Flight Centre chooses Interactive for Epic Support

The Flight Centre Epic is one of Australia's leading mountain-biking events. More than one thousand riders set off in a series of waves to commence the 2006 competition, held in Toowoomba, Queensland. The race was divided into two divisions, with the 110 kilometre Epic, and the half distance, Pure Blonde Half Epic, which started mid-course.

Andy Jones, Interactive's enigmatic Queensland Sales Manager made his colleagues proud by competing in the gruelling 110km event. Andy described the experience as the hardest physical challenge he has ever had. He completed 110 kilometres of hills, dirt and forest in a time of 8hrs 40mins and assures us it is an experience he wouldn't have missed.

Flight Centre is Australasia's best known travel agency group and boasts more than 1500 outlets across nine countries. Interactive is proud to be the chosen services provider for hardware maintenance on the critical Flight Centre IBM server fleet.

Congratulations Andy, and dare we say good luck in the 2007 event!

June 2006

Renault F1 - Powered by Network Appliance

Australian Grand Prix April 2nd 2006: World-wide CEO of Network Appliance, Dan Warmenhoven, was invited to visit the Renault F1 team garage just one hour before the running of the Australian GP. Renault, one of the most technologically advanced teams in F1, utilises NetApp storage for its analysis and telemetry systems. To quote a Renault official, "The live telemetry systems are responsible for a 0.1 second per lap improvement in performance. Over the course of a race, this is over 7 seconds! The difference between winning and losing."

Network Appliance is proud to be associated with Renault and their success. Fittingly, Fernando Alonso (F1 World Champion 2005) won the race, Giancarlo Fisichella finishing fifth. Without doubt, they made the right storage decision!

Guests to the Renault Team garage L to R: Dan Warmenhoven, Charmaine Warmenhoven, Christopher Ride (Managing Director, Interactive), Simon Green (Managing Director, NetApp, Australia & New Zealand), Monique Green, Chelsie Hemingway (National Manager, Business Relationships, Interactive).

Interactive is proud to be the chosen support services provider for Network Appliance in Australia since 2001.

April 2006

Where does the 42nd President go for advice about disaster recovery?

But seriously, Managing Director of Interactive, Christopher Ride, had the honour of meeting former President of the United States, Bill Clinton, at the Global Business Forum held on February 23rd, in Melbourne. "What an extraordinary experience it was to meet him and have a brief conversation," Ride commented. "Listening to him discuss his career, his views on the world political landscape, and the economy, was amazing. After all, he was here in Australia to teach us about leadership - and he did just that. I can honestly say that I will never be the same again after meeting him. His charisma was overpowering, and his intellect undeniable."

November 2005

Joe Hockey, Minister for Human Services opens Interactive's Corporate HQ

Member for North Sydney and Minister for Human Services, Joe Hockey MP, officially opened Interactive's newest Disaster Recovery Facility and Corporate Head Quarters in St Leonards. "It is a sad reality that many businesses are now planning for events that might mean their offices are affected by terrorism or natural disasters," Mr Hockey said, "Major companies are thinking about what they would do in the event that their services were interrupted or their buildings damaged or destroyed in the event of an attack or a major natural disaster." "This service being offered by Interactive will allow companies to effectively replicate their IT systems and office space so that in the event of a disaster or disruption they can continue to do business." "In practice, it will mean that Interactive will provide a mirror set up - if a company can't operate from its normal premises it will be able to quickly relocate to Interative's premises which will have that company's IT systems and data already in place." Mr Hockey said that this was an important service for Australian based companies - a natural or man-made disaster has the potential to severely disrupt the economy. Having services such as this could reduce that impact by allowing them to continue to operate from a different location."

November 2005

It seems that no matter where you go, there is always a need for a great Systems Availability company!

On October 21st 2005, Christopher Ride, Managing Director of Interactive successfully climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa. "Challenges like these make life so satisfying. It makes you realise, in a service company like ours, that giving 100% is a subjective mark - we can always learn to deliver more, in more creative and beneficial ways. You learn a lot about yourself and your own company after experiences like this."