Salesforce best place to work in Australia, survey finds

0
Cloud computing firm Salesforce has been voted the best place to work in Australia for companies with over 100 employees.

Bevan Slattery launches cloud and datacentre directory

0
Australian tech entrepreneur Bevan Slattery has launched a comprehensive cloud and datacentre directory called Cloudscene.

Salesforce IT research reveals digital shake-up

3
Salesforce has released its third State of IT research report, an annual look at the industry which this year suggests that the digital revolution is "shaking up" traditional IT departments.

Leidos closes Lockheed merger

0
US-based multinational defence company Leidos has announced the successful completion of its previously announced merger with Lockheed Martin's Information Systems & Global Solutions (IS&GS) business.

Tasmania’s first Tier III datacentre reaches next stage

1
Tasmania’s first Tier III datacentre has moved a step closer to the construction stage with the purchase of a site for the facility, according to its Western Australian operator, Red Cloud.

Cloud computing could cause the next Industrial Revolution, says Telstra

15
The cloud has sparked true IT transformation, and could potentially usher in a new Industrial Revolution, according to an opinion piece penned by Michelle Bendschneider – Telstra's Executive Director, Global Products.

Equinix completes expansion of Melbourne datacentre

0
Equinix, an international provider of datacentres and Internet exchanges, has completed the second phase expansion of its Melbourne datacentre, known as ME1.

Atlassian announces massive revenue jump

1
Atlassian, the Sydney-founded provider of team collaboration and productivity software, has announced a spike in revenue in its latest financial results.

Lockheed Martin to establish R&D facility in Melbourne

1
Multinational security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin has revealed that it is to set up a multi-disciplinary research and development facility in Melbourne.

Brennan IT selects Commvault and Huawei for backup-as-a-service

0
Brennan IT, an IT and telecoms managed services provider, has deployed a "scalable and flexible" backup-as-a-service solution utilising Commvault software and support, alongside Huawei OceanStor hardware.

Datacom launches “National Network” of datacentres

0
Datacom has launched what it calls its "National Network" of interconnected data centres and digital assets.

VMware appoints new Asia-Pacific chief

0
Virtualisation giant VMware has announced the hiring of a new regional chief for the Asia Pacific and Japan.

Oracle to buy NetSuite

1
Oracle has entered into an agreement to acquire US-based cloud solutions provider NetSuite at a cost of approximately US$9.3 billion (AU$12.34 billion) in cash.

MYOB acquires Greentree in bid for growth

0
MYOB, a provider of online business management solutions, has announced the acquisition of resource planning software group Greentree at a cost of NZ$28.5 million (AU$27.12 million).

auDA appoints policy development veteran as new CEO

1
.au Domain Administration (auDA) – the policy authority and industry self-regulatory body for the .au domain space – has announced that policy development veteran Cameron Boardman has been appointed as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Banks team up to deal with Apple Pay

7
In a move that looks likely aimed at countering the threat from mobile payments apps like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, a group of Australian banks has applied to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for authorisation to enter joint negotiations with providers of third-party mobile wallets.

Crowdfunding campaign launched for book on “forgotten” Australian inventor

1
A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to help publish a new book on Australian inventor Henry Sutton – a self-taught engineer and inventor from Ballarat.

Non-profit Internet of Things Alliance launches in Sydney

2
A new not-for-profit entity called the Internet of Things Alliance Australia (IoTAA) has been launched in Sydney by Shadow Minister for Communications Jason Clare.

Telstra launches multi-cloud management platform

0
Telstra has launched a cloud management platform aimed to help businesses with the operation of hybrid cloud environments.

Deloitte buys IT firm Sixtree to boost tech offerings

0
Professional services giant Deloitte has announced the acquisition of IT integration specialist firm Sixtree, calling the move "another strategic investment and building block" for the firm’s technology practice and business solutions.

Atlassian acquires StatusPage

0
Software giant Atlassian has announced the acquisition of its long-term partner StatusPage, a provider of status and incident communication services.

IT firms dominate stock market listings, report says

0
An OnMarket report has revealed not only that IPOs in Australia are delivering some unusually high returns to investors, but that IT firms are now dominating stock market listings over all other sectors.

Good Guys partners with Airtasker on home installation

2
Household appliance retailer The Good Guys has partnered with local services marketplace Airtasker on a new appliance installation web platform that is more customer-focused yet still makes use of The Good Guys’ existing Australian installer network.

KPMG launches fintech startup accelerator for corporates

0
KPMG Australia has announced the launch of a corporate-focused accelerator called mLabs that is intended to connect mutual banks and credit unions with Australian fintech startups.

Telstra acquires app developer Readify

2
Telstra has announced the acquisition of Readify, an Australian app development firm that has previously provided services for Microsoft.

IBM announces national cybersecurity facility in Canberra

0
IBM has announced the creation of a cybersecurity centre in Canberra aimed to bring about greater cybersecurity resilience and collaboration between Australia's governments and businesses on strategy and policy.

NEC to set up cybersecurity facility in Adelaide

1
NEC has announced that it will establish a $4.38 million cybersecurity centre in Adelaide to address growing demand for online security.

IT security vendor Crowdstrike expands into Australia

3
Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has announced it is expanding its operations into the Asia Pacific (APAC) region with the establishment of a new regional base in Australia.

Capgemini launches Backelite digital service in Australia

2
Capgemini, the international consulting, IT and outsourcing services firm, has announced the Australian launch of Backelite, its digital service design consultancy.

Visionstream to cut workforce, says union

2
Telecoms and ICT services provider Visionstream is to slash its workforce, the Communications Workers Union (CWU) has said.

Oracle Australia reportedly loses MD Ebbeck

0
Larry Ellison's baby hasn't yet confirmed precisely what is going on here, but several outlets have this morning reported that Oracle Australia managing director Tim Ebbeck has resigned from his post and is currently on gardening leave.

Online retailer Kogan files for IPO

8
Online retailer Kogan.com has announced an initial public offering (IPO) that it said is aimed to raise $50 million via the sale of new shares.

Airtasker closes $22 million funding round

1
Australian local services marketplace Airtasker has announced the closure of a $22 million Series B round led by Seven West Media.

NAB, Telstra form digital marketplace startup for small biz

2
A joint venture between NAB and Telstra will see the launch of a new digital marketplace startup called Proquo, aimed to help small businesses around Australia develop and grow.

Optus partners with Macquarie Uni on $10 million cybersecurity hub

1
Optus Business entered a new partnership with Macquarie University to establish a new "cybersecurity hub" aimed help business and government organisations protect themselves from increasing cyber threats.

HPE to merge IT services business with CSC

1
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has announced plans for a tax-free spin-off and merger of its Enterprise Services business with CSC that will create a new as-yet-unnamed company.

NEXTDC secures Melbourne, Brisbane sites for new data centres

0
Australian firm NEXTDC Limited has announced the acquisition of two new data centre sites in Melbourne and Brisbane, representing a combined investment of $160 million for the firm.

WME, Appscore to add 70 tech jobs at new Melbourne HQ

0
Australian digital marketing agency Web Marketing Experts (WME) has announced that it will add 70 new jobs at its new Melbourne headquarters over the next 12 months – a figure that includes staff at its mobile-focused subsidiary Appscore.

Australian tech startup BigCommerce closes US$30m funding round

2
Australian e-commerce platform BigCommerce has announced the closure of a US$30 million (A$41 million) funding round.

Atlassian announces huge revenue growth but profit slump

0
Atlassian Corporation – the Sydney-based provider of team collaboration and productivity software – has revealed in its third quarter of fiscal 2016 earnings report that, while revenue grew considerably compared with the same period last year, it still suffered an operating loss of US$4.9 million.

Google Australia appoints new MD from the inside

1
Google Australia and New Zealand has announced the appointment of a new Managing Director following the imminent departure of Maile Carnegie to a new role as Head of Digital at ANZ Bank.

IT industry reassurance: IBM Australia shows steady results

0
Australia's IT professionals are likely to be reassured by the news this week that industry bellwether IBM has posted a set of financial results substantially similar to the ones achieved twelve months earlier.

Suncorp invests in Trōv ahead of insurance app launch

0
Suncorp has bought a US$5 million (A$6.59 million) equity stake in US-based tech firm Trōv.

Bugcrowd raises $15m in Series B funding round

0
Australia-founded Bugcrowd, a provider of crowdsourced security for enterprises, has announced the completion of a $15 million Series B funding round led by Blackbird Ventures.

Telstra invests in NGINX web server project

2
Telstra Ventures – the venture capital arm of the major telecommunications firm – has announced a strategic investment in NGINX, a San Francisco-based company providing open-source web server software that supports many of the world’s busiest websites.

SAP opens HANA enterprise cloud in Canberra

0
SAP Australia has announced the opening of an SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud service in Canberra, and revealed that the Australian Government's Shared Services Centre is the service's first customer.

