Earlier in April I attended the annual Australian mission to the Hong Kong ICT Expo organised by AIMIA. While there I was invited by the Australian Tade Commission to give a brief speech to a group of gathered mission participants and guests, talking about the strengths of the Australia ICT industry. The speech went over well, and I've subsequently been asked for a copy, so decided to post the whole thing online here. Enjoy!
Welcome
I’d like to thank Austrade and AIMIA for inviting me to speak, and would also like to extend a warm welcome to our honoured guests.
As you heard, my name is Brad Howarth, and I am a freelance journalist and author, based in Sydney. My job is to deliver a brief presentation on the Australian information and communications technology industry.
According to the Australian Information Industry Association, the Australian ICT industry generates combined annual revenues of over $40 billion ($290 billion HK), employs 100,000 Australians and exports more than $2 billion ($14.5 billion).
I’ve been watching of the Australian technology industry over the past 15 years, and during that time have had the opportunity to participate in numerous trade missions to Europe, the US and Asia.
And I am firm in the conclusion that Australian technology and digital media companies are the match of the best in the world. While many are small, what they lack in scale, they make up for in capability and effectiveness for their clients. What that means is that you are likely to be dealing with the people in the company who really matter.
Australia is home to a vibrant and fast growing technology sector. It is also home to a number of highly-regarded technical universities, and also to significant operations for companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Ericsson and Google, which have provided an excellent training ground for Australia’s technical classes.
Not surprisingly, many have struck out on their own. Their innovation and entrepreneurial spirit is embodied in the Australian companies that are here this evening.
These companies that are making an impact in the world, and I hope that you will take the time to speak with some of them tonight, or visit them at the ICT Expo tomorrow.
Despite our Australia’s small population, we boast a diverse range of competencies ranging across fields such as software engineering and business applications, as represented here by The Ross System, WallCann, ACG, nuBuilder, and Sparx Systems.
We have strengths in wireless communication technology and applications development, and some of you may be aware that WiFi technology had its origins at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
We are especially strong in digital media and content, as represented by Crewjo, No Prisoners, Squizmix, webqem, and advanced electronics and engineering, as demonstrated by Soniclean, Pioneer Computers.
We are also strong across vertical sectors such as education and e-learning, as represented by Cicada and Money 101, in healthcare as shown by Core Medical Solutions, in banking and finance, mining and agriculture
Australia has a highly-sophisticated 3rd Generation mobile telephony environment, giving rise to many software companies working in mobile services and applications. Australia’s largest telecommunications company, Telstra, has announced that it will commence a trial of the next generation of wireless communications, LTE – also known as 4G. Australia also has exceptional skills in fields such as secure mobile payments and mobile marketing and mobile advertising solutions.
In digital media, the city of Melbourne recently hosted the 16th annual awards for AIMIA, Australia’s peak body for the digital media industry. The AIMIA Awards are the longest running awards for digital media anywhere in the world.
Australian companies may not be as big as what you see in North America, but we are starting to dominate certain niche markets. Two examples include Aconex for instance is a world leading supplier of project management tools for the construction and engineering industries, and Atlassian, which is the leading providing of enterprise wiki technology.
We also have strong capabilities in business process software, security, and social media tools – we spend more time on Facebook than any other people.
Australia is also the site for the largest government investment in IT infrastructure ever to be undertaken. The Australian Federal Government has committed $43 billion dollars – that is $312 billion dollars HK – to the rollout of a national fibre and wireless network capable of connecting all Australia’s at speeds between 100 MPBS and 1 GBPS.
Deployment of the National Broadband Network has already commenced in Tasmania and is commencing on the mainland this year.
While the NBN will provide enormous opportunities to foreign companies to supply technology and skills to Australia, it also turns Australia into a test bed for the next generation of broadband services and applications.
The companies you see here tonight will have the opportunity to test out next-generation applications and services in Australia before taking them to other parts of the world.
According to the market research firm Springboard, Australia has the highest awareness and familiarity with SaaS computing of any country in the Asia Pacific region, and you can expect to see Australian companies exporting that expertise.
Already Australian companies are thinking of a broadband future as a means of accessing services such as cloud computing and reaching out to customers more effectively. The application for new services on this network is limitless, and will apply globally as all networks get faster.
I mentioned earlier that Australia’s population is just 22 million. Which this is several times the population of Hong Kong, but of course much less than a country very close to here.
That small population can cause problems in terms of the market size that Australian companies can address, but means Australian companies become very focused on global markets from Day 1. That disadvantage of a small domestic market becomes an advantage in terms of export orientation and a desire to deal in foreign markets.
Australian companies also benefit from being in the same time zone as major cities in Asia – That means the people you are dealing with are awake and ready to take your call at times that are convenient for you. Is reality Asia is Australia’s domestic market.
And cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth are closer than major centres in Europe and North America – so drop in and see us some time!
Thank you, and I hope you enjoy your evening.
Welcome
I’d like to thank Austrade and AIMIA for inviting me to speak, and would also like to extend a warm welcome to our honoured guests.
As you heard, my name is Brad Howarth, and I am a freelance journalist and author, based in Sydney. My job is to deliver a brief presentation on the Australian information and communications technology industry.
According to the Australian Information Industry Association, the Australian ICT industry generates combined annual revenues of over $40 billion ($290 billion HK), employs 100,000 Australians and exports more than $2 billion ($14.5 billion).
I’ve been watching of the Australian technology industry over the past 15 years, and during that time have had the opportunity to participate in numerous trade missions to Europe, the US and Asia.
And I am firm in the conclusion that Australian technology and digital media companies are the match of the best in the world. While many are small, what they lack in scale, they make up for in capability and effectiveness for their clients. What that means is that you are likely to be dealing with the people in the company who really matter.
Australia is home to a vibrant and fast growing technology sector. It is also home to a number of highly-regarded technical universities, and also to significant operations for companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Ericsson and Google, which have provided an excellent training ground for Australia’s technical classes.
Not surprisingly, many have struck out on their own. Their innovation and entrepreneurial spirit is embodied in the Australian companies that are here this evening.
These companies that are making an impact in the world, and I hope that you will take the time to speak with some of them tonight, or visit them at the ICT Expo tomorrow.
Despite our Australia’s small population, we boast a diverse range of competencies ranging across fields such as software engineering and business applications, as represented here by The Ross System, WallCann, ACG, nuBuilder, and Sparx Systems.
We have strengths in wireless communication technology and applications development, and some of you may be aware that WiFi technology had its origins at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
We are especially strong in digital media and content, as represented by Crewjo, No Prisoners, Squizmix, webqem, and advanced electronics and engineering, as demonstrated by Soniclean, Pioneer Computers.
We are also strong across vertical sectors such as education and e-learning, as represented by Cicada and Money 101, in healthcare as shown by Core Medical Solutions, in banking and finance, mining and agriculture
Australia has a highly-sophisticated 3rd Generation mobile telephony environment, giving rise to many software companies working in mobile services and applications. Australia’s largest telecommunications company, Telstra, has announced that it will commence a trial of the next generation of wireless communications, LTE – also known as 4G. Australia also has exceptional skills in fields such as secure mobile payments and mobile marketing and mobile advertising solutions.
In digital media, the city of Melbourne recently hosted the 16th annual awards for AIMIA, Australia’s peak body for the digital media industry. The AIMIA Awards are the longest running awards for digital media anywhere in the world.
Australian companies may not be as big as what you see in North America, but we are starting to dominate certain niche markets. Two examples include Aconex for instance is a world leading supplier of project management tools for the construction and engineering industries, and Atlassian, which is the leading providing of enterprise wiki technology.
We also have strong capabilities in business process software, security, and social media tools – we spend more time on Facebook than any other people.
Australia is also the site for the largest government investment in IT infrastructure ever to be undertaken. The Australian Federal Government has committed $43 billion dollars – that is $312 billion dollars HK – to the rollout of a national fibre and wireless network capable of connecting all Australia’s at speeds between 100 MPBS and 1 GBPS.
Deployment of the National Broadband Network has already commenced in Tasmania and is commencing on the mainland this year.
While the NBN will provide enormous opportunities to foreign companies to supply technology and skills to Australia, it also turns Australia into a test bed for the next generation of broadband services and applications.
The companies you see here tonight will have the opportunity to test out next-generation applications and services in Australia before taking them to other parts of the world.
According to the market research firm Springboard, Australia has the highest awareness and familiarity with SaaS computing of any country in the Asia Pacific region, and you can expect to see Australian companies exporting that expertise.
Already Australian companies are thinking of a broadband future as a means of accessing services such as cloud computing and reaching out to customers more effectively. The application for new services on this network is limitless, and will apply globally as all networks get faster.
I mentioned earlier that Australia’s population is just 22 million. Which this is several times the population of Hong Kong, but of course much less than a country very close to here.
That small population can cause problems in terms of the market size that Australian companies can address, but means Australian companies become very focused on global markets from Day 1. That disadvantage of a small domestic market becomes an advantage in terms of export orientation and a desire to deal in foreign markets.
Australian companies also benefit from being in the same time zone as major cities in Asia – That means the people you are dealing with are awake and ready to take your call at times that are convenient for you. Is reality Asia is Australia’s domestic market.
And cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth are closer than major centres in Europe and North America – so drop in and see us some time!
Thank you, and I hope you enjoy your evening.
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