Brisbane is a great place to base company operations, according to the new head of an international advanced information and communications technology company.
CiTR Pty Ltd managing director Dr Bob Hendy said his company's business relied heavily on accessing and hiring the most talented software engineers in a highly competitive market.
'We are fortunate that CiTR has access to, and is a major employer of, some of the brightest and best-trained graduates in electrical engineering and computer science from Brisbane's three major universities,' he said.
'Brisbane also has a good quality life style, an important factor in attracting staff when you are working in the international arena. Our type of engineering has a world focus and it doesn't matter too much to our clients where we are located, providing we deliver quality products and services.
'The challenge for us is to compete in a crowded market where there are strong international competitors, and an acute worldwide shortage of talent.'
CiTR is a private company owned by the University of Queensland, operated and managed as an independent entity through a holding company, UQ Holdings Pty Ltd. The 82-employee company with an annual revenue in excess of $10 million has major markets with telephone companies and governments in Australia, USA, Italy, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Korea, and China.
Its major areas of focus are computer-mediated management of telephone networks, electronic government, and electronic customer access.
Two of the company's three divisions are based in Brisbane: Asia/Pacific Solutions and Products. A North America Solutions division is based in Denver, Colorado. CiTR foundation managing director Adjunct Professor Rob Cook moved to the USA in January this year to head up a 10 person effort there and to improve the scope and size of the company's business. Professor Cook is now President of CiTR, Inc. the company's wholly-owned subsidiary in the USA.
'Being an international company means there are opportunities for our staff to work overseas in the U.S. and various parts of Asia and Europe in reciprocal projects,' he said.
Dr Hendy said CiTR was the only Australian-owned firm operating in network management services of telephone companies, a niche player competing against at least eight large U.S. firms, the largest of which had a revenue base of about $60 million per annum.
'Our medium-term strategy is to focus on the development of products for the international telecommunications market place and developed in Australia and to have subsidiaries or partners help clients install or integrate them,' he said.
'We are building our intellectual property base in Australia and the U.S. and joining partnerships with both multinational IT companies and smaller niche software companies to access the market in Asia/Pacific, North America, and Europe.
'The critical thing for our stakeholders is to build a viable business which is successful, commercially profitable and increases its asset value.
'This is part of the University's strategy to develop its intellectual property into mature, successful entities.'
Dr Hendy said the company was formed in 1994 when the University spun-off its Centre for Information Technology Research. This original CiTR was created in 1986 to apply university information technology and intellectual capital in the industrial and commercial worlds.
CiTR is also a shareholder in DSTC Pty Ltd, a company formed to operate the Co-operative Research Centre in Distributed Systems Technology, and the Research Data Network Co-operative Research Centre. These CRCs are industrial research and development centres jointly funded by the Australian government, industry and universities.
'In over a decade of development, the key to CiTR's success has been to focus on specific market niches that capitalise on the company's strength in creating industrial strength software, participation in the formation of international standards in distributed computing and innovation in large scale product development,' he said.
'In the past five years, CiTR has secured major contracts with multinational vendors such as Hewlett Packard and NEC to develop for telephone companies sophisticated products which will assist them to manage their complex technical infrastructure.
'This contract product development has been the springboard for CiTR's international success. More than 60 percent of all 1997 revenues are associated with clients in USA, Japan, Italy, Malaysia, China and Korea.
'Having developed insights into the needs of its telephone company customer base, CiTR has identified opportunities for its own product development. These products will cement CiTR's presence in the international market for network and service management services.'
He said CiTR had an established track record in the delivery of large-scale network and information services management solutions for telcos and other service providers, including projects which had ranged from $100,000 to $10 million.
For more than 10 years, CiTR's research and development staff had represented Australia in international telecommunication standards bodies and the company was actively involved in international teams building the new telecoms and distributed computing standards.
Dr Hendy graduated as a bachelor of engineering (chemical) from the University of Queensland in 1976, subsequently obtaining a PhD in 1980. He has extensive business experience with companies including Shell and BHA computers where he was general manager of the projects division, in charge of 60 people. He first he joined CiTR in 1989 for three years, then worked in a number of companies before forming his own consultancy business in process re-engineering.
Dr Hendy formed Med-e-Serv Pty Ltd to deliver internet-based continuing education and other electronic services to health professionals throughout Australia. Med-e-Serv currently has over 6000 users. This is a joint venture with the Queensland State Government and Healthcare Management Services. Last year he joined the board of CiTR to assist the company to address internationally significant business opportunities.
For further information, contact Dr Hendy, telephone 07 3259 2222, email: r.hendy@citr.com.au; Web: http://www.citr.com.au
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