Telstra backs away from same-sex marriage campaign

23
Telstra has retreated from any involvement in a same-sex marriage campaign, reportedly following suggestions from the Catholic Church that it would boycott companies supporting the issue.

Salesforce Australia partners with UN on gender equality program

0
Customer relationship management firm Salesforce has announced a new partnership with the United Nations Women’s National Committee for Australia that will see the company join its global 'HeforShe' gender equality program as its first Australian corporate partner.

New Datacom office in Victoria to create 100 jobs

1
IT services and solutions company Datacom has announced it will open a new office in South Melbourne with the creation of 100 new jobs over the next 12 months.

NEC Australia announces new leadership team

0
Technology services company NEC Australia has announced a new leadership team that will be led by Mike Barber, a member of the firm's board and former Executive Director of IT Solutions and Services.

HP Australia product revenues head south

7
The Australian operation of the formerly merged Hewlett Packard company has revealed that its local revenues sank by a whopping $271.5 million in 2015, with most of the decline attributable to its technology products business, as opposed to the IT services business it is splitting off into a separate company.

Messaging startup Slack opens Melbourne HQ

2
Slack Technologies has opened a new regional headquarters in Melbourne that is expected to create 70 new jobs for Victoria’s growing tech sector.

Adobe increases Australian Creative Cloud prices

29
Software giant Adobe has informed its users of its intention to substantially increase the price of accessing its Creative Cloud family of image and video editing products, in a move which appears set to cause frustration amongst the company's already tetchy local user base.

Dell sells services business to Japan’s NTT Data

0
Computing giant Dell has announced that Japan-based NTT Data is to acquire its IT services consultation division, Dell Services.

auDA dumps CEO Chris Disspain after 16 years … but why?

1
What I can't understand at this point is why the auDA board itself would turf Disspain from the position he has done an admirable job in. Was it a personality conflict? A professional disagreement of opinion? The statement says auDA is looking for "new leadership", but isn't the essence of auDA that it needs to remain stable -- something which Disspain has certainly been able to deliver to the organisation?

Capgemini appoints new CEO for Australia and New Zealand

0
Global consulting, technology and outsourcing company Capgemini has announced the appointment of Nicolas Aidoud as its new Chief Executive Officer for Australia and New Zealand.

ACCC green-lights ihail taxi booking app

7
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has given its approval for a new taxi app called ihail, a joint venture between taxi networks and other participants that the industry hopes will allow it to fight back against ride-sharing services like Uber.

Insight: Warning: Most of Australia’s IT bellwethers are cutting jobs

8
Yesterday morning an unexpected chill wind blew through Australia's technology sector.

IBM Australia goes through redundancy round

1
Global technology giant IBM is cutting jobs in its Australian operations, Delimiter can reveal, in a move which appears to be part of a broad global cull by Big Blue.

Optus, Cisco announce $12m innovation partnership

1
Optus and Cisco have announced a joint initiative to develop technologies that they anticipate will create "disruptive capabilities" for Australian businesses and government.

Govt details FinTech support, action on GST treatment of cryptocurrencies

1
The Federal Government has released a statement that sets out its plans to support Australia's FinTech startups in order to boost jobs and economic growth, and includes measures to tackle the "double taxation" of digital currencies.

Telstra flags redundancies in Defence contract

0
The nation's largest telco has flagged a small redundancy and redeployment round as part of its huge $1.1 billion contract with the Department of Defence, in the latest set of job cuts that appear to be sweeping across Australia's technology and telecommunications industries.

Optus to cut “several hundred” jobs, union says

0
Australia's second-largest telco Optus is set to cut several hundred jobs, one of its main unions claimed last week, as part of a "company-wide restructure" that may involve outsourcing and offshoring some aspects of Optus' operations.

HPE may cut 200 Adelaide jobs, just months after hiring binge

4
Just months after flagging a sizable expansion of its business in South Australia, insiders have revealed Hewlett Packard Enterprise is actually in the throes of cutting several hundred staff from the state.

Digital Realty flags new datacentre construction in Melbourne

0
Global technology firm Digital Realty is to establish a new datacentre in Victoria that will create hundreds of new jobs in the state.

StartupAUS praises Govt’s tax incentives bill

0
Advocacy group StartupAUS has welcomed the government’s new tax legislation that will provide incentives for investors, saying the measures are arguably the "most generous startup investor scheme in the world".

ACS report reveals “major skills shift” in Australian economy

19
The ACS – the professional association for Australia’s ICT sector – has published a report that revealing that "major shift" is underway in Australia's economy, as employers seek workers with digital and other skills.

Telstra hires Kevin Russell and … Stephen Elop?

6
Telstra has announced two notable executive hires in its retail and innovation divisions as it moves to simplify and strengthen its core business.

Optus rolls out guest Wi-Fi at Mirvac shopping centres

3
Optus Business is now providing Wi-Fi services for Australian property group Mirvac at two of the firm's flagship shopping centres.

Cisco is quite obsessed with Apple Macs at Cisco Live

10
Walking around Cisco Live in Melbourne over the past several days, it is quite hard to escape the fact that Cisco appears a little more ... obsessed with Apple iMacs and MacBooks than one would expect.

Cisco Live 2016 in Melbourne: Photo gallery

2
Your writer is down in Melbourne attending Cisco Live 2016. We had a fantastic time yesterday and will be posting quite a few stories today from the event. Here's a bit of a window into this huge tech conference with a few photos of what's going on.

Square’s low-cost credit card reader launches in Australia

6
Global payments technology provider Square has announced that its low cost 'Square Reader' credit and debit card reader is now available in Australia.

Survey startup Culture Amp closes A$13.5 million funding round

0
Australia-based survey tool and analytics platform Culture Amp has raised US$10m from a number of notable US and Australian VC firms as it continues to expand internationally.

Telstra, Cisco team up for Software-Defined Networking products

1
Telstra has joined forces with Cisco to launch a suite of software-defined networking products that are aimed to enable Australian businesses to quickly deploy and configure services over its networks.

Union talks to Telstra, NBN over 457 visa workers, training issues

5
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has been in talks with both NBN and Telstra in recent days to discuss a range of issues including concerns over the use of 457 visa workers and funding for a proposed training scheme.

NEC enters ‘smart cities’ partnership with University of Adelaide

0
The University of Adelaide and technology company NEC Australia have signed a new agreement that will see them collaborate on a so-called 'smart cities' project aimed to help urban areas become more dynamic and sustainable.

US tech visionary Harper Reed to keynote Cisco Live

0
Technology giant Cisco has unveiled the line-up for its Cisco Live confab in Melbourne next week, with US-based technology evangelist Harper Reed to feature as one of the main keynotes, alongside several senior global Cisco executives.

‘Significant’ bidder interest for Sydney’s White Bay tech hub project

1
The transformation of Sydney’s iconic White Bay Power Station into a hub for tech startups has received 'significant interest' from a range of Australian and international contenders, according to the managers of the project.

CSC completes UXC acquisition

1
Multinational IT services corporation CSC has completed the acquisition of UXC, Australia’s largest independent and publicly owned IT services company for over $420m.

Australian video game industry now worth close to $3bn

4
The Australian video games industry grew significantly in 2015, resulting in overall sales of $2.83bn, according to figures from the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA).

Google’s Australian MD joins ANZ as head of digital banking

0
Google's regional Managing Director Maile Carnegie has joined ANZ bank as its new Group Executive of Digital Banking.

Telstra switches on free public Wi-Fi across Tasmania

1
Telstra has switched on over 40 public Wi-Fi hotspots across Tasmania in a joint partnership with the Tasmanian Government.

Report outlines the digitalisation ‘megatrends’ shaping Australia’s employment future

0
A new report has outlined the "megatrends" shaping the future of employment in Australia and highlighted the importance of education across the jobs spectrum.

Most remaining Dick Smith stores to close

9
With the exception of airport locations, all remaining Dick Smith and Move stores across Australia and New Zealand are to close, according to the receiving company Ferrier Hodgson.

Telstra chair Catherine Livingstone resigns

0
Telstra Chairman Catherine Livingstone has announced she is resigning from her position on the board of directors at Australia's largest telecommunications company.

IBM, VMware sign strategic cloud partnership

0
IBM and VMware have agreed a strategic partnership aimed to make it easier for businesses to advantage of the cloud’s speed and economic factors.

Foxtel launches unlimited broadband plans

15
Pay TV giant Foxtel today launched a set of broadband plans offering unlimited download quota, although customers will need to be signed up to its subscription television offering to get the full benefits.

Vodafone grows customer numbers by 135,000, revenue by 4.5 percent

0
Vodafone has announced its Australian growth figures for 2015, saying that its customer base increased by 135,000 customer – a 2.5% year-on-year increase to 5,437 million.

Telstra preparing mobile network for 1Gbps speeds ‘later in 2016’

1
Telstra has made a raft of announcements this week, including the launch of 1Gbps speeds on its mobile networks in certain areas.

