Australian SMEs pitch for business from UK, US, Asian governments
Home-grown Australian IT companies will be in the spotlight in September at an international gathering of government officials attending the FutureGov Congress in Canberra (12-14 September 2011, National Convention Centre).
For the second year running senior technology buyers from governments in the UK, US and Europe, as well as neighbouring Asian countries, will be in town to learn from the experience of the Australian commonwealth and state governments – but thanks to a new initiative this year, Australian IT companies now look set to grab a slice of the action.
Working with the eGov Cluster of NICTA, Australia’s Information and Communications Technology Research Centre of Excellence, and in partnership with the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science & Research, the organisers of FutureGov Congress will be introducing more than 140 senior government officials to some of the biggest names in IT – along with a pavilion of homegrown Australian IT companies (including BlinkMobile Interactive, Cocoon Data, iCognition, RMS, Alacrity, TASKey, Quintessence Labs, Viocorp, and Intelledocs).
Governments around the world are among the biggest spenders on IT products and solutions – and the FutureGov Congress represents the largest gathering of international government IT buyers in Australia this year, with more than A$19 billion of annual spending power represented at the event, according to a survey of attendees.
Also in the spotlight will be the success of Australian e-government, and the maturity of Australian government technology use – particularly the use of social media to engage with citizens and businesses, and improve service delivery.
According to James Smith, the Singapore-based Managing Director of FutureGov magazine – the publication organising the FutureGov Congress – Australia is a natural location to hold an event focused on the modernisation of the public sector: “On my travels internationally, the government officials that I talk to regularly quiz me on the initiatives of Australian government, both at the national and state level. In areas such as citizen engagement, governance, and project management, Australia’s public sector continues to outperform most of its international peers – which is why the world is beating a path to the Australian government’s doorstep and sending so many of their senior officials to Canberra in September.”
“I’d like to pay my respects to the work of NICTA for attracting FutureGov Congress to Canberra, the national capital of Australia,” said Senator Kate Lundy at the official announcement of this year’s event. “Canberra is the perfect venue for FutureGov Congress to bring together leading experts of Gov 2.0, practitioners and communities who have been working in this area with a significant number of overseas participants.”
NICTA’s eGovernment cluster leader Dr Jon Gray said the FutureGov Congress will provide
opportunities for the Australian research and business community to showcase to government
leaders the latest innovations in the e-government space. “We are all looking forward to the
FutureGov Congress and the opportunity to further strengthen Government ICT in Australia,” Dr
Gray said.