldn’t be predicted,” he says. “Melbourne went on to have one of the most difficult lockdowns anywhere, in a hugely politicised environment.

“Our New Zealand-based team really stretched and made the effort to support our colleagues while being aware we weren’t under the same types of pressures.”

The pandemic has shown that a lot of high-quality professional work can be delivered remotely, Josh says.

He points out that Australia is a much more dynamic economy in terms of size and competition, and as a Kiwi it can be difficult to navigate new networks and new ways of doing business. “Even the language is more different than we tend to notice,” he says.

The working culture is quite different within teams too, he points out, but it is important to get a common understanding that works well in both countries.

“Ironically the covid lockdowns made many parts of our service delivery work more effectively and efficiently. When we needed to meet clients in person, we ran two organisations with parallels but there was a strong local division.”

Bigger scale, better delivery

Growth for Ackama is not just about return on investment, it’s about the ability to take on bigger challenges.

Josh recalls when the Melbourne acquisition was made, and the founders were assuring the new team that it was a good thing. “A brief came in for a massive project undertaking. Internally I got a call saying ‘I literally don’t understand if this client brief is technically possible and the deliverable goes live in ten weeks’.

“Through growing, we were able to leverage a wider team. We got on a plane to New York to see what we could do,” he recalls. “We flexed and produced a 24-hour online climate-change summit supporting many global heads of state. Through scale, when we see opportunities, it means we can deliver. And we get a real professional thrill in being part of creating something special in our work.”

Growth lessons

Having a small board has been very important to Ackama’s growth, says Josh. “It has given us an important sounding board to clarify our thinking and address key challenges.

“You need to have a really balanced perspective about business advice and business lessons,” he says. “Ultimately there is a lot of advice floating around for free that can make you feel inferior, and I am suspicious of general consulting that doesn’t account for your challenges and how you operate.”

It’s important to get external help and support, he believes. “But don’t take it at face value, someone external is operating from their own experience. Thinking things through and finding ways to adopt new thinking takes a lot of experimentation and learning from some failures.”

Josh says some parts of the Ackama business they’ve wanted to change or to grow have also necessitated bringing in specialist people, rather than covering all responsibilities as founders or with generalist managers.

“Ultimately operating in business is constantly demanding because we work with unique teams of people, and we manage complex services and processes.”

Looking ahead

The latest significant step in the growth journey of Ackama came on November 1, 2022 when the company acquired Common Code, a Victoria-based digital technology business that specialises in building technology for communities and enterprises making a better world.

That’s a familiar sounding résumé for the original founders of Ackama, who still place social good high in their priorities.

“Now by delivering ICT and digital tech really well, we are hugely excited to be working at scale,” says Josh. “It means great working teams with design and engineering capability, working on responses to big problems, growing companies, as well as delivering government or social services in effective and scalable ways.”

In five years’ time he sees Ackama continuing to grow its revenue; reinvesting that to expand into new locations.

“We’ll drop the ‘small’ moniker from our ‘small business’ category. We also expect that will bring us into a higher level of engagement within New Zealand, as the respect for our overall business growth develops.”