Pollenizer calls for new startup partners
Local startup incubator Pollenizer has launched the opening of its Autumn semester intake for new startups from 1 April 2012, calling for applications until 20 January. Those businesses shortlisted will be notified between 23 and 25 January.
Biteable attracts $1.1m seed round to grow online video tool
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.
Telstra reveals plans for another 200 job cuts
Telstra has announced a plan to cut staffing numbers via voluntary redundancies in its Global Contact Centre (GCC) group.
HP adopts Microsoft Dynamics for CRM
Multinational IT giant HP has signed a six-year agreement to deploy Microsoft Dynamics for its thousands of employees.
Sysadmin victory: Bulletproof to list on ASX
Sydney-based hosting and cloud computing company Bulletproof Networks has unexpectedly revealed its intention to list on the Australian Stock Exchange through a reverse takeover of a mining firm, in the second example in as many months of a major Australian technology firm going public.
CSIRO + NICTA merger still not nailed down
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.
Google publishes book on Aussie innovation
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.
Vodafone accessed call records of journalist
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.
Atlassian announces massive revenue jump
Atlassian, the Sydney-founded provider of team collaboration and productivity software, has announced a spike in revenue in its latest financial results.
Optus rolls out guest Wi-Fi at Mirvac shopping centres
Optus Business is now providing Wi-Fi services for Australian property group Mirvac at two of the firm's flagship shopping centres.
Heavyweight US investors meet Australian startups in Victoria
A delegation of US investors representing over a trillion dollars in investment capital met with representatives of Australian startups at the Victorian Parliament yesterday.
CSC completes UXC acquisition
Multinational IT services corporation CSC has completed the acquisition of UXC, Australia’s largest independent and publicly owned IT services company for over $420m.
Google Fiber considers expansion to Chicago and Los Angeles
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.
Despite Aussie windfall, does Apple profit slide suggest hard times ahead?
blog Even as it marks the tenth anniversary of iTunes and its companion iPod device, Apple’s first profit decline in a decade has many observers contemplating the future of the pioneering company – and asking whether Steve Jobs’ spirit of innovation has in fact passed along with the company’s co-founder.
NBN may be delayed by Alcatel-Lucent strike
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.
IBM Australia to reportedly slash 500 staff
The new year has not started well for Australian technologists in terms of the jobs situation. Qantas is cutting IT workers, Sensis is cutting workers, Telstra is cutting workers, the Victorian Government is looking into offshoring, and now, according to The Australian newspaper, IBM Australia has embarked on another major redundancy round.
Five things you need to know about the Trans-Pacific Partnership
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...
NAB launches Android contactless payments service
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.
Budget a harsh wake-up call for the tech sector
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.
TEDx tech talk takes place on Qantas flight to Silicon Valley
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".
Did Apple shift $9bn of profits out of Australia?
The Financial Review newspaper reports that Apple has shifted some $9 billion in profits out of Australia, avoiding a normal tax situation being applied to them.
Aussie IT startup A-Team creates new VC fund
A who’s who of the Australian technology startup founder scene (you know these guys, it’s much of the same crew behind initiatives such as Startmate — the Atlassian founders, Niki Scevak and so on) has reportedly banded together to kickstart a new Australian venture capital fund dubbed ‘Blackbird Ventures’.
The Inside Track: No bullshit? What its IPO docs tell us about Atlassian
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 iTax: Made in Ireland, designed in the US
Apple, famous for its innovative products, is equally creative in its tax structure. From 2009 to 2012, it successfully sheltered US$44 billion from being taxed anywhere in the world, including sales generated in Australia.
Hyde quit NEC to run HP’s Enterprise division
Seasoned Australian technology executive Alan Hyde left his managing director role at NEC to lead the South Pacific division of HP's Enterprise Group, it has been revealed.
‘Improved’ telco consumer protection code released
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.
Coalition dumps Lundy’s $42m NICTA boost
The Coalition has revealed an extra $42 million in funding to support peak ICT research group National ICT Australia (NICTA) unveiled several weeks ago by Labor Digital Economy Minister Kate Lundy will be a victim of its election drive to cut costs.
Nintendo Australia finances fall off a cliff
The Australian division of Japanese video gaming giant Nintendo has taken another staggering hit to its finances for the second year in a row, losing a further 36 percent of its overall revenue over the past year as its flagship Wii U console has flopped with consumers due to what is perceived to be a lack of quality games.
Cisco is quite obsessed with Apple Macs at Cisco Live
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.
Software is officially a rip-off in Australia, So what can you do?
It’s official: Australia isn’t the “lucky country” in the IT sector. Consumers, government and industry down under are charged typically 50% more for software and hardware compared to their American counterparts. Why is this the case and, more importantly, what can affected customers do about it?
Google Australia increases tax bill slightly, but results still globally inconsistent
The Australian division of search and software giant Google has published its latest set of financial results for the 2012 calendar year, revealing that it paid several million dollars more tax than the paltry $74,000 sum it claimed in 2011, but also that its revenues and headcount jumped substantially over that period.
Back in the black, baby: Three more tech firms to list on ASX
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.
AirTree raises $250m for venture capital fund
Australia-based venture capital firm AirTree has announced that it has raised $250m for what will be the country's largest ever VC fund.