Optus, Huawei achieve 1.41Gbps speeds in 4.5G wireless trial

14
Optus and Huawei late last week said a live trial of 4.5G technology has produced mobile download speeds of 1.41Gbps.

Solar Movie is the content industry’s first site blocking target

13
As revealed by the Sydney Morning Herald and a number of other media this morning, the content industry's first target will be Solar Movie.

TEDx tech talk takes place on Qantas flight to Silicon Valley

0
Passengers on a Qantas flight from Sydney to San Francisco yesterday had the novel experience of a mid-flight TEDx lecture that the organisers have called "the world’s first tech talk in the sky".

Cisco launches Internet of Things innovation centre in Sydney

0
Cisco has launched a new innovation centre in Sydney that will focus on open Internet of Things (IoT) developments.

Redditor downloads 421GB on Telstra ‘free mobile data day’

35
Follow @renailemay !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s),p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs'); news A single individual Australian appears to have taken advantage of Telstra's 'free mobile data' day on Sunday to download...

SAP sets up public, financial services business units

0
SAP, a multinational provider of enterprise software, has established a public services business unit in Australia, along with a financial services business unit covering both Australia and New Zealand – both have been set up to help the company scale in the region, the firm said.

Husic: Govt ‘ignoring’ concerns over equity crowdfunding bill

4
The Labor opposition has once again criticised the government's stance on its proposed equity crowdfunding legislation, which was introduced to Parliament in early December.

VMware introduces new desktop virtualisation platform

1
Virtualisation giant VMware has unveiled a new platform for delivering secure digital workspaces for flexible working on any device.

WA Govt to trial driverless electric bus

2
A staged trial of a driverless electric shuttle bus will take place in Western Australia later this year, according to the state government.

Telstra offers free data following mobile network outage

5
Telstra is offering free data for a day for all customers this Sunday following an outage in its national mobile network that affected voice and data services for some customers.

Fault brings month-long outage for PPC-1 international cable

2
A fault discovered on the 6,900km PPC-1 submarine cable connecting Australia to Guam is likely to take around 30 days to repair, according to TPG Telecom.

Telstra, Optus, TPG, Vodafone splurge on 1800MHz spectrum

2
Four major telcos have together splashed out over half a billion dollars on shares of the 1800 MHz spectrum band, according to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

NEC Australia opens new HQ and Innovation Centre in Victoria

0
Japanese IT services and products giant NEC has opened a new Australian headquarters in Victoria.

Watch/Check out the photos: Twitter Australia’s new HQ

4
This morning Twitter Australia opened its new Australian headquarters in Sydney. The facility was opened by NSW Premier Mike Baird, and according to Twitter, has "a distinctly Australian flair", which includes meeting rooms named after Australian beaches, a "muted green and golden colour scheme", a "local beach design" and an open plan. Presumably they also have a fantastic expresso machine.

Oracle CEO jets into Australia to reassure customers on support offshoring, flag huge sales...

3
Fresh off the back of claims that Oracle has just dumped its entire Australian support operation, news has arrived from the Financial Review this week that global Oracle co-chief executive Mark Hurd has landed in Australia.

Sources claim Oracle has completely dumped its Australian support centre

5
Delimiter has been contacted by several sources who have stated that The Register's report is accurate, and that Oracle has indeed completely offshored its Australian support centre in the past month.

Heavyweight US investors meet Australian startups in Victoria

0
A delegation of US investors representing over a trillion dollars in investment capital met with representatives of Australian startups at the Victorian Parliament yesterday.

Solar firm formally warned over Do Not Call Register complaints

5
A solar company and a call centre firm have been issued formal warnings by The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for making telemarketing calls to numbers on the Do Not Call Register.

‘War’ on tax avoidance overlooks some obvious legal fixes

13
This article is by Antony Ting, Associate Professor, University of Sydney. It originally appeared on The Conversation. opinion/analysis The war on tax avoidance by multinational...

Microsoft beating Google in cloud email race, says Gartner

10
A study by analyst firm Gartner has found that 8.5% of global public companies use cloud email from Microsoft's Office 365 service, with just 4.7% using Google Apps for Work.

Vodafone inks rewards deal with Qantas, opens NZ roaming

2
Vodafone has inked a deal with Qantas that will see the companies work together to deliver new ways to reward customers. Furthermore, the mobile provider is offering free roaming in New Zealand to its $5 roaming package users.

AIIA announces new CEO

1
The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) has announced that Rob Fitzpatrick – previously a director at Data61 and a long-term corporate executive and consultant – is to take over as its new CEO.

Labor pledges to go after Apple for “extraordinary” tax habits

39
The Federal Opposition this week pledged to force tech companies like Apple and Google to pay their "fair share of tax in Australia", with Shadow Communications Minister Jason Clare describing Apple Australia's claim that it should only pay $85 million of tax on local revenues of almost $8 billion as "extraordinary".

Telstra doubles NBN/broadband data on new bundle deals

22
Telstra has announced limited-time bundle deals for new NBN or broadband customers, offering extra data, bonus calls, and access to Wi-Fi when away from the home.

Report: Oracle may be dumping its Australian support centre

4
Spend a lot of time calling Oracle's Australian support centre for those pesky database support enquiries? Well, if a report late last year and mutterings this week around the traps are any indication, you could shortly be speaking to someone in somewhere like Romania instead.

Apple Australia insists it pays all its taxes

30
US technology juggernaut Apple has insisted that it pays all of its local taxes, despite the company having filed financial results this week that saw the company pay extra taxes of just $4.5 million last year off an extra $1.8 billion in local revenue.

NAB launches Android contactless payments service

8
National Australia Bank (NAB) has launched a new payment service that lets customers use their mobile phone to make purchases, without the need to carry a physical card.

Farce: Apple Australia pays extra $4m of tax on $1.8bn revenue gain

30
US technology juggernaut Apple has revealed it only paid an extra $4.5 million worth of corporate tax in Australia in its 2015 financial year, despite the company making an extra $1.8 billion in local revenue, taking its local taxes to a paltry sum of $85 million off record Australian revenues of $7.8 billion.

Dick Smith administrator shuts David Jones stores, 181 staff affected

2
The administrator for Dick Smith Holdings has announced that it will shut down all the troubled retailer's outlets within David Jones department stores, leaving over 180 employees facing an uncertain future.

ASX plans blockchain solution for Australian equity market

1
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has selected US firm Digital Asset Holdings to develop a blockchain post-trade solution for the Australian equity market.

iiNet offers 50% discount on terabyte HFC cable plans

5
iiNet is offering a 50 percent discount for a limited period on HFC cable plans in some parts of Victoria where it owns its own infrastructure.

Telstra tests high-speed encryption on its carrier network

4
Telstra has trialled high-speed optical encryption in its production network between Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney claiming it as a "world first" in data safety.

Telstra buys Kloud, invests in Instart Logic

0
Telstra has entered an agreement to acquire Kloud, a firm that helps governments and companies seeking to transition their workloads and applications to the cloud. Additionally, the telco indicates it has made a strategic investment in Instart Logic, a provider of next-gen application delivery services.

VMware appoints new Australia and New Zealand chief

0
VMware, a provider of cloud and virtualization software and services, has appointed Alister Dias as Vice President and Managing Director for Australia & New Zealand.

Exetel to compensate heavy downloaders over ‘unfair’ contracts

7
Internet service provider Exetel is to compensate consumers over residential broadband contracts that were deemed "unfair" by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Choice calls for help to defeat Netflix geo-blockade

16
Following Netflix's announcement that it will prevent users accessing its international content via location-masking tools, consumer advocacy group Choice is calling on Australian Internet users to help others find ways around the blockade.

Xenophon announces plan to save Dick Smith gift card holders

3
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has announced a possible solution for Dick Smith gift card holders following the electronics retailer's collapse.

Insurer IAG uses drones to assess fire damage in Australian ‘first’

1
In what it claims is a first in Australia, Insurance Australia Group (IAG) has used drones to examine damage caused by devastating bushfires and fast-track the assessment process for customer claims.

Retailer Dick Smith enters administration

10
Dick Smith Holdings Ltd, the Australian electrical retail group, has entered receivership, according to a statement.

amaysim buys fellow mobile telco Vaya

2
Mobile telco amaysim this morning announced it had bought privately owned Vaya for $70 million, in a move that will add some 140,000 subscribers to amaysim's customer database and further consolidate the already tight mobile market.

Comcast runs successful real-world test of gigabit HFC

18
In what it is calling a "world first", Comcast has switched on gigabit hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) broadband at a home in the US.

Foxtel hiring anti-piracy investigator

11
Australian pay television company Foxtel is hiring an anti-fraud investigator to drive the firm's efforts to cut down on piracy and other criminal activities.

