One of Australia’s pioneering .au domain managers has announced an official rebrand that promises to create jobs and look to the future.

Formerly known as Melbourne IT Group, the company announced on Tuesday it will now go by Arq Group, following a successful shareholder vote.

The rebrand is effective immediately, while the new ticker code (ARQ) will be officially listed in the near future.

“The Arq Group moniker has been incredibly well received by our employees, customers, partners and our shareholders,” said CEO of Arq Group, Martin Mercer.

Since its inception from within Melbourne University in 1996, the company has moved from an initial focus on domain name registration –which saw it hold a de facto monopoly over domain name registrations in the late 1990s – to online marketing and digital solutions.

Mercer explained that diversification had ensured the company’s longevity.

“By uniting our wide range of services, cultures and people under one banner, we now have unparalleled expertise across the digital services space.”

The rebrand will mark another shift in the company’s direction, with use of “technology to help our customers to engage more meaningfully and more effectively with their customers” now the critical focus, according to Mercer.

With 850 staff currently located in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane offices, the company claims the rebrand will create 270 additional jobs this year through expansion and recruitment.

With Melbourne IT operating its enterprise services through a range of channels, Managing Director of Enterprise Services, Peter Wright said Arq will look to synthesise these services.

“Arq has come out of a number of practices,” he said at a launch event in Sydney on Tuesday.

“We have our mobile practice, a data analytics practice and a cloud practice – and we’ve engaged quite successfully with our customers over the past three or four years.

“But in order to build products and channels for our customers, we can’t engage by independent practices, we must blend skillsets together to deliver multi-capability squads that we can put into customers' environments and work collaboratively with customers.”

Arq will focus its services on large and small businesses across Australia.