Insurer IAG uses drones to assess fire damage in Australian ‘first’
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.
Beyond Silicon Valley: Start-up hubs in Australia’s backyard
The next Atlassian could be started by a pair of Chinese students studying right now in Melbourne, or an Australian-born Vietnamese or Indian entrepreneur who can leverage transnational family connections and build a fast-growing company.
Just months later, M2 to sack another 150
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.
TPG orders iiNet to dump Fetch TV
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.
Valleys, alleys and roundabouts: Innovating beyond a precinct
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.
SMS shifts Vietnam staff to third-party
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.
Telstra launches multi-cloud management platform
Telstra has launched a cloud management platform aimed to help businesses with the operation of hybrid cloud environments.
Xenophon announces plan to save Dick Smith gift card holders
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has announced a possible solution for Dick Smith gift card holders following the electronics retailer's collapse.
Telstra switches on free public Wi-Fi across Tasmania
Telstra has switched on over 40 public Wi-Fi hotspots across Tasmania in a joint partnership with the Tasmanian Government.
Farce: NSW Govt suspends UberX drivers while review is underway
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.
VMware introduces new desktop virtualisation platform
Virtualisation giant VMware has unveiled a new platform for delivering secure digital workspaces for flexible working on any device.
Blackbird launches $30m Aussie VC fund
Less than 24 hours after one of Australia's most high-profile declared Australia's venture capital industry "dead", a new $30 million venture capital fund has launched locally to support the next wave of Australian tech startups, backed by a who's who list of the local early stage technology industry.
Trio of Aussie IT startups win investment
Three Australian IT and web startups have revealed that they have attracted sizable investment rounds over the past week, as the nation's startup community continues to gain in scale amid a constant and ongoing series of capital injections that is fuelling individual company growth and the growth of the local ecosystem as a whole.
Banks team up to deal with Apple Pay
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.
TPG will raise $300 million to repay iiNet debt and support initiatives
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.
Telstra flags redundancies in Defence contract
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.
NEC enters ‘smart cities’ partnership with University of Adelaide
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.
Yelp launches in Australia; but will it fly?
US-based community led search site Yelp has ventured into Australia through a local version of its site. The website is a platform for sharing opinions and recommendations on businesses and services in the neighbourhood.
Retailer Dick Smith enters administration
Dick Smith Holdings Ltd, the Australian electrical retail group, has entered receivership, according to a statement.
Australia’s IT industry just isn’t sexy enough
Those of you who've been following Delimiter over the past several days might have noticed that I've gotten a little bit on my high horse over the issue of industry subsidies. I was a little shocked by the massive national ruckus created by the request by fruit processor SPC Ardmona for millions of dollars worth of government assistance for its plant in Shepparton, Victoria, when larger issues in the nation's technology sector are almost completely ignored. Today I've published a further view on the issue on the ABC's The Drum site, arguing that it's because the IT industry just isn't sexy enough.
Telstra, Optus, TPG, Vodafone splurge on 1800MHz spectrum
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).
Gizmodo has been chasing people around Sydney that might be Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto
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.
IT startups pan ‘narrow’ tax changes
Those of you who were watching closely would have noticed that the Federal Government finally last week released a discussion paper looking at new rules for Australian technology startups (see the media release here), which would make it much easier for IT startups with 10 staff or less to launch share programs for employees without having those programs attract massive taxation headaches. But do the rules go far enough?
An insider’s look at Aussie app development
Australian iOS and Android app development house Shifty Jelly has published an extensive and heart-felt blog post detailing what it's really like to be an app developer in the cold, hard smartphone/tablet world.
‘War’ on tax avoidance overlooks some obvious legal fixes
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...
Telstra to make 480 positions redundant
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.
Great FAQ on Australia’s IT startup scene
Are you a Sydney-based technologist interested in getting out of Australia's corporate IT sector and into a hot IT startup? Or perhaps a budding entrepreneur looking to start one? Well, local tech startup consultancy and incubator Pollenizer's got your back. The company's Ben Ma has published an extensive overview of Sydney's tech startup scene.
Financial problems take down 99dresses
Pollenizer-backed startup 99dresses this week took its site down for renovation promising that it would eventually return, but revealing it was suffering from financial problems linked to its use of virtual currency.
The Inside Track: Is Microsoft surging or fading? Behind the scenes at Ignite on...
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.
Great debate on the lack of diversity in IT startups
Clune's right: Australia's IT startup scene is predominantly composed of white, middle class males, a physical form which venture capitalists usually identify with. But Liubinskas is also right: Things are more complicated than that in real life, and opportunities do abound for the passionate or determined, regardless of who they are. Perhaps the passion and diversity in this debate do much to illustrate the sector as a whole.
Digital tech “critical” for massive agricultural industry growth
Digital agricultural technology (AgTech) will be a "critical component" of Australia's plan to develop a $100 billion agricultural industry by 2030, according to a new StartupAUS report.
Samsung offshores Aussie mobile support
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.
PIPE founder, Gordon Bell invest in OrionVM
Australian cloud computing startup OrionVM today revealed it had taken angel investment capital from two high-profile technology sector luminaries: PIPE Networks co-founder Stephen Baxter and US engineer Gordon Bell, of Digital Equipment Corporation fame.
