Archived News for IT Professionals - May, 2012

A $7 million centre, the INSPIRE Centre, designed to lead research and practice in the use of technology, has been launched at the University of Canberra.

The University of Wollongong has launched its StartPad ideas incubator, a joint initiative with Wollongong City Council, NSW Trade & Investment, Enterprise Connect, and RDA Illawarra local business and entrepreneurs.

With initial funding of $50,000 from NSW Trade & Investment and Wollongong Council providing the space, in iHub, StartPad has also been supported by state and local governments.

Councillor Bradbery said: “The development and nurturing of companies in StartPad shows that Wollongong is developing as a city where companies and entrepreneurs can work innovative applications and tools to deliver new businesses and employment opportunities.

“Council is keen to see this area of the city cultivated to support entrepreneurs who have ideas and foresight,” Cr Bradbery said. “This is an opportune time to support a dynamic growth industry in our city.”

“We have a tidal wave of innovation going on and we need to get involved in this evolving digital age. We may become the ‘silicon beach’,” he said.

StartPad is a component of the iAccelerate program built around entrepreneurship and fast growth businesses. The program was developed by the University of Wollongong to position the Illawarra as the capital for ICT in NSW.

The driving force behind iAccelerate, Elizabeth Eastland, Innovation and Commercial Research Director at The University of Wollongong said: “iAccelerate and its associated programs represents a turning point in the industry profile of the Illawarra and will support the growing innovation ecosystem here.

“StartPad delivers real opportunities for companies identified through the Universities Entrepreneur Club, a pipeline of highly engaged and talented graduates into the Illawarra innovation ecosystem.”

Dr Tamantha Stutchbury, General Manager of StartPad said: “Already, in the short time we have been operating, we have seen our eight companies grow and achieve some big goals. Having 16 entrepreneurs co-located in an open-plan space makes for an amazingly vibrant and creative environment.”

A call for applications from early staged technology businesses to join StartPad will begin in mid-2012. For more information about StartPad go to www.startpad.com.au

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a draft determination proposing to grant authorisation for an agreement between NBN Co and SingTel Optus for the migration of Optus’ HFC subscribers to the NBN and the decommissioning of parts of Optus’ HFC network.

The International Square Kilometre Array Organisation has announced a dual site solution for the construction of the Square Kilometre Array telescope, with Australia, New Zealand and South Africa sharing the construction of the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope.

Two hundred IT workers at Westpac bank’s Kogarah site have won a reprieve after the bank backed down on plans to outsource their jobs.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications has announced it will conduct an inquiry into the pricing of IT software and hardware in Australia compared to overseas markets.

Telstra’s new infrastructure-as-a-service cloud service platform has been independently certified as complaint to industry security standards.

The Queensland Government has begun its ‘comprehensive audit’ into information and communication technology systems used by the state’s public service in an attempt to identify savings and efficiencies.

The Federal Government has released the 2011-12 Regional Telecommunications review Committee report, concluding that the National Broadband Network (NBN) is crucial for the development of regional telecommunications.

Global business execution software specialist SuccessFactors has revealed its new data centre in Sydney. Forming part of the company’s expansion into the Asia Pacific region, the centre is set to service the Australian cloud computing market.

Australian computing researcher, Dr André Carvalho, from the ARC Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology and the Research School of Physics and Engineering, part of the ANU College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, has worked with collaborators from Brazil and Spain to come up with a new proposal for quantum computers.

The Federal Government has announced that seven Regional Development Australia (RDA) committees have received funding to assist in the development of strategies for the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN) in their communities.

The Federal Government has announced it will hold bilateral meetings with the United States to develop a ‘prioritised’ work program’ to further cyber security cooporation.

Optus has announced it has signed a $15 million five-year contract with the New South Wales Government’s Department of Education and Communities to deliver an enhanced satellite service to improve long distance learning for the state’s most remote students.

The Federal Government has released its Mid-term Review into the first two years of operations of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN).

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released its first paper in the review of the radiofrequency spectrum between 1427.9 and 1510.9 Mhz (the 1.5 GHz mobile band).

Leighton subsidiary Metronode has been selected by the New South Wales Government to consolidate its 130 data centres. The company will be contracted to construct two new centres to consolidate the state’s public sector data hosting requirements.

The Victorian Government has secured three of the world’s most renowned games developers to give keynote addresses at a two day Game Masters: The Forum game development symposium.

Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has outlined NBN expansion in the North and mid-North Coasts of New South Wales, with expansion in Coffs Harbour, Taree and Port Macquarie expected in mid-2012.

Global technology provider Fujitsu has launched a $60 million upgrade of its Noble Park data centre in Melbourne.

The investment by Fujitsu focused on security, connectivity and availability enhancements to provide its 2,000 Australian enterprise and government customers with increased access to secure hosting services.

The Noble Park facility is also now operating as one of the most energy efficient facilities of its size in the country.

The Noble Park facility, which was purpose-built for Fujitsu in 1988, is a 6,700m² building on 18,600m² of land. Following the upgrade to Tier III standards, the design incorporates 4 main data halls suitable for cabinet and cage installations. Fujitsu data centres have a power usage effectiveness (PUE) target of 1.7 and the company reports all greenhouse gas emissions produced by Noble Park, as well as all others in its Australian data centre network, to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting System (NGERS).

Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand chief executive officer Mike Foster said in the last few years Fujitsu had made significant local investments in new technology areas including data centres, cloud services, application development and managed services.

"We will continue to invest in ensuring that our customers have access to the best possible infrastructure in the region," Mr Foster said.

"The Noble Park upgrade is consistent with this strategy. The facility makes a key contribution to Fujitsu's global data centre capability, which includes over 100 data centres worldwide."

Fujitsu services over 2,000 customers in Australia and New Zealand and has a presence in over 100 countries.