Telstra meets CWU over alleged issues with redundancy procedures

0
Telstra has met with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) over claimed procedural discrepancies as the telco seeks to reduce staff numbers via voluntary redundancies.

WA taxi reforms to ‘level playing field’ with firms like Uber

3
The Western Australian Government has announced plans to transform the state's highly regulated taxi industry to increase flexibility, safety and affordability in the face of disruptive competition such as Uber.

Telstra fixes first blackspots under government program

3
Telstra has made the first improvements to regions with poor mobile coverage as part of the government's Mobile Black Spot Programme.

Spectrum re-farming in NSW, ACT boosts Vodafone 4G coverage

0
Vodafone has completed re-farming the low-frequency 850MHz mobile spectrum in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory to bring about stronger 4G coverage and extra capacity.

Optus pays $51k fine over false claims broadband speeds are ‘NBN-like’

14
Optus has paid fines of $51,000 for making false claims about its broadband services, saying they were "NBN-like" in their speeds.

Optus replaces Telstra as official Olympics telecoms partner

0
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has inked a 10-year agreement that sees Optus become the official telecommunications partner of the Australian Olympic team.

Google trumps Apple with banking partners for Android Pay launch

4
Google has announced that it will be be bringing its digital wallet Android Pay to Australia in the first half of 2016 with a number of financial partners.

Telstra offers free Wi-Fi to customers over summer season

2
Telstra has announced it is giving millions of customers "unlimited free access" to its Wi-Fi network, Telstra Air.

Consumer commission sues LG Electronics for ‘misleading’ consumers

3
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has commenced court proceedings against LG Electronics Australia, saying that the tech giant made "false or misleading" representations to consumers over their rights regarding faulty products.

Lawyer says Craig Wright “existed within his own fantasy world”

6
Wright and Nakamoto appear, so far, to be polar opposites. Whether the Sydneysider was involved in creating Bitcoin or not, it appears certain that others must also have been.

Disruptive tech companies killing off workers’ rights, says union

7
The 'disruptive economy' being brought about by companies such as Uber is "driving down" workers’ rights, the Transport Workers Union has warned.

Australia’s biggest ever global float: Atlassian worth US$5.8bn

1
Great news from the US, where Australian software firm Atlassian has at long last started selling its shares on the NASDAQ, under the ticker TEAM. The Guardian reports that the share price of the company has already soared on its first day. The share sale apparently represents Australia's biggest ever share float on the international market.

Apple reseller Next Byte to close following revenue decline

8
Vita Group has announced it will close the remaining eight stores of its subsidiary Next Byte – an Apple product reseller – over three months starting from January 2016.

Have journalists found the inventor of Bitcoin or simply been duped?

3
If taken on face value, the evidence was actually reasonably compelling. The problem was, as NY Times reporter Nathaniel Popper explained, Wright’s writing and personality didn’t match that of Nakamoto’s.

The ATO raided alleged Bitcoin ‘billionaire’ over a paltry few million dollars

4
To your writer's mind, the amount of money the ATO is chasing from Wright severely diminishes the case that Wright is Nakamoto. If this is indeed true, there would be no need for the cryptologist to get involved in a legal case with the ATO over a handful of millions.

Google Fiber considers expansion to Chicago and Los Angeles

3
Google Fiber may soon come to Chicago and Los Angeles, following a call from the tech and search giant for the two cities to explore the feasibility of a rollout there.

Police raid alleged Bitcoin founder’s home in Sydney: ATO investigation

8
This afternoon, The Guardian reported that police had raided the home of alleged Bitcoin creator Craig Steven Wright's home in Sydney on the basis of an investigation by the Australian Taxation Office.

Gizmodo has been chasing people around Sydney that might be Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto

2
Gizmodo has revealed that it, too, has been tracking Craig Wright and his friend Dave Kleiman for some time regarding the claim that they may jointly be the creator of Bitcoin. The media outlet has gone as far as visiting people associated with Wright and Kleiman in Sydney and asking them for further information.

Australian Craig Steven Wright may be the creator of Bitcoin, and a billionaire

1
If Wired is to be believed, Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto may have been unmasked overnight. The magazine has presented a great deal of evidence in this article that Nakamoto is actually Craig Steven Wright, an Australian cryptology expert living in 'Eastern Australia'.

CommBank, Telstra invest $20m in quantum computing technology

1
Telstra and the Commonwealth Bank have both announced plans to invest $10 million and in-kind support to help develop silicon quantum computing technology in Australia.

NBN offers 50Mbps/20Mbps fixed wireless product

12
The NBN company this morning announced it had launched a fixed wireless broadband service offering download speeds of 50Mbps and upload speeds of 20Mbps -- double the speeds currently available on the company's wireless platform.

Telstra partially backtracks on international roaming charge hike

2
In the face of an upset customer base, Telstra has backtracked on its recently announced decision to more than triple excess data fees incurred when roaming internationally.

Foxtel to launch first Internet piracy blocking attempt in early 2016

13
National pay TV operator Foxtel has reportedly confirmed plans to launch an attempt early in the near year to have a specific website allegedly hosting pirated film and TV content blocked, in what is expected to be the first test of new legislation designed to tackle Internet piracy.

StartupAUS report: Australian big business must collaborate with startup community

1
StartupAUS, a group that advocates for Australia's startups, has published a report highlighting the importance of the relationship between big business and startups in cultivating a "vibrant and energetic" environment for innovation.

Logicalis buys Australian IT infrastructure specialist Thomas Duryea

0
Logicalis, an international IT solutions and managed services provider, has announced the acquisition of Australian cloud and datacentre Services firm Thomas Duryea Consulting.

NBN may be delayed by Alcatel-Lucent strike

3
Employees at Alcatel-Lucent Australia have threatened to commence industrial action to defend wages and entitlements, in a move that could see the rollout of the National Broadband Network delayed.

Industry group lists digital policies to boost Australia’s economic prospects

0
The Australian Industry (Ai) Group has released a report outlining seven priority policies that it believes are essential to strengthen pro-digital reforms and lift Australia's prospects in the digital economy.

Biteable attracts $1.1m seed round to grow online video tool

0
Tasmania-based video startup, Biteable, has announced a $1.1-million seed funding round from a group of Australian investors including Tank Stream Ventures and BridgeLane Capital.

Teenage hacker evaded police and left Australia under own passport, now appears on national...

7
Last week the ABC's flagship current affairs program 7:30 covered the somewhat extraordinary story of Dylan Wheeler, an Australian teenager. According to the program, Wheeler has not only been charged by Australian police on hacking offences, but he has also been highlighted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for his activities. None of this, however, appears to have stopped Wheeler from leaving Australia on his own passport or subsequently appearing on national television.

Victoria launches new body to give startups a boost

1
The Victorian Government has unveiled a new body called LaunchVic that is aimed to accelerate startups, drive new ideas and create jobs in the state.

‘Improved’ telco consumer protection code released

0
The Communications Alliance has released a series of proposed revisions to the Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code 2012 that are aimed to improve the code's provisions and reduce complaints to the industry ombudsman, CommCom.

Lucy Turnbull backs scheme to turn kids into entrepreneurs

1
Lucy Turnbull AO, wife of the Prime Minister, has become patron of an organisation called DICE Kids, which aims to turn Australia's kids into entrepreneurs.

Telstra reveals plans for another 200 job cuts

4
Telstra has announced a plan to cut staffing numbers via voluntary redundancies in its Global Contact Centre (GCC) group.

CSC announces revised UXC acquisition agreement

0
Global IT services provider CSC has now entered a binding Scheme of Implementation agreement to acquire UXC, an Australian IT services company with headquarters in Melbourne.

ACS elects Anthony Wong as new President

1
The ACS, the professional body for Australia's ICT industry, has announced that Anthony Wong has been elected as its President for a two year term commencing 1 January.

The Inside Track: Is Microsoft surging or fading? Behind the scenes at Ignite on...

2
Last week I spent three days immersed in the new world that Microsoft is trying to create, as a guest of the company at its Ignite conference on the Gold Coast. What did I discover? Is Microsoft surging again? Or is it still stuck in the doldrums? Read on to find out.

NextDC confirms second Melbourne data centre will follow equity raising

0
Australian firm NextDC has announced it plans to raise equity to fund the building of two new data centres, including a second facility in Melbourne.

30 startups receive $16m boost from Entrepreneurs’ Programme

2
In a bid to see more Australian products in the global marketplace, the last month has seen a number of startups receiving funding from the Australian Government’s Entrepreneurs' Programme.

CommBank backs blockchain technology with Sydney conference

0
An international line-up of experts will speak at Sydney Blockchain Workshops in December – an event organised by Commonwealth Bank and COALA, a blockchain advocacy group.