Disruptive tech companies killing off workers’ rights, says union
The 'disruptive economy' being brought about by companies such as Uber is "driving down" workers’ rights, the Transport Workers Union has warned.
TPG’s FTTB rollout still progressing extremely slowly
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...
Atlassian’s Mike Cannon-Brookes has kicked off a Reddit AMA
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.
Non-profit Internet of Things Alliance launches in Sydney
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.
Older IT workers ‘dumped’ for 457 visa staff
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.
Sydney’s Paloma wins $1.5m local investment
Sydney-based next-generation mobile startup Paloma Mobile has raised $1.5 million in investment funding from Australian venture capital firm OneVentures, in a move which will further highlight the growing strengths of the local funding landscape for Australia-based technology startups.
Wi-Fi company SkyFii raises $4 million
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.
BT pledges 300Mbps broadband speeds to 10m homes by 2020
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...
Bitcoin miner lists on ASX
If you needed any further indication that we now live in the science fiction future long ago mapped out for us by visionary authors, then look no further. News arrived this week that an Australian digital currency company and Bitcoin mining concern, digitalBTC, has listed on the Australian Stock Exchange through a backdoor listing.
Kondoot social network plans $10 million IPO
Australian video social network Kondoot has announced plans to launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in a bid to raise $10 million for its marketing and expansion plans.
HPE may cut 200 Adelaide jobs, just months after hiring binge
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.
Telstra shares millions with Box
The nation's largest telco Telstra has added to a recent splurge of funding on smaller companies, ploughing a reported $10 million into US-based corporate cloud file-sharing company and Dropbox competitor Box.
Insight: Warning: Most of Australia’s IT bellwethers are cutting jobs
Yesterday morning an unexpected chill wind blew through Australia's technology sector.
Optus partners with Macquarie Uni on $10 million cybersecurity hub
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.
Logicalis buys Australian IT infrastructure specialist Thomas Duryea
Logicalis, an international IT solutions and managed services provider, has announced the acquisition of Australian cloud and datacentre Services firm Thomas Duryea Consulting.
Victorian Govt cuts NICTA funding
Australia's peak ICT research body National ICT Australia will be forced to make substantial job cuts to its Victorian operations, ZDNet reports today, as the result of funding cuts by the Victorian State Government.
Posse group picks up $5m in funding
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.
A solid overview of Australian startup funding
Mark Greig, the commercial director of Pollenizer Global (and chairman of Pollenizer’s Investment Council) has published an extremely common sense blog post outlining some the basic things you need to know about investing in Australian IT startups.
Online retailer Kogan files for IPO
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.
Apple CEO bitchslaps Melbourne store staff in front of whole company
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".
“An absolute national imperative”: Matt Barrie’s epic rant on Australia’s IT investment
Freelancer.com chief executive Matt Barrie has published an impassioned article on his LinkedIn profile strongly heavily criticising the Government for its underinvestment in the technology sector, which he said had led to a situation where Australia is devoid of good IT talent and "missing out" on the ongoing industry revolution.
Uber has paid out $600,000 in taxi fines in Victoria
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.
ICAC to investigate NSW TAFE ICT manager
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).
Startup pays local to line up for iPad
Australian startup Airtasker has used its fledgling jobs board service to advertise for someone to line up outside the Sydney Apple store to buy the new iPad when it is launched this Friday in Australia.
Aussie software firm Marketplacer grabs $10m
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.
NSW Govt funds Fruit Ninja Sydney studio
Leading Australian game developers Halfbrick Studios are opening a new Sydney office and will be developing the next edition of their internationally acclaimed app Fruit Ninja in the city, announced NSW Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner yesterday, with the support of funding from the State Government.
River City Labs boosts Brisbane’s startup infrastructure
River City Labs, a Brisbane based start-up company, was officially opened on 22 March 2012 by Brisbane Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner. According to a press release, Labs is a not-for-profit co-working space founded and funded by Stephen Baxter, PIPE Networks co-founder (pictured, above left) and a well-known figure within the telecommunications and Internet industry.
Adobe increases Australian Creative Cloud prices
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.
Foxtel hiring anti-piracy investigator
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.
Dell sells services business to Japan’s NTT Data
Computing giant Dell has announced that Japan-based NTT Data is to acquire its IT services consultation division, Dell Services.
Victoria Govt launches $11m ICT fund
The Victorian Coalition Government has launched an $11 million 'Digital Futures Fund', which is aimed at giving a substantial boost to cutting edge Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects in the state.
Research: Netflix now reaches over a million households in Australia
The number of Australian households with a Netflix subscription rose in October to top one million, according to data from Roy Morgan Research.
Australian web 2.0 start-ups raise big capital
Thereitis.com, the Adelaide start-up spun out of Flinders University has elicited a $2 million angel investment round to steer international commercialisation of its user interface technology.
Australia’s IT startups need more capital
According to Phil Morle, the co-founder of startup incubator and consultancy Pollenizer, the situation still isn’t where it needs to be in terms of IT startup funding in Australia.
‘Keeping the company in Australia’: Freelancer.com turns down $400m buyout to list on ASX
Outspoken Freelancer.com chief executive Matt Barrie today noted that the company would turn down the offers it had received to sell to a larger group or take investment, instead flagging plans to list on the Australian Securities Exchange later this year and continue the drive to develop Australia's home grown technology industry.
