Information & Communication Technology

The Queensland ICT industry directly employs over 77,000 people in over 5,600 businesses, with estimated revenues in excess of $23.6 billion. Brisbane and the South East Queensland region is the base for over 80 per cent of these companies, with over 70 per cent of the Queensland industry directly involved in either software development or the provision of ICT services.

The wider Australian ICT sector is incredibly robust with fast and secure network infrastructure and world leading intellectual property protection underpinning the industry. Brisbane’s geographic position, allows multinational ICT organisations to pursue a 24 hour development and support cycle allowing for continuous development across the world. In a 2009 report by the Economist Intelligence Unit benchmarking country’s overall e-readiness, Australia was ranked sixth in the world, and placed first within the Asia Pacific Region.

According to analyst firm IDC, the Australian IT services market was valued at $13 billion in 2008, and has been forecast to grow by 4 percent per year, for at least the next four years. Brisbane, in particular, boasts particular expertise in the areas of e-Security, open source, mining technology, wireless technology, enterprise software development, simulation and multimedia applications.

Brisbane has a deep pool of ICT talent to select from, with this talent augmented by the major universities in Brisbane. In addition to education, the local universities have cooperated with a number of international firms, leading to the development of a number of research institutes including the SAP Research CEC, Microsoft QUT e-Research Centre, Information Security Institute, and the Smart Services Cooperative Research Centre.

Attracted by the availability of highly-skilled and innovative staff, software development multinationals – Microsoft, SAP, Red Hat, Boeing, IBM and Mincom – have invested in Brisbane. These firms have capitalised on Brisbane’s cost-competitive operating environment, unique lifestyle opportunities, and ease of access to their Asian operations ensure the success of their operations.

Sectors

E-Security

Queensland is home to the largest e-Security research and development community in the Southern hemisphere. Areas of specialisation include threat and vulnerability assessment, security policy development, data encryption, secure communications and transactions, forensics and intrusion detection. Businesses leading the way include RSA Security, an information and identity protection specialist and Internet Security Systems, a network security software development company.

Interactive Games Development

The highest concentration of game developers in Australia is in Queensland. Over 20 companies enjoy low production costs and access to fresh creative talent. Their work has attracted the attention of global publishers such as Sony, Electronic Arts, Nintendo and Microsoft. They include:

• Auran – developer of the international success ‘Dark Reign’
• THQ – a global games development business employing up to 50 people
• Creative Assembly – leading UK game developer
• Pandemic Studios – global developer of software for Playstation 2, Xbox, gameCube and PC
• Krome Studios – largest game developer in Australia with over 120 staff in Brisbane

Software Development

Major software development companies are choosing to locate in Brisbane, attracted by low costs and highly skilled labour. KPMG ranks Australia first among 11 developed countries in terms of competitiveness. They include:

• Oracle – the world’s second largest software development company
• Mincom – develops software for international asset-intensive industries
• Technology One – one of largest publicly listed IT companies in Australia
• Sun Microsystems – leading providor of industrial strength hardware, software and services
• Boeing – software and systems engineering for commercial and defense aviation sectors

E-Learning

Queensland’s vast geography demands innovative thinking, particularly in the training and education sector. As a result, e-Learning software development has flourished in this region. Investors can take advantage of excellent infrastructure as well as large potential markets. Companies to do so to date include Webraven, an internationally recognised developer of e-learning software, and QANTM, a specialist in e-learning software development.

Why Brisbane?

A creative labour pool

Brisbane’s creative community is well experienced and well educated. Currently, local universities have over 18,000 students enrolled in information technology and engineering related tertiary studies. The city boasts a larger number of ICT graduates per capita than any other Australian state, and produces two thirds of Australia’s ICT doctorates.

Cost-competitive environment

Labour costs are on average 10-15% lower than in Melbourne and Sydney. Taxation is generally lower, including Australia’s lowest payroll tax.

Infrastructure

• Three universities offering ICT related courses, with graduates recognised internationally
• A $60 million Creative Industries Precinct at the Queensland University of Technology dedicated to the co-location, development and promotion of the creative industries
• QANTM, a multimedia ICT training facility with a focus on software development, web construction, animation and games development
• iLab – a facility created to accelerate growth of high tech business by bringing investors, innovators and entrepreneurs together
• Brisbane Technology Park
• The research and training Creative Industries Research and Applications Centre (CIRAC) at the Queensland University of Technology
• The CRC for Smart internet technology operation delivering internet based innovations

Red Hat launches new Brisbane headquarters

Red Hat has launched a new engineering and support facility in Brisbane to sustain its expanding product line. The new facility replaces Red Hat’s existing Brisbane premises, which served as its Asia-Pacific engineering and support headquarters for the past nine years.

According to Paul Gampe, who is the software vendor’s vice president of Engineering Services and Operations, Red Hat’s regional engineering and support business has grown over the past six months.

“We have increased staff in both engineering and support, so we are launching this new facility to accommodate for this expansion and scale for future growth. The new facility accommodates approximately 110 staff and has created a number of new positions,” Mr Gampe said.

Boasting an area of almost 1,500 square metres spread across multiple storeys, the new facility is triple the size of its predecessor and now is Red Hat’s largest engineering centre in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Many technology companies have moved their development and support functions from Australia to China and India,” Mr Gampe said, noting that Red Hat has facilities in all three countries.

“But for Red Hat, the growth of these two economies has contributed to the expansion of our operations in Australia. Brisbane is the regional headquarters for Engineering in Asia.”

Red Hat’s Brisbane location was chosen nine years ago because of overwhelming government support and the quality of local engineering talent.

“Our Brisbane centre provides service and support to customers around the globe, with Australian and New Zealand customers benefiting further because support is available in their time zone,” he said.

Red Hat’s Asia Pacific engineering and support staff conduct software research and development, product engineering, project management and software engineering activities. This includes core graphics engineering, and Red Hat’s main translation team, which is responsible for making products available in 13 languages including German, French, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese and Indonesian.