Smile IT

Overview

About

Smile IT is a Brisbane managed IT company founded in 2007 by Peter Drummond, who set the business up operating out of his Brisbane garage. Drummond's wife Lauren is a co-founder, and the two of them remain part of the management team guiding a business that has grown year on year since those garage days. The company is based at 1/120 Graystone Street, Tingalpa, Brisbane 4173, and it now looks after customers right across Australia, from the capital cities to remote and challenging locations including mine sites in Central Queensland. One of Smile IT's clearest specialisations is legal: it describes itself as a managed IT provider for law firms in Brisbane and South East Queensland, with a team experienced in the sector putting together cyber security solutions tailored to legal professionals. That work includes advanced endpoint protection, network security, regular vulnerability assessments, 24/7 monitoring and AI-driven threat protection, all aimed at reducing the risk of cyber attacks while keeping firms compliant with security regulations. The company provides 24/7 support through an Australian helpdesk, and clients can reach it on 1300 766 720. Drummond, who had earlier worked as a technical consultant and IT business advisor, is known for plain-spoken advice: when he is not writing technology articles, he can be found kitesurfing on Moreton Bay. The company keeps active profiles on Facebook as Official Smile IT and on Instagram as smile.i.t, and its history page records that sustained organic growth was boosted by key strategic partnerships along the way.

The services Smile IT delivers start with managed IT services and 24/7 monitoring and support, the backbone of keeping client systems running day and night. The IT projects and consulting work covers bigger pieces of work such as system upgrades and office moves. On the security side, the company provides cyber security services, alignment with the Australian Cyber Security Centre's Essential Eight, penetration testing that probes client defences the way an attacker would, and ISO 27001 compliance work for organisations that need their security management independently certified. The cloud services move workloads to hosted platforms, while the VoIP and telecoms work and the connectivity services handle business phone systems and the internet links underneath them. AI and automation services help clients put practical automation in place, and the remote and industrial IT services are designed for operations outside normal offices, such as the mine sites the company already supports. The management team beyond the founders includes General Manager Mike Conybeare, Head of Business Systems Adrian Dean and Head of Finance Steve Benning. Smile IT's vendor relationships include Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, Acronis, Ubiquiti, ConnectWise, Google and Intel. After a difficult period around 2016 and 2017, the company reinvented its strategy and now holds its own software assets and consulting products that sit alongside the managed services division, and Drummond has said he wants to grow the company's charitable work, with a particular passion for helping in the education space in Africa.