Optus replaces Telstra as official Olympics telecoms partner
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has inked a 10-year agreement that sees Optus become the official telecommunications partner of the Australian Olympic team.
Corruption raises its ugly head in Australia’s technology sector
The newspaper alleged, and Leighton has substantially verified, the fact that staff from Visionstream were suspected of aiding Silcar staff in stealing Visionstream tender files relating to a $240 million contract to deploy Optus’s 4G network, which the two contractors were competing to bid. I’ll have a separate article on that situation shortly.
What you may not realise is that this not an isolated incident.
Telstra still upgrading the HFC network it is selling to NBN Co
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.
Choice calls for help to defeat Netflix geo-blockade
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.
iOS conference One More Thing set for May
The second edition of One More Thing, a conference of iOS developers and designers, has been scheduled for May 25th and 26th in Melbourne, Australia.
NEC undergoes redundancy round
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.
Union talks to Telstra, NBN over 457 visa workers, training issues
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 to set up cybersecurity facility in Adelaide
NEC has announced that it will establish a $4.38 million cybersecurity centre in Adelaide to address growing demand for online security.
Energy-smart appliances cut Australian power bills by billions
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.
It’s not just Freelancer: Aussie tech IPOs are back in general
Freelancer chief executive Matt Barrie shocked a few in Australia’s tech sector with his mid-September rejection of a $400 million offer from a Japanese HR and recruitment giant to buy his company. The executive’s decision to list his company on the Australian Stock Exchange instead was similarly controversial. However, as I write in Delimiter 2.0 today (subscriber content), Freelancer’s not alone. There’s half a dozen other technology industry companies seeking to list on the ASX late this year or early next.
Aussie banks reject Apple Pay costs in Australia
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.
Atlassian shifts to the UK, on paper
Australian software firm Atlassian has revealed it will shift its headquarters to the United Kingdom on paper, to aid with its plans to eventually list in the United States.
Optus pays $51k fine over false claims broadband speeds are ‘NBN-like’
Optus has paid fines of $51,000 for making false claims about its broadband services, saying they were "NBN-like" in their speeds.
NEC Australia announces new leadership team
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.
Telstra invests in NGINX web server project
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.
“Burning ambition”: Brisbane launches digital economy strategy
It seems virtually everyone's getting on the whole "digital economy" bandwagon these days. The latest cab off the rank is Brisbane, which has appointed a chief digital officer and this week launched its new 'digita strategy'. Nice.
Budget 2014: Game devs ‘bewildered’ by fund cut
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.
Liberals want to make Adelaide “startup capital of Australia”
South Australia's Liberal Party has vowed to make Adelaide "the startup capital of Australia" if it wins the upcoming state election, promising to plough some $500,000 into a startup week and committing to a slew of other initiatives that would help alleviate what the party described as the state's "devastating brain drain" crisis.
Telstra offshores 34 Tasmanian jobs
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.
Ashley Madison hacker may be Australian, likes AC/DC
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.
Atlassian files for US$3 billion IPO in United States
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.
Australia can’t stop multinational profit shifting in isolation
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.
New $50m fund to target Aussie IT startups
If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: Now is a fantastic time to be involved in an Australian IT startup. It used to be that it was tough to find finding for great new ideas in the Australian technology sector, but the plethora of sizable investment deals over the past several years proven that the local funding environment has changed substantially.
Atlassian buys HipChat
Australian enterprise software firm Atlassian revealed this week that it had acquired San Francisco-based HipChat.
River City Labs to double in size with new Fortitude Valley premises
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.
Melbourne CDN startup wins $2.3 million
Melbourne-based cloud content delivery network startup MetaCDN this week revealed it had completed one of the largest early stage investment rounds in an Australian technology startup over the past several years, winning $2.3 million in funding from investors including Starfish Ventures and the University of Melbourne Endowment fund.
Uber takes ATO to court over GST
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.
Carnegie unveils $120m ‘digital’ fund
Venture capital and private equity firm M. H. Carnegie has revealed it is preparing to launch an $120 million venture capital fund using local user interface and digital marketing firm Vivant as an incubation facility, in one of the more unusual such collaborations seen so far in Australia.
Capgemini appoints new CEO for Australia and New Zealand
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.
Telstra doubles NBN/broadband data on new bundle deals
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.
NICTA cloud spinoff Yuruware bought by US firm
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.
Bugcrowd raises $15m in Series B funding round
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.
Reckon invests in local SaaS startup
Australian software specialist Reckon has announced a strategic minority investment in local start-up Connect2Field. Reckon acquired a 30 percent stake for $660,000, thus providing its customer base a useful application for field staff management and paving its way into the CRM space.
TPG pledges to retain iiNet, Internode brands, call centre
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...
CSC loses Australian chief Larkings
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.
Telstra, Seven splurge on HealthEngine startup
Telecommunications and media giants Telstra and Seven West Media have revealed they will splurge a total of $10.4 million on HealthEngine, in a move which represents the second major investment in the seven-year-old Perth-based health appointment search startup in less than a year.
GoPro to site regional HQ in Melbourne, create 50 new jobs
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.
Melbourne grabs key tech startup event from Sydney
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.
Optus to cut “several hundred” jobs, union says
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.
