Brisbane-based reseller Computer Alliance celebrates 25 years in business

Jason Puschmann, managing director and Lee Gurd, general manager tell CRN Australia how the reseller has been so successful.

When Jason Puschmann opened Computer Alliance 25 years ago, it was three doors down from his old job, which just happened to also be his competition.

“I opened up essentially in the same spot, basically I knew all the customers, we were a very little retailer back then,” the managing director and founder explained.

But this “little retailer” has grown into a $100 million a year business that resells PCs, Macs and peripherals. It also has a managed service side to the company.

Computer Alliance staffs 120 people which comprises of 50 engineers, staff working remotely across the country and some staff overseas in the Philippines.

“Most of our customer base, believe it or not, is outside Queensland for our managed services, which is a bit strange, since we're a Brisbane based company. But, we took advantage of our affluent database many years ago,” he said.

Taking advantage of opportunities

This journey wasn’t by luck or happenstance, but through Puschmann’s business acumen, according to Lee Gurd, corporate general manager at Computer Alliance.

“Jason is a real eagle eye for spotting an opportunity,” he explained. “From my perspective, looking at Jason. He is somebody who sees opportunity and acts, which is a pretty impressive process given what he's done over the years,” he explained.

“Taking the company from pretty much zero to a $100 million company now is just insane over a 25-year period.”

A great example of this was during Covid, Puschmann bought six months of stock into his warehouse, which lasted only three weeks once the lockdowns began.

"By the middle of March, everyone was working from home, we had a line around our building. I've never seen anything like in my life,” he said.

"We're very lucky that we had that stock to provide to our customers. I probably got six months worth of stock of webcams. They lasted for three weeks.”

Gurd noted that what Puschmann calls “luck”, he said is actually “identifying the opportunity”.

“When we get these challenges, it is about is finding the opportunity in the challenge. That's what Jason has done consistently across the years,” he said.

For those who have just started their own business or are about to, Puschmann said if you come across the opportunity, give it a go.

“Sometimes you win, sometimes you fail, but that's how you learn. But also you do need to have a bit of luck in business,” he explained.

"Talk to people within the industry that you respect that can also mentor you and give you good advice.”

Computer Alliance is a testament to how Puschmann treats people

Puschmann is a known figure in the industry, so much so, that he has great relationships with his competitors.

Gurd said, “He's so well respected in the industry that people will tell him things that you'd be surprised they tell him.

“What’s so fascinating is that Jason has relationships with both vendors, but also competitors that go back 25 to 30 years. People know that he plays with a straight bat. He's honest, he's up front.”

Gurd explains this is a testament to the way he treats his people.

“People don't tend to get disgruntled and go look for other jobs, because Jason looks after his people and he's got a business that's growing, there's potential to move up,” he said.

“We look at the retail team, and we regularly review them to see whether they would fit into the corporate team, or would they fit into the managed services team.”

How will they celebrate 25 years in business?

To mark 25 years in business, Puschmann and the team at Computer Alliance are hosting a series of celebrations and sales events throughout May.

The festivities will begin with a formal dinner for their top corporate customers, with a local representative also attending. The following week, the company will host a larger rooftop event, bringing together key vendors, suppliers, and distributors.

“We’re expecting a strong turnout from across the country, especially from interstate where many of our vendors and distribution partners are based,” Puschmann said.

“It’s our way of showing appreciation for the support we’ve received over the years.”

In addition to these events, Computer Alliance will launch several customer-focused initiatives to celebrate the milestone. Starting the first week of May, a series of promotions and celebrations will roll out in-store and online, with the major sale event beginning May 15.

To thank their loyal retail customers, a weekend celebration will take place on May 17, featuring woodfired pizza, a coffee cart, drinks, giveaways, and exclusive promotions.

“We’re really excited to give back to the community that’s supported us,” Puschmann said. “They’ll be serious birthday pricing starting from the 15th.”

As part of the celebrations, customers can also enter to win a $13,000 high-performance gaming rig featuring the latest RTX 5090 graphics card. “We launched the competition at IEM on Friday, and entries are open online through our website,” he added.

Puschmann said the anniversary events are ultimately about acknowledging the people behind the company’s success.

“We’ve built a strong, loyal customer base over the past 25 years,” he said. “We know we don’t win every sale, but our customers know we’ll always give them our best and that counts for a lot.”