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MELBOURNE tech company Dealer IT has created a first by firming up its relationship with leading Australian DMS software business, Pentana Solutions.

Dealer IT is a specialist company managing the support for automotive dealerships around the country, providing services including desktop support, network support, server support and telecommunications.

It dovetails with Pentana which has previously not used a partner for IT support services.

Pentana, now 45 years in business and stretching to international markets, specialises in the development and supply of software specifically for dealerships. Pentana also has the ability to provide secure cloud hosting services and site connectivity solutions within their private cloud that Pentana has been running for over 10 years.

Dealer IT is well versed in DMSs and sees itself as a one-stop customised IT support company for the automotive industry.

Damian Lupton

The managing director of Dealer IT, Michael Miloseski, said dealers have struggled to find one IT company that can provide an end-to-end solution for everything from desktop support through to the DMS support.

“That is until now. With the relationship we have with Pentana Solutions, we can provide all Pentana customers with a one-stop shop for all their IT requirements, whatever the problem or solution,” he told GoAutoNews Premium.

Pentana Solutions technical pre-sales engineer Damian Lupton said the relationship’s value “was in delivering end-to-end solutions for the dealers”.

“Dealers sell vehicles – they’re not in the IT business and yet IT is such a fundamental part of a dealership and it needs to perform,” he said.

“It isn’t something that Pentana had offered, when coupled with Dealer IT’s offerings it brings greater value to our clients.”

Mr Lupton said IT “can cost a lot of money so IT support is very important.”

“Security and intrusion prevention is paramount. When you couple our solutions for cloud and SD-WAN with Dealer IT’s services, it creates a very secure solution. With our ‘cloud’ offering and the ability to have a hosted service, it improves the dealership’s accessibility, especially with a lot of people working from home.

“For us, it means we can now tell our clients and our future clients that in conjunction with our business partner Dealer IT, we can supply a complete end-to-end package.”

Mr Lupton said that Pentana had worked with Dealer IT before and therefore “getting the product to market has been very smooth and without any hiccups”.

Michael Miloseski

Dealer IT was started in 2010 by Mr Miloseski and now has 25 staff. He said he previously worked for Pentana’s predecessor, Reynolds and Reynolds, in the early 2000s and saw a need to cover dealership support issues, such as computers and networks.

“There was a bit of a gap in the market for these services so I went out on my own and just serviced a few dealerships across Victoria, just doing the things that Pentana didn’t do,” he said.

“The business has grown since then and now we’re the largest automotive IT support company in Australia, when it comes to servicing the IT needs.

“The reason why we’re different from other IT companies is because our staff are trained in the DMS part of it, especially as Pentana has a large slice of the market.

“A lot of dealers see the value in using our services because we are a one-stop shop. We cover everything from the desktop computer right through to the DMS support in the cloud.

“Now, with the new relationship with Pentana, we can provide any dealership with an end-to-end solution.”

Mr Lupton said that the relationship will help expand Pentana’s customer reach.

“Our main focus is national so this will go around Australia,” he said.

“We have mutual customers in NSW and Victoria and we are looking to expand now into Queensland.

“COVID has put the brakes on expansion a little bit but has given us time to get it to market,” Mr Lupton said.

By Neil Dowling

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