The Trigger
In 2010, a kitchen renovation business on Sydney’s North Shore had a virus problem their IT company couldn’t solve. After days of failed visits from the incumbent technician, the business was still down and running out of patience. One of their designers — a personal contact — quietly asked the owner for permission to let PRETERION connect remotely. Within minutes, the problem was resolved. What happened next changed the relationship entirely.
The Challenge
The business was running on break-fix IT support: reactive, undocumented, and entirely dependent on a single technician with no formal methodology. With 20 staff and over 80 contractors regularly accessing shared systems, every incident was a gamble. There was no security framework, no onboarding or offboarding process for contractors, and no one accountable for the overall health of their technology. The business had simply never known any different.
The Solution
PRETERION resolved the virus remotely using professional-grade tools — the kind the previous provider didn’t have. But the more important moment came after: rather than close the ticket and move on, PRETERION explained exactly what had happened, why the infection had succeeded, and what needed to change to prevent it happening again. The owner had never received that kind of debrief from an IT company.
Days later, PRETERION was invited to quote for ongoing support. The monthly fee was five times what the business had been paying. After a straightforward conversation about how structured IT management works — and what break-fix IT actually costs when you account for downtime, risk, and lost productivity — the owner approved it without hesitation.
That was the start of a partnership that has now run for more than 15 years.
Before / After
Before PRETERION:
- Active virus incident unresolved for multiple days by incumbent provider
- No security framework, no documented processes, no staff education
- Break-fix support with no visibility into IT health or risk exposure
- 80+ contractors with unmanaged system access — no formal onboarding or offboarding
- IT spend unpredictable, reactive, and unaccounted for
After PRETERION:
- Virus resolved remotely in minutes on first contact
- ITIL/ITSM-based management introduced from the first month
- Structured contractor access management — onboarding and offboarding documented and enforced
- Multi-year migration to an Essential 8-aligned security posture
- Monthly reporting included — the director reviews invoices without querying them
Benefits
- 15+ years without a significant security incident or unplanned outage
- Full technology coverage for 20 staff and 80+ contractors under a single managed support agreement
- Director makes no IT or technology decision without first consulting PRETERION
- Predictable monthly cost with full transparency — no surprise invoices
- PRETERION service desk acts as single point of contact for all technology needs, coordinating with specialist providers where required
Client Quote
“I stopped thinking about IT as a problem years ago. The reports come every month, the systems work, and whenever something needs a decision I know exactly who to call. That peace of mind is worth every dollar.”
— Director, kitchen design and renovation business, North Shore Sydney
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