Melbourne IT NetRegistry Acquisition

I found out yesterday that Melbourne IT is to acquire NetRegistry, and in my view it’s buying it for a steal ($50.4m). Deja vu – Melbourne IT bought WebCentral in 2006, and all it’s done in the meantime is bleed it dry. The irony is that Melbourne IT claims the “WebCentral plan” bled it dry. With no investment in skills and technology renewal, who in the industry is surprised? WebCentral lost some of the most skilled people in the hosting industry in the aftermath of the takeover, and Melbourne IT did nothing at all to either retain them or to invest in skilled replacements.

I became a WebCentral partner a decade ago, and in that time saw the flourishing company turn into a basket case, and the moment that happened was when the Melbourne IT accountants took over. It was a sad day when I made the decision to transfer my clients to other providers, but it had to be done for the sake of my clients. Unfortunately, one of the gaining providers was a brilliant company called TPP Wholesale – who subsequently became part of the NetRegistry family – and so I find myself back in the Melbourne IT fold.

Melbourne IT is a woeful, myopic and chaotic company to work with. Now that NetRegistry CEO Larry Bloch now sits on the board of Melbourne IT, I can only hope he will help them clean up their act.

In the meantime, I’m looking for yet another new provider…