Steep growth @ Monash.NET

by Stan Beer
The Age, Next, 1st July 2003

Monash.NET logo.

Lloyd Borrett, the former marketing and IT manager at publicly listed IT services company Oakton Limited, has joined fledgling .NET services provider Monash.NET and is putting out an all-points bulletin for more development staff.

The move to a much smaller company such as Monash.NET to take up the job as communications manager may at first appear to be a backward step. However, the company founded two years ago by Monash University software engineering associate professor Christine Mingins and Dr David Bennett, founder of local database business Powerflex, is in a steep growth phase.

"Since .NET started to ship, the company has been going from strength to strength," Borrett says, adding that Monash.NET needs good technical staff for its national operations. Borrett is communications manager at his new company and is also responsible for human resources, IT infrastructure and overseeing general administration. "I've got the sort of background that covers all of those areas," he says.

He says his company is looking for at least five and possibly more .NET developers spread across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide. Those interested in applying should send their inquiries to careers@monash.net.

Monash.NET is also holding a series of what Borrett says are unique training courses, called .NET Essentials boot camps, for web services developers. The course, which runs for four days, attempts to cram in the knowledge normally imparted during a 30-day Microsoft .NET curriculum, according to Borrett. "The courses start on Thursday and run over the weekend. It's designed for experienced developers who want to get into web services development."

Borrett says 50 developers will attend a boot camp in Melbourne this week, and 40 are booked in for the course in Sydney next week. For more information call 1300 666 274 or email info@monash.net

Borrett, started in IT 26 years ago as a technical programmer at BHP Information Systems, is one of several high-profile departures from Oakton this year. Co-founding director Tim Norton resigned last month, and John Quinn, executive director who ran the NSW office, plus Tom Slomovic, GM of Oakton People, both resigned in March.