Microsoft Ignite 2015 (Gold Coast): Photo gallery
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 :)
WA Govt to trial driverless electric bus
A staged trial of a driverless electric shuttle bus will take place in Western Australia later this year, according to the state government.
Japanese firm makes $400m offer for Freelancer.com
Thought Australian outsourcing marketplace Freelancer.com was going to grow up into a strong, Australia-based company that would conquer the world? Well, it appears that you may be wrong. According to US technology blog TechCrunch, Japanese HR and recruitment giant Recruit Co. has made a $400 million offer to buy Matt Barrie’s bouncing baby boy.
Late to the party: Vodafone still wants to provide fixed NBN services
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.
Govt “committed” to addressing startup share issues
The new Coalition Federal Government has stated that it is "committed" to addressing the ongoing concerns Australian startups have with tax arrangements for employee share schemes, re-opening consultation on the matter for two weeks late this month and early in February. Any opening up of the scheme is likely to be welcomed by Australia's IT startup sector.
Tapestry.net picks up $400k investment
Not every Web 2.0 startup is for sexy young things who are devoted to sharing every instant of their “social universe” online. Some startups aim at different categories. A good example is Tapestry.net, which just picked up a cool $400k in investment from government group Commercialisation Australia.
Australia’s IT startup scene: Blooming, not dying
This morning the Sydney Morning Herald published a series of articles claiming that Australia's technology startup ecosystem is unable to support local entrepreneurs, causing them to increasingly head to the US in search of the financial backing they are unable to attract in Australia. The only problem is, the evidence doesn't support this assertion.
Teenage hacker evaded police and left Australia under own passport, now appears on national...
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.
M2 to merge with Vocus
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.
‘Significant’ bidder interest for Sydney’s White Bay tech hub project
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.
Report: Oracle may be dumping its Australian support centre
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.
Australians offered digital inbox for real mail
A trio of business process companies have teamed up in a joint venture to offer Australians an easy way to receive their physical mail -- online.
Atlassian sells US$150m stock to US funds
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.
Aussie start-up incubators need fresh meat
There is good news for Australian start-ups looking for investment and guidance, as start-up incubators are opening new rounds of applications for their funding intake and mentorship programs. These investors provide internet companies seed capital, mentorship, connections, opportunities for Australian web start-ups, usually for a minority stake, and even pitch for top-tier venture capitalists and angel investors.
SAP opens HANA enterprise cloud in Canberra
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.
Can man survive off Bitcoin mining alone?
Melbourne geek Anthony Agius’ newest venture is attempting to ascertain whether he can make enough money from mining the Bitcoin virtual currency to keep himself in new servers and fast broadband in the style to which he has become accustomed.
ACS elects Anthony Wong as new President
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.
Optus, Huawei achieve 1.41Gbps speeds in 4.5G wireless trial
Optus and Huawei late last week said a live trial of 4.5G technology has produced mobile download speeds of 1.41Gbps.
WA taxi reforms to ‘level playing field’ with firms like Uber
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.
30 startups receive $16m boost from Entrepreneurs’ Programme
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.
Australia’s biggest ever global float: Atlassian worth US$5.8bn
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.
Foxtel nicks William Shatner from MyRepublic for broadband ads
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.
Blackbird reveals whopping $200m tech startup VC fund
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.
AIIA announces new CEO
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.
NSA intercepts US routers, implants spyware
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.
Google Australia appoints new MD from the inside
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.
HP opens new Sydney security ops centre
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.
The Inside Track: How Atlassian’s IPO will change everything
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.
Bigcommerce pulls in mega US$40M round
Australian e-commerce software as a service firm Bigcommerce revealed overnight that it had picked up a further US$40 million in funding, taking its total investment from the US venture capital scene to some $75 million and further illustrating the rapid growth of Australia's startup scene.
Canva raises $15m after repeated previous capital injections
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.
Telstra snaps up O2 Networks
The nation's largest telco Telstra today announced it had acquired O2 Networks, a leading Australian provider of network and security consulting and integration services for enterprise customers, in a deal reported to be worth $60 million.
SAP sets up public, financial services business units
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.
Twitter buys Aussie startup We Are Hunted
Australian startup We Are Hunted, which was formed out of Wotnews as a side project and survived its death, has just annoucned that it has been bought by social networking site Twitter.
Salesforce Australia partners with UN on gender equality program
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.
Atlassian files for IPO on the Nasdaq Global Market
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'.
Another great Aussie IT company to go overseas? CSC makes offer for UXC
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.
Redditor downloads 421GB on Telstra ‘free mobile data day’
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news A single individual Australian appears to have taken advantage of Telstra's 'free mobile data' day on Sunday to download...
Canon acquires Converga from New Zealand Post
Canon Australia announced Monday it has fully acquired New Zealand Post Group subsidiary Converga for an undisclosed sum.
CSC announces revised UXC acquisition agreement
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.
Australian startup Grabble bought by Walmart
Retail giant Walmart has acquired fledgling Aussie tech startup Grabble for an undisclosed figure, with the deal being announced this week on the company’s site by founders Stuart Argue and Anthony Marcar.
NEC Australia opens new HQ and Innovation Centre in Victoria
Japanese IT services and products giant NEC has opened a new Australian headquarters in Victoria.