Microsoft Ignite 2015 (Gold Coast): Photo gallery

1
Several thousand Australian technologists are currently on the Gold Coast attending one of Australia's technology conferences -- Microsoft's Ignite conference. If you want to get a feel for what you're missing out on, we recommend you check out some of these great photos taken at the event :)

The Inside Track: No bullshit? What its IPO docs tell us about Atlassian

2
Is Atlassian, as its Initial Public Offering documents proclaims, truly something different -- an "open company" with "no bullshit"? Is the company determined not to "#@!% the customer"? Does it "play as a team"?

Apple CEO bitchslaps Melbourne store staff in front of whole company

16
In an email to all staff, Apple CEO Tim Cook has reportedly called a recent incident in which black teenagers were turned away from an Apple store in Melbourne "unacceptable".

Research: Netflix now reaches over a million households in Australia

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The number of Australian households with a Netflix subscription rose in October to top one million, according to data from Roy Morgan Research.

GoPro to site regional HQ in Melbourne, create 50 new jobs

1
Action camera manufacturer GoPro has said it will set up its Australian and New Zealand headquarters in Melbourne – a move that will create up to 50 jobs over the next five years and was in part due to assistance from the Victorian Government.

River City Labs to double in size with new Fortitude Valley premises

1
Not-for-profit co-working space and startup hub River City Labs has announced plans to double in size within the next six months, following a shift to new premises.

Clothing with Bluetooth safety alerts idea wins mining hackathon

4
After over two days of non-stop brainstorming, a team composed of university students and scientists has won the 2015 Unearthed Melbourne Hackathon.

Atlassian loses out to CommBank in Australian Technology Park bid

2
The Commonwealth Bank has beaten off its main rival to acquire and redevelop the Australian Technology Park (ATP), following a successful bid by a Mirvac Group-led consortium.

TPG will raise $300 million to repay iiNet debt and support initiatives

0
Australian telco giant TPG Telecom Ltd announced yesterday it plans to raise $300 million through a placement of shares to "sophisticated and institutional" investors in Australia and certain overseas jurisdictions.

Vocus and Nextgen to build Australia-Singapore 100Gbit/s high-speed cable

7
Vocus Communications has confirmed that it has signed a non-binding agreement with Nextgen Networks to construct a high-speed Australia-Singapore submarine cable (ASC) and and is currently "engaged in due diligence on the opportunity".

Canon acquires Converga from New Zealand Post

0
Canon Australia announced Monday it has fully acquired New Zealand Post Group subsidiary Converga for an undisclosed sum.

Atlassian files for IPO on the Nasdaq Global Market

0
Australian enterprise software provider Atlassian has publicly filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list common stock on the NASDAQ Global Market under the ticker symbol 'TEAM'.

Victoria partners with Zendesk to boost Melbourne employment

1
Customer service platform provider Zendesk, Inc, has announced a new partnership with the Victorian Government that will create up to 175 new jobs in the state's developing tech industry.

Telstra claims ‘world first’ following 1Gbps mobile speed test

4
Mobile provider Telstra claims to have achieved a "world first" following "successful" tests of 1Gbps speed capability on its commercial mobile network.

Red Cloud to build $40m next-gen datacentre in Hobart

1
Red Cloud Ltd, a data centre services provider, has announced it will build a $40-million, resilient, Tier-3 data centre in Hobart using proven state-of-the-art modular technology.

Report: Australia must take steps to capitalise on IoT revolution

1
Australia must take care not to miss out on the benefits of the ‘next great disruptor’ – the Internet of Things – according to a report published last week by the newly formed Communications Alliance Internet of Things (IoT) Think Tank.

Wi-Fi company SkyFii raises $4 million

0
New institutional and retail investors have provided Australian wireless company SkyFii with over $4 million in new investment capital through the issue of new shares.

Aussie invoicing startup Invoice2go raises $15 million

0
Australian-founded invoicing startup Invoice2go has raised $15 in investment capital to continue its mission of simplifying invoicing for small businesses.

Cloud computing player Ninefold shuts down

5
Ninefold, the Macquarie Telecom-owned cloud computing company which provides infrastructure as a service offerings, has decided to shut down, with its last day of operation being January 30, 2016.

Turnbull partners with Pollenizer on data startup plan

1
An open data initiative named DataStart has been brought about by the collaboration of Malcolm Turnbull's Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet with an established Australian incubator, Pollenizer, to support data-driven innovation in Australia.

Australia Post invests $20m to accelerate e-commerce adoption

2
Australia Post has announced that it will be investing $20 million in emerging e-commerce businesses, as well as co-locating its venture accelerator program within the University of Melbourne’s Melbourne Accelerator programme (MAP).

Telstra to make 480 positions redundant

2
On October 27th, Telstra informed the Communication Workers Union (CWU) about its proposed operational changes that will result in making 480 positions redundant. The majority of the affected positions are held by Telstra employees, while the rest include agency staff.

Melbourne grabs key tech startup event from Sydney

1
Phillip Dalidakis, Victorian Minister for Small Business, Trade and Innovation, was in Sydney on 30th October to make an announcement along with Matt Barrie, CEO of Freelancer. Addressing an audience of over 2,000, the two announced the shifting of Australia’s largest startup tech conference, SydStart, from Sydney to Melbourne.

Square Peg launches Australia’s second $200m VC tech fund

0
Honestly, sometimes it feels at the moment as though there is just a huge stack of pure cash money flowing in the streets for Australia’s technology startups. Several weeks ago the Queensland Government announced a $40 million co-investment fund for startups, last week Victoria followed with a $60 million effort, and of course who could forget the new $200 million fund unveiled by Blackbird Ventures in August. Well now there’s another $200 million fund targeting Australian technology startups.

TPG’s FTTB rollout still progressing extremely slowly

11
news Retail broadband provider AusBBS has released new statistics showing that the Fibre to the Basement network which Australia's third-largest telco TPG is deploying...

Australian court holds Google responsible for linking to defamatory websites

6
The South Australian Supreme Court this week found that Google is legally responsible when its search results link to defamatory content on the web.

Telstra offshores 34 Tasmanian jobs

4
Your writer can't imagine that it's easy working at Telstra. Although Australia's biggest telco has an extensive workforce with many career opportunities, it also conducts regularly redundancy rounds as part of its ongoing drive to become more efficient and cut costs.

Uber has paid out $600,000 in taxi fines in Victoria

7
To my mind, this action by Uber is something akin to corporate heroism. Its customers want to use its services, and so it is continuing to provide services that customers want, despite the fact that the Victorian Government is essentially trying to shut it down at the moment.

Telstra still upgrading the HFC network it is selling to NBN Co

6
The nation's largest telco Telstra has revealed it will invest a significant amount of capital upgrading the HFC cable network it has contracted to sell to the NBN company, in a move which raises questions about the long-term future of the network.

TPG/iiNet shuts down TransACT’s Canberra call centre

10
TPG and its subsidiary iiNet have quietly shut down the dedicated call centre supporting ACT and Victoria-based ISP TransACT, making all of its staff redundant and shifting call volumes to other call centres around Australia.

Foxtel nicks William Shatner from MyRepublic for broadband ads

10
Those of you who followed the controversial comments recently made by Singaporean telco MyRepublic about Australia’s National Broadband Network may recall that the company’s advertisements when it entered the New Zealand market featured actor William Shatner — best known for his iconic roles on Star Trek and Boston Legal. Well, your writer suspects Shatner may not be available for MyRepublic’s planned Australian launch — because he has already signed up with Foxtel for its own broadband campaign.

Canva raises $15m after repeated previous capital injections

0
Australian graphic design software company Canva this week revealed it had raised a further $15 million in venture capital investment, in what appears to be the company’s fourth sizable capital raising in only the past several years.

TPG’s iiNet bloodbath continues as long-time CTO Bader leaves

8
iiNet’s highest profile technology executive Greg Bader has added his name to the growing number of staff departing the national broadband provider in the wake of its acquisition by rival company TPG.

Following Atlassian, BigCommerce will also list in the US

0
There is currently a great deal of debate and controversy out there surrounding the decision by Australian software giant Atlassian to go public through listing its shares on a US-based stock exchange rather than in Australia. Some successful Australian entrepreneurs, such as Freelancer chief executive Matt Barrie, have been trying to persuade Atlassian to list locally for years, in a move that they believe will help change the focus of Australia's financial markets towards the tech sector.

Five things you need to know about the Trans-Pacific Partnership

8
This article is by Charis Palmer, Deputy Business Editor at The Conversation. It originally appeared on The Conversation. After eight years and 19 rounds of...

Another great Aussie IT company to go overseas? CSC makes offer for UXC

2
I personally feel it would be a real shame to see UXC snapped up by CSC. UXC is a strong Australian business, with its Red Rock, Oxygen, Connect, Telsyte and other brands being very well-known in Australia. Of course, CSC would be likely to keep most of its staff intact. But the Australian IT services market would feel a lot less ... Australian without UXC existing on its own.

