The History of Big Noise Webdesign & Hosting → WebConnect → KiwiData

The business originally started as Big Noise Webdesign & Hosting in the late 1990s, providing website design, hosting and domain services in New Zealand alongside the wider Big Noise technology and media services.

In 2001, we officially opened our doors to the internet industry. Wiremu Paipa, our entrepreneur and founder, spent countless hours learning the ins and outs of website development, hosting systems and email infrastructure. After months of development and testing, our first online services were launched, including in-house hosted email solutions operated under Big Noise Group.

By 2003, the business had expanded further with the launch of webdesign.bignoise.co.nz, helping local businesses establish their presence online through web design, email hosting and internet services.

As the internet industry evolved, the hosting and online services side of the business began growing separately from the creative and event side of the company. To better reflect the internet connectivity and hosting focus at the time, the services were later rebranded under the name WebConnect.

WebConnect focused heavily on:

• Website Hosting
• Email Hosting
• Domain Names
• Web Design
• Internet-Related Services

Over time, the WebConnect infrastructure, customer base and services expanded significantly. As cloud hosting, managed services and New Zealand domain management became a much larger part of the business, the company began evolving toward what would later become the KiwiData brand.

In 2016, WebConnect partnered with an Auckland-based technology company as the business continued to grow its hosting, infrastructure and online services throughout New Zealand. During this period, operations expanded further with the establishment of an office in Napier, Hawke’s Bay, and WebConnect became part of a wider New Zealand technology group structure as a shareholder within the organisation.

The partnership allowed the business to grow its infrastructure, customer reach and technical capabilities while continuing to provide web hosting, email, domain registration and support services to New Zealand businesses and organisations.

While operating within the group, WebConnect purchased and merged several hosting and internet service companies. One of those businesses was KiwiData. Around this time, the company was already looking toward rebranding from WebConnect to KiwiData to better represent the next generation of services being offered, including cloud infrastructure, managed hosting, business email and New Zealand-focused online services.

In 2021, WebConnect made the decision to separate from the group and return to operating independently under Big Noise Group Ltd. The decision was made because the long-term goals, customer service expectations and business values no longer aligned with the level of service and guarantees WebConnect wanted to provide to its clients.

Following the separation, the business fully transitioned under the KiwiData brand, continuing to focus on reliable New Zealand hosting, domain registration, customer-first support and long-term technology solutions for businesses and organisations throughout New Zealand.

The move to the KiwiData name better reflected:

• New Zealand-focused hosting services
• Data and cloud infrastructure
• Domain registration services
• Business email and web solutions
• Managed hosting and support

Today, KiwiData operates as the modern hosting and domain services brand, while Big Noise Group Ltd continues as the parent company involved in technology, media, events and production services.

The transition from Big Noise Webdesign & Hosting, to WebConnect, and finally to KiwiData was a natural evolution of the same core business over many years as technology, services and customer needs changed.