WME, Appscore to add 70 tech jobs at new Melbourne HQ
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.
A fascinating startup brain dump from Phil Morle
If you're interested in Australia's IT startup ecosystem, you could do a lot worse than read this fascinating braindump by Morle posted amid the dying embers of 2012.
Messaging startup Slack opens Melbourne HQ
Slack Technologies has opened a new regional headquarters in Melbourne that is expected to create 70 new jobs for Victoria’s growing tech sector.
Clothing with Bluetooth safety alerts idea wins mining hackathon
After over two days of non-stop brainstorming, a team composed of university students and scientists has won the 2015 Unearthed Melbourne Hackathon.
Corporate highs: The US P-TECH model for schools in Australia?
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.
Connecting to Australia’s first digital technology curriculum
Australia finally has its first digital technology curriculum which is mandatory for all Australian children from Foundation, the name replacing kindergarten, to Year 8.
ASX plans blockchain solution for Australian equity market
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has selected US firm Digital Asset Holdings to develop a blockchain post-trade solution for the Australian equity market.
Foxtel to launch first Internet piracy blocking attempt in early 2016
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.
ANZ’s startup accelerator reveals next class
The Innovyz START startup accelerator program recently launched by ANZ Bank has revealed the second 10 startups to which it will attract funding and mentorship, with the major of successful startups originating in South Australian capital city Adelaide.
Why the NBN probably won’t kill Foxtel
The theory that the National Broadband Network is a threat to Foxtel's pay TV business doesn't really hold water.
Telstra claims ‘world first’ following 1Gbps mobile speed test
Mobile provider Telstra claims to have achieved a "world first" following "successful" tests of 1Gbps speed capability on its commercial mobile network.
Govt delays IT startup funding decisions
According to From Little Things, the Gillard Government is currently sitting on its hands with respect to decisions about supporting Australia's IT startup sector and hasn't responded to its own review in the area.
NextDC confirms second Melbourne data centre will follow equity raising
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.
Deloitte buys IT firm Sixtree to boost tech offerings
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.
NAB, Telstra form digital marketplace startup for small biz
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.
Drastic govt measures needed: IT price hike report pulls no punches
The Federal Parliament committee examining IT price hikes in Australia has published an extensive report recommending a raft of drastic measures to deal with current practices in the area, which, the report says, are seeing Australians unfairly slugged with price increases of up to 50 percent on key technology goods and services.
Labor pledges to go after Apple for “extraordinary” tax habits
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".
Optus re-opens startup funding applications
Just wanted to post a brief note that Optus has opened the second round of applications for Australian IT startups to attract seed funding under its Innov8 program.
Telstra meets CWU over alleged issues with redundancy procedures
Telstra has met with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) over claimed procedural discrepancies as the telco seeks to reduce staff numbers via voluntary redundancies.
Telstra fixes first blackspots under government program
Telstra has made the first improvements to regions with poor mobile coverage as part of the government's Mobile Black Spot Programme.
Cisco Live 2016 in Melbourne: Photo gallery
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.
FastMail staff buy it back from Opera
Long-time Australian email company FastMail.FM has announced that it has been bought back by its own employees from Opera, just three and a half years after it was sold to Norway-based browser firm.
Telstra buys Kloud, invests in Instart Logic
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.
CommBank backs blockchain technology with Sydney conference
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.
Could Telstra buy Telecom NZ?
Speculation has started floating around Australia's blogosphere from senior sources that the nation's number one telco could find it opportunistic to be positioning itself for a buyout of New Zealand's incumbent telco Telecom New Zealand.
Cloud computing could cause the next Industrial Revolution, says Telstra
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.
Cloud computing player Ninefold shuts down
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.
Campaign Monitor takes US$250m from US VC
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.
Kotaku alleges abuse, gross staff neglect at retailer EB Games
In which Kotaku alleges an odious culture of gross staff neglect and out and out abuse at national retailer EB Games.
Tech startups: Now is your chance to shape policy
Earlier this month the Rudd Labor Government issued a discussion paper on the taxation of employee share schemes. This is the best opportunity for as long as Senator Kate Lundy can remember to contribute to a formal process about how we provide the right practical and effective incentives for start-ups in Australia.
HPE to merge IT services business with CSC
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.
Australian retailers online: Late to the party and much to do
Australian consumers are embracing digital commerce, but Australian retailers are failing to build long-term relationships with their customers online, according to new research.
Apple Australia insists it pays all its taxes
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.
Sydney’s Bubble Gum studio raises $2.5m more
Sydney-based children's entertainment company Bubble Gum Interactive has raised another $2.5 million to help fund the expansion of its Little Space Heroes online game, adding to an initial $1 million raised in mid-2011.
Telstra acquires app developer Readify
Telstra has announced the acquisition of Readify, an Australian app development firm that has previously provided services for Microsoft.
Business warming to NBN but most still unprepared for it
Australian businesses expect massive change from the NBN and are rapidly warming to the potential role of NBN-driven teleworking, but most still aren’t ready for the changes the network will bring, a major survey of business readiness has concluded.
HP Australia product revenues head south
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.
99designs co-founder directly siphoning Aussie IT talent to Silicon Valley
Heard the term "Australian brain-drain"? You're probably not going to see a more blatant attempt at it than this.
