This month, Seamless is celebrating our 10th anniversary. I’ve been feeling reflective and grateful — to our team, the organisations we’ve worked with, and all the people who encouraged us from day one (more on that later). And, as the councils and EDBs we work with face increasing complexity, our team has been reflecting on our ultimate goal: the future resilience of our communities, and the services that everyday New Zealanders use the most.

Seamless has come a long way in the last 10 years. We’ve worked with 76 organisations across 3 countries. We have almost 40 ongoing partnerships today. We’ve connected hundreds of systems and integrated billions of data points. We’ve had 4 logos, and 1 name change.

You may remember us from our early days as Traverse. Back then, as now, our team was most passionate about solving problems of information flow. We were driven by a desire to help enable resilient communities. 

So many people have played a part in our journey. We’ve not been an overnight success. It’s been a long hard grind by a team of dedicated people, finding a really good niche, and executing well.

Some major highlights for us include being recognised as the Safe Software Emerging Partner of the Year in 2023, and also steady year on year growth, thanks to our team and our reputation.

Our team has always been more curious about solving problems for people and working backward to technology. Rather than focusing on being at the ‘bleeding edge’ for its own sake, our success has come from curiosity, practical applications, and genuine outcomes for clients. A desire to learn and think differently. So as Seamless moves into the next 10 years, I find myself reflecting on what the future holds — not for technology developments, but for our communities. 

The councils and EDBs we work with face increasing complexity in asset management, as well as from population growth and extreme weather conditions. There’s no silver bullet. Our goal remains the same: to improve the digital maturity of the organisations we work with, so they can adopt the tools they need to do today’s jobs, while being ready for future challenges. 

The ultimate goal is future resilience. To bridge the gaps between these organisations so they can collaborate and all of New Zealand gets the benefits, protecting the services that everyday New Zealanders use the most.

If you’ve come this far, thank you again; and an especially big thank you to the folks who worked with, supported or otherwise encouraged us in the early days. First and foremost, long time partners Chris Duncan, Kimilla Drummond, Ashlyn Oswalt and the whole Seamless team (past and present). A special mention to Jan Roggisch, an early partner, and Maurice Wills — employee number one!

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Leon Mooney for hosting us at Saltworks for 5 years, and Graeme Henderson from Eagle Technology for championing both myself and Seamless. Jordana Clarke came along at the perfect time and brought us on the journey of the last 5 years. Safe Software has played a big role, especially Don Murray (CEO), Craig Vernon, Dave Patterson, and Conor Bolger.

Last but not least, every company has to start somewhere, and for me it started with support from some early believers. Rebecca Parish and Ben White gave my journey a start at NZTA, and these early supporters of Seamless (or Traverse then) were some of our earliest customers: Sheryl Cowan from Waimakariri District Council, Iain Campion from Environment Canterbury, and Mathy Dornan from Transpower — thank you all.