Late to the party: Vodafone still wants to provide fixed NBN services

3
Mobile telco Vodafone has confirmed it is still planning to eventually offer fixed broadband services over the National Broadband Network’s infrastructure, despite the fact that its trial over the NBN died a quiet death several years ago.

Farce: NSW Govt suspends UberX drivers while review is underway

10
NSW Roads and Maritime Services this week revealed it had suspended some forty owners of vehicles involved in UberX-style ride-sharing services, ruling the use of vehicles for this purpose as illegal, despite the fact that the State Government is currently conducting a review into the future of the related taxi industry.

The Inside Track: How Atlassian’s IPO will change everything

9
The public listing of Australia-based tech company Atlassian on a US stock exchange will have a huge impact on Australia’s technology sector, unleashing a lasting wave of innovation and ongoing digital disruption that will deeply impact the nation at a fundamental level. Watch closely: Things are about to drastically change.

Atlassian files for US$3 billion IPO in United States

2
Australian software giant Atlassian has reportedly quietly filed to take its operations public in the United States at a value of more than US$3 billion, in a move that will make its founders two of Australia’s richest technologists but disappoint those hoping for a large listing on Australia’s on stockmarket.

M2 to merge with Vocus

7
Mid-tier telcos M2 and Vocus this morning announced they would merge into a large company with a market capitalisation in excess of $3 billion, in a move that will further cement M2’s place as Australia’s fourth-largest broadband player and further consolidate the already minimalist Australian telecommunications industry.

BT pledges 300Mbps broadband speeds to 10m homes by 2020

11
news The chief executive of British incumbent telco BT has announced a significant upgrade to his company’s broadband expansion plans, with BT now planning...

Banks dump accounts of Bitcoin firms

2
Australia's growing cadre of Bitcoin trading companies have discovered that the mere nature of their business has been enough to get them blacklisted by Australia's major banks.

AFR camps out for days to get photo of secretive TPG billionaire David Teoh

22
Always wondered what secretive TPG billionaire David Teoh looks like? Never been able to check out a photo of the executive? You're not alone. However, that changed this morning after the Financial Review published a photo of Teoh that a freelancer photographer had taken after camping out outside his house for days.

Atlassian’s Mike Cannon-Brookes has kicked off a Reddit AMA

0
In Australia's technology pantheon, Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes is somewhere near the top. Cannon-Brookes successfully developed a massive software company still largely based in Australia, has invested in scores of other local technology startups, and is trying to save Australian Technology Park in Sydney. Now you'll get the chance to ask the entrepreneur anything you want, courtesy of a Reddit AMA he's starting to promote the closing date of the latest intake round for the Startmate incubator.

Commonwealth Bank gets on board with the blockchain

1
In an attempt to ride the tsunami of disruption that is reshaping the financial services industry, Commonwealth Bank of Australia has joined forces with eight major banks to develop applications based on blockchain, the technology underpinning Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies.

Is HP currently cutting Australian jobs?

11
Global technology giant HP has refused to say whether or not the 25,000 to 30,000 job cuts it is making globally will have an impact on the company’s extensive Australian workforce, although speculation flying around Australia’s IT industry this afternoon and the company’s past history suggests Australia will not be spared.

Three years later, Vodafone finally refers journalist spying to police

1
National mobile operator Vodafone yesterday revealed it would finally refer to law enforcement authorities an incident which it became aware of three years ago where one of its staff members had accessed the call records of a journalist who was dealing with a whistleblower within its operations.

Blackbird reveals whopping $200m tech startup VC fund

0
Australian tech-focused venture capital fund Blackbird this week announced it had raised $200 million to invest in fast-growing Australian technology startups, in the largest funding round of its kind seen in Australia.

Vodafone accessed call records of journalist

4
Mobile telco Vodafone has confirmed it access the call records of an Australian journalist in an effort to determine the source of a negative story about privacy breaches in its operations.

Well, d’uh: ACCC finds it is possible to monitor Aussie broadband speeds

14
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has published a 72 page report detailing the fact that it is possible to establish a program to monitor and report to consumers on the quality of local broadband services, but has not yet decided to go ahead with such a program.

TPG pledges to retain iiNet, Internode brands, call centre

21
news TPG has told iiNet staff that it will maintain the iiNet and Internode brands as well as the pair’s call centre operations, as...

TPG dumps Internode PR after 15 years

15
TPG appears to have dumped one of the longest-standing public faces associated with national broadband provider Internode and its parent iiNet, with South Australia-based technology public relations agent John Harris becoming the latest individual to part ways with the group following the TPG acquisition.

Fetch TV will easily survive iiNet loss

6
Fetch TV has revealed it is financially profitable and rapidly expanding its operations and customer numbers, in news that signals it will not be substantially adversely affected by the decision by iiNet’s new owner TPG to terminate its long-standing relationship with the Internet television company.

Foxtel more than doubles broadband quotas to beat Telstra

10
Foxtel has more than doubled the quota available on the broadband packages it bundles with telephone and pay TV offerings, with customers now able to receive a terabyte of quota along with a Foxtel subscription TV package and unlimited local and national calls for $130 a month, in plan bundles that appear to beat those offered by Foxtel partner Telstra.

Ashley Madison hacker may be Australian, likes AC/DC

1
Pioneering US security journalist Brian Krebs — who has broken a number of major hacking stories over the past several years — thinks he may have tracked down one of the Ashley Madison perpetrators. The kicker? He appears to be Australian and may be a fan of local supergroup AC/DC.

Politicians flood launch of #fintech hub Stone & Chalk

1
blog Sydney-based financial technology startup hub Stone & Chalk launched last night to great fanfare, with a solid wedge of politicians from both major...

TPG orders iiNet to dump Fetch TV

48
National broadband provider iiNet and its subsidiary brands have instantly dumped the Fetch TV Internet television platform following the company’s acquisition by TPG, with Fetch TV confirming the order came from TPG itself following the acquisition.

ACCC won’t oppose TPG’s iiNet buyout

22
The competition regulator has declared it will not oppose TPG’s proposed acquisition of iiNet, stating its view today that the merger would not result in a “substantial” lessening of competition as was required under its supporting legislation.

A change in Australia’s web rules would open up the .au space

0
If you want to register an Australian web address, your options may be about to change due to a review of domain name policy that is currently underway.

Aussie banks reject Apple Pay costs in Australia

14
Keen to use your iPhone and/or Apple Watch to pay for goods and services at EFTPOS terminals around Australia? You're right out of luck, with Australia's major banks standing in the way of Apple's Pay service launching locally.

Victory for Australian pirates as court blocks punitive damages

7
The Federal Court this morning ruled that copyright owners could not use the preliminary discovery process to sue alleged Internet pirates for punitive damages, in a move that will be likely to limit the potential liability of those Australians illicitly downloading films and TV programs.

Foxtel’s bundle of pain could come sooner than it thinks

4
This whole business model is now under challenge; for newspapers, TV channels and for pay TV. The share prices of media companies are in decline, and in the US in sharp decline.

CSIRO + NICTA merger still not nailed down

2
We can't imagine the staff morale at Australia's peak IT research group NICTA is fantastic at this point. The Federal Government cut all funding to the organisation in the 2014 Budget, the CSIRO merger plan to save the group has been in negotiations for six months, and even now the situation in terms of hundreds of redundancies continues to be unclear.

Posse group picks up $5m in funding

1
Australian startup Beat the Q Posse Group today announced the closure of an oversubscribed Series A $5M funding round led by key investment partners, the Westpac backed venture fund Reinventure and venture capital firm Exto Partners.

Uber takes ATO to court over GST

21
Ride-sharing company Uber has taken the Australian Taxation Office to court over the agency’s insistence that drivers providing its ride-sharing service collect GST the same way taxi cabs do, in a move that represents Uber’s latest legal battle against the taxi industry.

SkyMesh offers symmetric 100/100Mbps NBN

32
news SkyMesh has launched a set of broadband plans with symmetric speeds of 100/100Mbps over the National Broadband Network’s Fibre to the Premises infrastructure,...

ICAC to investigate NSW TAFE ICT manager

0
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) will hold a public inquiry starting on 17 August 2015 as part of an investigation it is conducting into allegations that a TAFE ICT manager dishonestly obtained over $1.7 million from the Department of Education and Communities TAFE South West Sydney Institute (SWSI).

iiNet shareholders vote ‘yes’ for TPG buyout

4
iiNet shareholders have overwhelmingly voted for the company to be acquired by rival TPG, with approval by the competition regulator and the Federal Court the two remaining conditions before the acquisition can take place.

iiNet chairman “proud” as TPG sell-out looms

12
iiNet chairman Michael Smith has labelled the company’s planned sell-out to TPG as a “very significant day” in iiNet’s “proud history”, as shareholders vote today on what is still one of the most controversial mergers ever to have been proposed in Australia’s telecommunications industry.