Equinix completes expansion of Melbourne datacentre
Equinix, an international provider of datacentres and Internet exchanges, has completed the second phase expansion of its Melbourne datacentre, known as ME1.
Politicians flood launch of #fintech hub Stone & Chalk
blog Sydney-based financial technology startup hub Stone & Chalk launched last night to great fanfare, with a solid wedge of politicians from both major...
ACS report reveals “major skills shift” in Australian economy
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.
In the Airbnb world we need a new productivity measure
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.
Telstra backs away from same-sex marriage campaign
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.
Telstra offers free data following mobile network outage
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.
Crowdfunding campaign launched for book on “forgotten” Australian inventor
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.
Aussie mobile startup wins $2m funding
Australian mobile app platform startup biNu this week revealed it has picked up $2 million in investment funding from a number of high-profile investors, including TomorrowVentures, the investment group of Google chairman Eric Schmidt.
US tech visionary Harper Reed to keynote Cisco Live
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.
Future Capital expands with Agenda and BlueChilli
Future Capital Development Fund (FCDF), the prominent Australian web 2.0 investment group, announced its investment yesterday in two more companies, TheAgendaDaily.com and BlueChilli Technology. This brings the total of fast growing Internet companies in the Future Capital portfolio to at least 14.
Digital Realty flags new datacentre construction in Melbourne
Global technology firm Digital Realty is to establish a new datacentre in Victoria that will create hundreds of new jobs in the state.
A detailed report into Australia’s IT startup scene
The From Little Things blog created by Australian startup incubator Pollenizer recently has been turning up some solid content; profiles of Australian startups, interesting tidbits about the local investment and more. And today it’s gone one better, publishing a detailed report into Australia’s IT startup scene and how it compares internationally.
‘Google Schmoogle’ – how Yellow Pages got it so wrong
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.
Apple Australia’s revenues flat in 2013
The revenues of Apple's Australian division have finally stopped their massive annual growth initiated in 2009, as the company's lack of new product lines over the past year have stalled its onwards financial march.
Scrimp now, pay later: CSIRO cuts could stifle long-term research
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.
Microsoft beating Google in cloud email race, says Gartner
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.
Telstra offers free Wi-Fi to customers over summer season
Telstra has announced it is giving millions of customers "unlimited free access" to its Wi-Fi network, Telstra Air.
Telstra chair Catherine Livingstone resigns
Telstra Chairman Catherine Livingstone has announced she is resigning from her position on the board of directors at Australia's largest telecommunications company.
Husic: Govt ‘ignoring’ concerns over equity crowdfunding bill
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.
Vodafone inks rewards deal with Qantas, opens NZ roaming
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.
Court throws out Australia Post digital lawsuit
The Federal Court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Australia Post against fledgling e-post joint venture Digital Post Australia with reference to the similarity in the name of the company with its own well-established brand.
Victoria partners with Zendesk to boost Melbourne employment
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.
Apple Australia wages not insanely great
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.
Freelancer’s IPO: A billion reasons to care
For the Australian tech company market, the success of Freelancer would be a good thing and could possibly serve to boost the likelihood of other companies receiving investment. But because tech companies listing on the ASX are relatively uncommon, they are often treated as scarce events resulting in a general temptation to attach too much significance to a company that has yet to really prove it is worthy of the attention.
NEXTDC secures Melbourne, Brisbane sites for new data centres
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.
Kogan puts company up for sale
Depending on what you choose to believe, a report published by the Financial Review this morning suggests that either Ruslan Kogan may have run out of energy and is looking to take a break or is looking to take his business to the next stage with a decent slab of capital injection.
Aussie group buying sector worth $500m in 2011
Online group buying deals are finding favour with more and more Australians, going by sales figures. According to local emerging technology analyst firm Telsyte, the online group buying market generated revenues worth $498 million in 2011.
US VC firm pumps $30m into Aussie software vendor
US-based venture capital firm Technology Crossover Ventures has invested $30 million into Australia-based company SiteMinder, which develops software that allows hotels to better monetise their inventory themselves and via more easily connecting to online platforms.
Deloitte proposes concrete startup employee share changes
Corporate and technology consulting firm Deloitte has proposed a set of concrete definitions and rules that would substantially change the way the Australian Taxation Office deals with the contentious issue of employee share schemes for Australian startup companies.
Major report on crowd-sourced equity funding
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.
The ATO raided alleged Bitcoin ‘billionaire’ over a paltry few million dollars
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.
Foxtel’s bundle of pain could come sooner than it thinks
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.
Aussie startup wants us to outsource chores
Airtasker, a new online community marketplace based in Australia that lets people outsource everyday tasks and chores to ‘runners’ -- local community members looking to earn some extra money -- was launched on February 21, according to a media release issued by the company this week.
IIA hands baton to Comms Alliance
Australia's Internet Industry Association is to to shut down and transfer its operations to the Communications Alliance, in the second major termination of an Australian telecommunications representative group in under three years.
Budget 2014: VCs demand long-term growth plan
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.
Australian Craig Steven Wright may be the creator of Bitcoin, and a billionaire
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'.
Vodafone grows customer numbers by 135,000, revenue by 4.5 percent
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.
Well, d’uh: ACCC finds it is possible to monitor Aussie broadband speeds
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.
