Peter Nelson has been appointed as SaaS products managing director to lead the company's three software product businesses: Datapay, Smartly and Datascape.

Nelson joined Datacom eight years ago, working in its Technology Services New Zealand business before shifting to the products business to lead the local government solution Datascape and recently taking on the role of Datapay acting head.

Datacom CEO Greg Davidson says there is a breadth of expertise and talent working across each of the SaaS businesses, and it makes sense to bring them together as a portfolio to ensure the best thinking and processes are being applied across each business for optimum results.

"We have made a strategic long-term commitment to invest and build a portfolio of products to meet the needs of our local New Zealand and Australian customers, specifically targeting areas of demand where global investment wasn't focused on developing suitable solutions due to the size of our markets and other investment priorities," Davidson says.

"Each of Datacom's SaaS products speak to the specific needs of a well-defined group of customers and as a result have seen strong growth and achieved the scale that is critical to success," Nelson says.

"It is particularly exciting to see them coming together in a portfolio to make the most of our deep capability in product management and engineering, and to support rewarding careers for our people.

"Datacom is rapidly emerging as a SaaS powerhouse in Australia and New Zealand, which complements our role as a trusted provider of technology services."

Nelson will work with the existing leadership teams of the SaaS businesses, including Smartly CEO Melissa Cheals, who will continue to lead her team and promote the small business payroll offering as an independent brand. Datacom will also appoint a director for Datapay, to replace the acting head role.