Informotion names new CEO to drive Microsoft AI push

Informotion has appointed Shane Parsons as Chief Executive Officer and said it is increasing investment in Microsoft skills and partner status as it broadens from information governance work into a wider systems integration role.

The Sydney-based consultancy has a 25-year history in data, information governance and compliance. It has worked across regulated sectors including government, utilities and higher education. The company now describes the change in leadership as part of a shift towards Microsoft Cloud and AI delivery.

Parsons brings more than two decades of senior leadership experience across enterprise consulting and Microsoft-focused programmes, including executive roles at KPMG and IBM. Informotion is positioning his appointment as a way to deepen its engagement with Microsoft customer projects and compete more directly with larger systems integrators.

"AI will only succeed where data is trusted, governed, and understood," said Shane Parsons, CEO of Informotion. "Organisations are burning money on AI initiatives without addressing the foundations. Informotion's heritage in information management gives us a unique advantage. We take clients from chaos to clarity, and from governance to innovation."

Partner status

Informotion said it achieved Microsoft Solution Partner designation in under three months. It also said it had hired Microsoft specialists and built out architecture and delivery functions aligned to Microsoft projects. The company referred to a senior team that includes Microsoft MVPs, FastTrack architects and a Head of Microsoft Go-to-market.

The statement on partner status comes as Microsoft continues to push partner-led delivery for cloud migration, security, data platforms and AI deployments. In Australia, that has sharpened competition among consultancies and integrators for Microsoft-funded programs, co-sell arrangements and project referrals tied to consumption growth.

Informotion said the strengthened Microsoft alignment creates access to Microsoft funding programs, co-sell opportunities and innovation initiatives. The company framed that as a way to reduce upfront investment for customers and shorten delivery cycles for projects that use Microsoft tooling.

"Most of our team has come from the big end of town," Parsons said. "We're delivering the same quality of Microsoft expertise organisations expect from GSIs, with greater focus, faster execution, and better commercial value."

Product focus

Alongside services work, Informotion highlighted EncompasS, which it described as a proprietary platform that runs on Microsoft Azure. The company said the platform "lights up Copilot" and has been developed over eight years. It positioned EncompasS as part of its approach to governed information environments in organisations that want to adopt AI tools while meeting compliance obligations.

The company also pointed to its longer-standing work around Content Manager as a foundation for record and information management engagements. It said it is integrating Microsoft AI and Power Platform functions with that environment. Informotion presented this as a route to operational modernisation and automation in organisations with large volumes of unstructured data.

One example cited from public sector work involved freedom of information requests. Informotion said a government department reduced average FOI response times from eight weeks to five days after deploying AI-powered solutions. The company did not name the department or provide further details on the scope of deployment, governance controls or change management work associated with the project.

Regulated sectors

Informotion's pitch centres on the intersection of AI adoption, data risk and compliance. The company said many organisations run pilots that stall when teams discover data quality, retention, privacy and access control problems. It is targeting those issues as a differentiator as Microsoft customers seek to operationalise Copilot and other AI services.

"Many organisations stall at AI pilots because they uncover data risks they're not prepared to manage," Parsons said. "That's where we're different. We understand both the technology and the risk and compliance realities, and we bridge that gap."

The move also reflects how demand has shifted in the Microsoft partner market. Buyers are increasingly looking for consultancies that can link governance, security and data management with cloud operations and AI tools. That requirement has been pronounced in government and regulated industries, where auditability and defensible information handling have direct operational and reputational implications.

Expansion plans

Informotion said it has people in Australia, the UK and Ireland. It also said it plans to expand both organically in Australia, the UK and Ireland as it continues to hire and develop Microsoft capability. The company said it will retain its focus on information governance while building out its role in Microsoft-first AI and data work.

"AI will only succeed where data is trusted, governed, and understood," said Shane Parsons, CEO of Informotion.