CommBank, Telstra invest $20m in quantum computing technology
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.
Govt details FinTech support, action on GST treatment of cryptocurrencies
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.
Australia Post, Telstra and the ‘dying business’ dilemma
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”.
auDA appoints policy development veteran as new CEO
.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.
NSW Govt directly regulates taxi mobile apps
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.
auDA dumps CEO Chris Disspain after 16 years … but why?
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?
Reboot ICT teacher training to halt the computing brain drain
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
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.
APN invests in Pollenizer’s Friendorse
Newspaper group APN News & Media has confirmed that it is investing in the Pollenizer-backed startup Friendorse.
Startmate announces class of 2012
Startmate, the Sydney based mentor-driven seed fund that invests in Australian techies who have ambitions of creating startups, has announced its latest class of protégées for the 2012 program. The fund was announced at the Tech23 2010 event held in Sydney and it has a stated mission of helping create world-class companies that will solve customer problems.
‘Thriving’ Aussie tech incubator scene a ‘mirage’
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.
Optus makes first startup investments
National telecommunications player Optus has made its first investments in several Australian technology startups, courtesy of its Innov8 seed fund set up in collaboration with parent SingTel, with local groups 121cast and Venuemob getting the nod for initial capital investment.
The Australian IT sector needs a stronger voice
The call for a technology policy think tank is opportune and probably long overdue. The Australian IT industry is a massive industry, a huge success story for Australia, and well deserving of its own voice.
IBM Australia goes through redundancy round
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.
Simon Hackett funds electric race car
Simon Hackett has teamed up with another senior former senior Internode executive and two early executives from electric car pioneer to found a new startup focused on building a new type of electric car specifically designed for high-speed performance racing.
Australia’s economic future in high-tech, says Shadow Treasurer
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.
Spectrum re-farming in NSW, ACT boosts Vodafone 4G coverage
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.
ABC tech reporter founds micro-transactions startup
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”.
The ‘myth’ of the Australian entrepreneur
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.
AFR camps out for days to get photo of secretive TPG billionaire David Teoh
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.
Tax heat intensifies on Apple Australia
Given that Australia's Parliament is currently in the process of introducing laws that would force more taxation transparency on companies like Apple, and that governments in the US, UK and Australia are all now angrily demanding answers from companies such as Apple and Google on this issue, I suspect that we'll see some resolution of the tax situation with respect to these giant technology multinationals soon.
TPG dumps Internode PR after 15 years
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.
TPG/iiNet shuts down TransACT’s Canberra call centre
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.
Lawyer says Craig Wright “existed within his own fantasy world”
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.
Square Peg launches Australia’s second $200m VC tech fund
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.
Fetch TV will easily survive iiNet loss
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.
Report: Australia must take steps to capitalise on IoT revolution
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.
Report outlines the digitalisation ‘megatrends’ shaping Australia’s employment future
A new report has outlined the "megatrends" shaping the future of employment in Australia and highlighted the importance of education across the jobs spectrum.
Visionstream to cut workforce, says union
Telecoms and ICT services provider Visionstream is to slash its workforce, the Communications Workers Union (CWU) has said.
$1.2m: Aussie startup Scriptrock gets funded
Australian IT startup Scriptrock has won venture capital funding of $1.2 million from a list of names which reads like a who's who of the local and international technology investment scene.
Budget 2014: Not happy, Joe: Startups slam budget cuts
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.
Monster Truck dev wants Australia to be video games ‘connector’
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.
Will the green shoots of Australian innovation policy be cut off prematurely?
Understandably, new governments have an interest in putting their own stamp on policy, particularly in areas as critical to our future as research and innovation, but sometimes continuity and re-badging is preferable to scorched earth.
Ex-ninemsner Sneesby returns as Cudo CEO
Mike Sneesby was yesterday announced as the Chief Executive of Cudo, the online group buying company that is a joint venture between Microsoft and Nine Entertainment Co (NEC).
Xbox One goes off with a bang … but will the PS4 launch eclipse...
Which console launch are you most excited about, and why? Am I right that the PlayStation 4 has most of the momentum at this point? Or is underdog Microsoft making a comeback with the Xbox One?
Budget 2014: Govt chops NICTA funds in two years
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".
Optus, Cisco announce $12m innovation partnership
Optus and Cisco have announced a joint initiative to develop technologies that they anticipate will create "disruptive capabilities" for Australian businesses and government.
KPMG launches fintech startup accelerator for corporates
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.
Atmail picks up $2m from Starfish
Anyone who still thinks there aren't sufficient funding options in Australia for startups had better take another look at that belief, because over the past year we've seen an absolute heap of decently sized early funding rounds for fast-growing local IT companies. Now there's one more to be added to the list -- email and collaboration company Atmail, which has picked up $2 million from Starfish Ventures.
Comcast runs successful real-world test of gigabit HFC
In what it is calling a "world first", Comcast has switched on gigabit hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) broadband at a home in the US.
Pre-launch web startup Canva raises $3m
Australian web startup Canva this morning revealed it had picked up a $3 million seed round from a number of early stage investors and venture capitalists in Australia and Silicon Valley.
Telstra, Cisco team up for Software-Defined Networking products
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.
Brennan IT selects Commvault and Huawei for backup-as-a-service
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.