Kotaku alleges abuse, gross staff neglect at retailer EB Games

16
In which Kotaku alleges an odious culture of gross staff neglect and out and out abuse at national retailer EB Games.

Aussie software firm Marketplacer grabs $10m

0
It used to be that the most that early stage Australian software companies could pick up in capital raisings was a few hundred thousand to a couple of million. Complaints about the impossibility of raising a decent amount of venture capital were constant and loud. Wow. How times have changed over the past few years. Today's piece of evidence demonstrates that money is truly flowing in the streets for Australia's growing cadre of technology firms.

Expert360 pulls in $4.1m for consultancy 2.0

6
An Australian website which provides access to independent consultants has raised $4.1 million in venture capital from a group of new and existing shareholders in Australia, the US and Europe, including former Macquarie Bank boss Allan Moss as well as VC fund Frontier ventures.

Monster Truck dev wants Australia to be video games ‘connector’

2
The first independent Australian video game developer to make a submission to the Senate’s fledgling inquiry into the future of the local video game development industry has called for the nation to become known as a ‘connector’ which will support developers to gain access to major publishers, markets and other resources.

‘Google Schmoogle’ – how Yellow Pages got it so wrong

0
Yellow Pages directories have been appearing on doorsteps across Australia in recent weeks. As often as not, they go straight into the recycling bin. In the world of the internet and e-commerce, the very notion of a book the size of two bricks being the source of valuable purchasing information seems plain silly.

ABC tech reporter founds micro-transactions startup

16
Some of you may remember the name of Nick Ross, the editor of the ABC’s Technology & Games site who wrote several in-depth articles criticising the Coalition’s rival National Broadband Network project. Well, what you probably didn’t know is that Ross has also been spending a great deal of time and effort on a side project. Known as ‘Nanotransactions’, the project is micro-transaction technology which Ross hopes will “save high-quality journalism”.

Australia’s got ICT talent: So how do we make the most of it?

0
AUSTRALIA 2025: How will science address the challenges of the future? In collaboration with Australia’s chief scientist Ian Chubb, the Conversation is asking how each science discipline will contribute to Australia now and in the future. Written by luminaries and accompanied by two expert commentaries to ensure a broader perspective, these articles run fortnightly and focus on each of the major scientific areas. This instalment takes a look at ICT’s role.

‘Thriving’ Aussie tech incubator scene a ‘mirage’

3
If you've been involved in Australia's technology startup community over the past several years, you will be aware that there have been multiple incubator programs that have been made available to entrepreneurs. Programs such as Startmate, PushStart, Telstra's Muru-D and so on have made early stage seed funding, mentorship and even physical work facilities available. However, according to one business consultant, the 'scene' is actually a lot more undeveloped than it seems.

Corporate highs: The US P-TECH model for schools in Australia?

6
Prime Minister Tony Abbott visited a P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early Career High) school in New York last week, hinting it’s a model of education we should consider implementing in Australia. The school, partly funded by IBM and training students to suit the company’s needs, is different to anything we have in Australia. While the P-TECH model would be feasible here, the model risks confusing economic needs with educational ones.

Facebook wants to hide its Australian earnings

5
It has become more or less the norm for global technology companies to minimise their Australian tax liability in a way that much of the local population finds at least mildly objectionable. Well, perhaps the most arrogant of the bunch (surprise, surprise) has turned out to be social networking giant Facebook, which has filed a form arguing it doesn’t need to disclose its Australian earnings at all.

Australian IT should play to mining, farming strengths, says Fletcher

10
I don't want to comment too strongly on the substance of the speech at this point, but I wanted to make readers aware that Malcolm Turnbull's Parliamentary Secretary Paul Fletcher has delivered a major speech on the Coalition's vision for the Digital Economy.

Australia Post, Telstra and the ‘dying business’ dilemma

18
Who would run a former government-owned monopoly these days? In the last week, Australia Post’s Ahmed Fahour announced 900 administration jobs were to go from its Melbourne operations, while last week Telstra’s David Thodey recounted discussions from his recent trip to the US, where he was told his “business model is dead”.

Budget a harsh wake-up call for the tech sector

6
Listening to the shrieks and squeals of tech sector commentators over the past few weeks, you’d be forgiven for thinking Joe Hockey’s first budget contained nothing for the industry. A more measured inspection of the budget entrails and you will find the Coalition has delivered a lot. A lot of pain, and a lot of lessons.

Apple Australia wages not insanely great

21
Given the size, volume of sales and complexity of Apple’s retail footprint, as well as the extreme level of revenue Apple makes in Australia in general, you would have to say that most people would probably expect Apple Store employees to be making a little more. As it stands, the lowest-level employees will barely be making more than minimum wage. And that’s just not insanely great.

Major report on crowd-sourced equity funding

5
Those of you with an interest in the technology startup equity funding space will be interested to know that the Federal Government's Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee this week delivered a major report into the possibility of allowing so-called Crowdsourced Equity Funding in Australia (CSEF). The concept, which is not dissimilar to the crowdfunding techniques used by sites such as Kickstarter, but with an ownership component, has been introduced overseas.

Valleys, alleys and roundabouts: Innovating beyond a precinct

2
In Australia, the Australian Technology Park in Sydney, Parkville Knowledge Precinct in Melbourne, and Kelvin Grove Urban Village in Brisbane are certainly emerging urban knowledge precincts.

NICTA cloud spinoff Yuruware bought by US firm

0
Troubled research group National ICT Australia last week revealed one of its spinoff companies, cloud disaster recovery group Yuruware, had been purchased by US data protection company Unitrends for an amount reported to be at least $10 million.

Samsung offshores Aussie mobile support

1
As Korean giant Samsung has grown its presence in the mobile phone space to rival and even exceed that of industry leader Apple, it has also had to grow its support network. This is to be expected. But what many readers may not have realised is that much of the company’s support for its devices in Australia was actually supported from Australia, with a call centre based in Wollongong. Unfortunately for those concerned, according to Ausdroid, those jobs are now to be offshored.

AngelCube opens 2014 startup intake

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I just wanted to post a quick note to let readers know that AngelCube, the Melbourne-based startup accelerator, has opened the doors for applications for its 2014 intake. If you don't know about AngelCube but you are interested in starting your own IT startup, you had better familiarise yourself quickly, because you only have a few days to file your entry.

Labor adviser hits up Hacker News for startup tips

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Delimiter’s spies have pointed us to a post made by Leigh’s advisor Thomas McMahon on startup/developer gathering ground Hacker News last week.

Budget 2014: Govt doesn’t grok ICT, says Atlassian

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I have to say, it’s hard to disagree with the Atlassian gurus on this one. Comprehensively, if there was a measure which was aimed at assisting Australia’s ICT sector (particularly fast-growing startups), it appears as though the new Coalition Government was determined to cut it. Regular Delimiter readers will be aware that I didn’t find some of these programs very effective, but there is at the least no doubt that the Coalition certainly didn’t replace them with anything either. Tony Abbott, Joe Hockey and company appear to believe that the sector — responsible for huge ecoomic outcomes in other countries — has little relevance to the land Down Under. Strange stuff. Why wouldn’t you want to have a bevy of high-powered tech firms like Atlassian calling Australia home?

In the Airbnb world we need a new productivity measure

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Our productivity problem is a like an epidemic. It affects many businesses and threatens the prosperity of future Australians yet it is poorly understood and goes largely unnoticed, especially in a service economy. If a problem of this size and scale were to affect people’s health, money would be raised for further research to isolate the causes and cures for the malady.

Australia can’t stop multinational profit shifting in isolation

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In a global economy it is logical that companies would want to structure their business to take advantage of beneficial rules in different countries. And equally each country will want a competitive corporate tax system to attract and retain economic activity. However, the policies of one country should not undermine the policies of another or cause them economic harm. Organisations such as the G20, EU and OECD must enable cooperation to make sure that countries are in agreement with each other’s policies and to pressure those countries whose policies are disadvantaging their neighbours.

Australia’s economic future in high-tech, says Shadow Treasurer

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Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen has given a landmark speech in which he argues that much of the future for Australia's economy lies in high-tech jobs, innovation and entrepreneurship, in sentiments which run directly contrary to the thrust of the Coalition Government's first budget.

The ‘myth’ of the Australian entrepreneur

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A better understanding of the realities of entrepreneurial life in Australia will lead to better informed industry policy, and perhaps increased support for an ecosystem that is a key driver of future growth and development for Australia.

Budget 2014: NICTA will be heavily affected by funding cut

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Just a day or so ago, National ICT Australia appeared relatively unfazed by the Coalition Federal Government’s decision to entirely cut its funding within two years, vowing to seek alternative options. But an interview with the group’s chief executive Hugh Durrant-Whyte in the Financial Review newspaper yesterday paints an entirely different picture.

Budget 2014: VCs demand long-term growth plan

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An industry group representing venture capitalists and private equity firms has heavily criticised the Federal Government’s substantial cuts to supporting startup and venture capital resources as part of this year’s budget, backing startup industry commments that the Government must move quickly to fill the gap it has created.

