Gavin Larkings: Australia's World of Opportunity

In fact, as Asia expands, so do our markets. To be sure, Australia, with nearly 23 million people, is nowhere near Asia’s size and capability; China alone has a population of more than 1.3 billion. Yet Australia offers many of the vital products and services that Asia requires. While Asian demand has temporarily declined, it’s still far more robust than that of, say, Europe. In fact, we believe that Asia will remain the source of big demand for Australian products and services over the next decade. Asia is where our business — both today’s customers and tomorrow’s prospects — is growing.

While much of the world frets over energy use, Australia deals with it daily. Our natural resources sector includes mining, oil and gas, and these companies constantly seek greater efficiencies. One example is the adoption of automated trucks. Australia supplies great quantities of iron ore and other minerals to China. With this technology, each scoop of minerals from a crane is carefully measured, which means that trucks are always filled to precisely the same level. Similarly, Australia is also a major recycler. In the past year, CSC Australia alone recycled some 675 kg. (approximately 1,490 lb.) of electronic waste.

Financial services is another critical domain for Australia. Four of the country’s top banks rank among the global top 50. Given Australia’s relatively small markets, that makes these banks even more important to our overall economy. Also, Australia hasseveral large financial services and insurance companies. One of them, AMP, has been a client of CSC’s for more than 40 years.

Technology for the business

Australia also is a leader in the transformation of business by IT. Big data, cloud computing, virtualization and mobile technology are all game changers here. But the emphasis is always on the business, never on technology for its own sake. Cloud computing is a case in point. The business results of early cloud implementations left many Australian companies disappointed, so installations slowed dramatically. But now, people are looking to absorb cloud computing in a better manner, and as a result, we’re seeing the technology adopted across entire enterprises.

Cybersecurity is another growing area of interest in Australia. Local clients are especially concerned about the risk of cyberattacks, especially in light of recent reports that China infiltrated the systems of several U.S. newspapers. That’s a big area of concern for us, given that China is both a major diplomatic partner and a large industrial customer.

An aging population is another issue that Australia, along with much of the Western world, must deal with — and another that can be addressed with IT. People 65 and older now represent about 14% of Australia’s population, according to the AustralianBureau of Statistics, while the proportion of those aged 85 years and older has more than doubled in the past 20 years, to nearly 2% of the total.

One result: Healthcare has become an important component of our national economy. IT can help. One of our healthcare solutions is a patient-administration service that can be provided remotely. So if you’re in the hospital in Melbourne or Sydney, your physician could monitor your vital signs even while vacationing in Hawaii. These and other challenges represent vital new opportunities where IT — and CSC — can help chart the future.

Gavin Larkings is vice president and general manager of CSC Australia.