A detailed comparison of two major Australian Managed Service Providers.
Feature
Brennan IT
Datacom
Overall Score
—
3.1
Type
Managed Services
Global Enterprise
Employees
200-400
5000-6000
Founded
1997
1965
Headquarters
Sydney, NSW
Sydney, NSW (NZ HQ: Auckland)
Revenue
Private
Private
Salary Range
$75,000 - $130,000
$75,000 - $160,000
Specialties
Managed Services, Cloud, Unified Communications
Managed Services, Cloud Infrastructure, Data Centre, Application Development
Certifications
Microsoft Partner, Cisco Partner
Microsoft Partner, AWS Partner, Cisco Partner, VMware Partner
Green Flags
—
Privately held — no PE pressure, no quarterly earnings Low offshoring (~20%) — most work delivered locally Genuine work-life balance in most teams Rarely does mass layoffs — stable employment Largest locally-owned IT company in Australia
Red Flags
—
Below-market salaries (A$85-95K average vs A$128-138K market) Career stagnation — 'dead man's shoes' culture Internal politics favour tenure over talent Graduate program used as cheap labour pipeline Manager quality varies wildly between teams
Worker Pros
UC expertise Good culture Flexible
Stability — private ownership means no restructuring cycles Work-life balance is genuinely good Local delivery — your job isn't being offshored Good graduate programs with real mentorship
Worker Cons
Limited career paths Below market salary
Salaries are 20-30% below market rate Career progression is slow — 'dead man's shoes' Manager quality varies wildly — your experience depends on your boss Innovation is limited by risk-averse culture Internal politics favour loyalty over competence
Both Managed Services and Global Enterprise have strengths and weaknesses. Your choice depends on your priorities — whether that's career growth, salary, work-life balance, or technical exposure.
Use the side-by-side comparison tool for a deeper look, or check out individual profiles for detailed employee reviews.