It was twenty-four years ago, in the afterglow of the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and Juan Antonio Samaranch declaring the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, “the best Olympic Games ever” that Tim Fussell got his mobile phone service and support company started. He called it “Techhead Interactive”.
Looking back at the time, it’s interesting to see that in another sporting arena in another world, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator was the biggest grossing film of the year. Featuring Australia’s favourite adopted son Russell Crowe, his commanding performance as Maximus Decimus Meridius captivated audiences and led to an Oscar for Best Actor, catapulting him to Hollywood’s A-list. Now 24 years later, the sequel to this critically acclaimed blockbuster has just been released in Australia and is once again likely to set new records.
On the music scene in 2000, there was a rhetorical question that is still asked to this day. Not worrying about the answer or what the lyrics might hide, Baha Men’s “Who Let the Dogs Out?” was on constant replay in 2000, with the catchy island rhythms creating an early soundtrack to the noughties. Also on very high rotation during the year was Vanessa Amorosi’s “Absolutely Everybody”. It even made a huge splash as part of the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. You heard the song absolutely everywhere and there was absolutely no escaping it.
Nokia 3310
And talking about “Absolutely Everybody”, in those days, absolutely everybody was carrying a Nokia 3310, meaning supporting this device represented a sizable chunk of Techhead Interactive’s fledgling business. At the time, nothing came close to its intuitive design, durability, functionality, and amazing battery life. And it wasn’t merely a phone – it was a style icon.
In terms of connectivity, we were still living in a 2G world. The revolution of mobile communications would only start in earnest with the introduction of 3G, which was still three years away. 5G was another 19 years away!
From mobile phone support to whole-of-business communications
Twenty-four years later, and so much has happened in the mobile phone world that’s nicely reflected in the changes in Tim’s business. Rebranded as imei, it’s no longer a mobile phone service and support company, but a whole-of-business information communications technology provider and an Accredited Telstra Global Partner with Australian Cyber Security Essential Eight certification.
Count on imei as your partner for enterprise mobility
With 24 years of professional experience, imei is leading the way in delivering enterprise grade mobility, TIPT, Teams Calling, as well as SD-WAN and SASE frameworks. We have a long list of accreditations and certifications demonstrating our deep knowledge of the mobile technology ecosystem, strong partnerships with leading vendors, and a highly experienced and qualified team of technicians. Our technical competencies in mobile operating systems include iOS, Android and legacy OS, and mobile device management platforms such as Airwatch, Ivanti, Citrix, and others.
We thank our partners, vendors, and clients for their continued support over the past 24 years and into the future.