Budget 2014: Not happy, Joe: Startups slam budget cuts

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Australia's highest-profile organisation representing the technology startup sector has strongly criticised the Federal Government's substantial cuts to supporting resources as part of this year's budget, stating that the Government must move quickly to fill the gap it has created.

Budget 2014: Game devs ‘bewildered’ by fund cut

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Australia's peak game developer's body has issued a statement noting that it is "disappointed and mystified" by the Federal Government's decision to cut $10 million of remaining funding to the Australian Interactive Games Fund, which had been established in 2012 to help game studios get off the ground in Australia.

Budget 2014: NICTA vows to soldier on

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Australia's peak ICT research group, National ICT Australia, has revealed that it has known about the Federal Government's plans to completely cut its funding since late 2013, but has pledged to continue on and find alternative funding models regardless.

Budget 2014: Govt rolls Commercialisation Australia, IIF into new group

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The Federal Government has made good on the threat delivered this month by its Commission of Audit to "abolish" key early stage innovation industry support vehicles Commercialisation Australia and the Innovation Investment Fund (IIF), with the pair and others to be rolled into a new body dubbed the 'Entrepreneurs' Infrastructure Programme'.

Budget 2014: Govt dumps game dev funding

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The Federal Government tonight announced as part of this year's Budget that it would cut $10 million of remaining funding to the Australian Interactive Games Fund, in a move which at least one commentator has already said will "destroy" Australia's video games industry.

Budget 2014: Govt chops NICTA funds in two years

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The Federal Government tonight revealed plans to totally stop funding the nation's peak ICT research group National ICT Australia (NICTA) after two more years, with Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull stating that the organisation would then need to move to a "self-sustaining model".

Older IT workers ‘dumped’ for 457 visa staff

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The Australian Computer Society has accused local technology employers of dumping older staff and failing to hire graduates, replacing both categories with "cheap" imported labor through the Federal Government's 457 Visa scheme, as debate continues as to how the nation will serve its growing need for technology skills.

NSA intercepts US routers, implants spyware

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Remember how the US Government made such as a huge song and dance about the claimed security implications to buying networking equipment from Chinese vendor Huawei? Well, it turns out that this was squarely a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

NEC undergoes redundancy round

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Diversified technology solutions group NEC has notified its Australian staff that it will shortly undertake a round of redundancies, just months after the company warned it was facing “immediate profitability challenges” despite having a “very healthy” pipeline of contracts.

Reboot ICT teacher training to halt the computing brain drain

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The shortage of computing experts in Australian schools has serious implications for our future as a player in the knowledge economy.

Tradie search site hipages.com.au takes $6m

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Tradie search site hipages.com.au this week announced it had secured $6 million in venture capital from a range of investors to expand its operations connecting Australians with small service providers in their area.

Landmark report plots path for Australia’s startup sector

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A landmark report published by Australia's largest startup industry representative group has outlined what is billed as the nation's first comprehensive plan to boost the local technology startup ecosystem, with a number of concrete steps listed which the Federal Government and other stakeholders can take to facilitate rapid growth.

Carosa’s Future Capital in US$30m Bitcoin fund

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Experienced Australian investor Domenic Carosa has led the establishment of a US$30 million investment fund which will directly invest in companies that are leveraging services based in Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies.

Commission of Audit wants to abolish Commercialisation Australia, IIF fund

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The new Coalition Government’s Commission of Audit (CoA) has recommended the Federal Government "abolish" key early stage technology industry support vehicles Commercialisation Australia and the Innovation Investment fund, in a move slammed by venture capitalists as simply getting it "wrong".

Back in the black, baby: Three more tech firms to list on ASX

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Three more small technology firms have confirmed plans to follow the high-profile initial public offering of online talent marketplace Freelancer to list on the Australian Stock Exchange, as the nation's early stage technology sector as a whole shifts into hyperdrive and seeks capital from Australian investors to expand.

Once again, Google Australia pays almost no tax

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Despite annual revenues estimated at north of $1 billion and increasing profits made from advertising and services sales to Australian customers, the Australian division of global search giant Google has revealed it paid almost no local tax in the 2013 calendar year, as outrage over the situation continues to grow in the local community.

SMS shifts Vietnam staff to third-party

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Australian technology services group SMS Management & Technology has shifted the staff in its development facility in Vietnam to a third-party it has signed a comprehensive partnership with, as part of the company's efforts to expand its offshore resources and reducing its fixed costs in the region.

Uber’s ride-sharing: Just the tip of the iceberg for Australia’s emerging ‘sharing economy’

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Uber's new 'ride-sharing' service has caused an uproar in Australia's tightly controlled taxi industry. However, the truth is that this innovative offering is just the tip of the iceberg for a whole raft of 'person to person' services shortly to launch in Australia, collectively known as the emerging 'sharing economy'.

Just months later, M2 to sack another 150

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National telecommunications company M2 this morning revealed it had plans to make another 150 positions redundant, just five months after culling 100 staff from its operations.

Scrimp now, pay later: CSIRO cuts could stifle long-term research

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The moment we tie short-term political, economic or social goals to science is the moment we ensure we’ll slow down finding those momentous future breakthroughs that science has brought us. It is a paradox, but one that the government needs to understand before cutting big budgets out of long-term fundamental research programs at the CSIRO.

Free to fail: Why corporates are learning to love venture capital

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Opening a venture capital branch seems to be the new “thing” in the corporate world. While Telstra and Westpac are the new big national players, Google is clearly ahead of the curve, with two distinct venture capital firms: the newly launched Google Capital and the five-year-old Google Ventures. But why are so many companies, across a range of sectors, now running to open their own venture capital funds?

Energy-smart appliances cut Australian power bills by billions

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The latest review of Australia’s energy-saving appliance scheme has delivered a rare trifecta: a good news story for the economy, the community and the environment. According to my estimates from data in the Department of Industry review, the value of energy saved in Australia last year alone was around A$3.2 billion. Of this, some A$2.7 billion was saved by households.

Campaign Monitor takes US$250m from US VC

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Australia-based software as a service email marketing platform Campaign Monitor announced overnight that it had taken a $250 million investment from US-based venture capital firm Insight Venture Partners, in one of the largest ever VC investments in an Australian technology startup.

Hackett takes 40 percent UltraServe stake

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Internode founder Simon Hackett has made another major investment in an Australian technology company, with the beneficiary this time around being cloud computing and managed hosting services group UltraServe, which has been in operation since the year 2000.

Tesla Model S may come to Australia shortly

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Queue the hype train, because Gizmodo reported this morning that US electric car firm Tesla has shipped one of its popular Model S units over to Canberra for testing.

Equinix expands third Sydney datacentre

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Just how much new datacentre space is needed in Australia? A lot, if you believe the industry. New listed datacentre player NEXTDC has been busy setting up new facilities all over the place, HP just built a mammoth new centre in Western Sydney, and this week established datacentre provider Equinix announced the expansion of its third Sydney datacentre.

Atlassian sells US$150m stock to US funds

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Software group Atlassian, which was founded in Australia but has since formally shifted its headquarters to the UK, has sold $150 million worth of stock to United States investment firms T. Rowe Price and Dragoneer Investment Group, in what the company has stated is a move designed to reward the company's employees through buying their shares.

NSW Govt directly regulates taxi mobile apps

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The NSW Government has formally embraced and started regulating the taxi smartphone apps which have been taking Sydney and other locations by storm, setting regulations to support the apps against the wishes of incumbent players in the taxi industry and capping surcharges at five per cent to stop overcharging.

Building a financial system for a cashless age

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If the Financial System Inquiry is to achieve its aim of helping to promote growth and productivity in the Australian economy it will need to focus strongly on electronic payments.

Crackdown: ATO targets eight major tech giants paying little tax

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The Australian Taxation Office has revealed plans to investigate eight major multinational technology companies, some of which which are paying "very low or no" tax in Australia, as scrutiny on so-called 'profit-shifting' activities by the local operations of technology giants such as Apple and Google continues to ramp up.

CSC loses Australian chief Larkings

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IT services giant CSC has issued a carefully worded statement noting that the long-time managing director of its Australian division, Gavin Larkings, has "left" the business and been replaced by a 15-year-veteran of IBM.

HP opens new Sydney security ops centre

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Global technology giant HP yesterday announced it had created a new dedicated Security Operations Centre (SOC) in Sydney that will support the company's managed security services platform and deal with customers located around the globe.

Google publishes book on Aussie innovation

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Google Australia has published a new 47 page book. Dubbed 'Australia's Innovation Generation' and part of the search giant's Start with Code campaign, the book chronicles the stories of ten innovative Australian entrepreneurs, including high-fliers such as Atlassian's Mike Cannon-Brookes and entrepreneur-turned-investor Niki Scevak.