Queensland High-Tech Developer an Icon for Innovation
We all know that innovation is the life blood of companies that wish to grow. Innovation is fostered throughout the economy by a supportive ecosystem that encourages investment - in R&D, venture capital, and the incubation of small growth companies; by nurturing human capital, and education in the sciences and technology; by encouraging collaboration, particularly between research organisations and industry; and by applying new technologies and ideas to meet customer needs. An often overlooked requirement is that innovation also requires great (or even heroic) customers, who seek the rewards of innovation but still have the risk appetite to be able to fund and trial innovations that might still be ongoing!
Brisbane-based technology developer EM Solutions knows this only too well. A winner of the 2016 Lord Mayor’s Business Award for Innovation, the company for many years was able to export to its overseas customers well before local companies turned to it as a supplier of its leading-edge shipboard stabilised satellite communications terminals (pictured). These terminals require very sophisticated software and hardware, using as many parts as a small car, with motors to compensate for the ship’s motion and powerful transmitters to reach the satellite thousands of kilometres away.
Innovation occurs by building on the shoulders of giants that have gone before. But the real giants in the innovation puzzle are those customers who embrace innovation and are prepared to fund its development. Such customers push the technology envelope and drive innovation by demanding new requirements, new features, and performance improvements. With a new Government-led defence industry policy, the Australian Border Force and Royal Australian Navy are two Australian customers that have embraced local technology as part of their new suite of shipboard tools. While defending our shores, these customers are helping to keep the local economy innovating and growing as well.
Dr Rowan Gilmore, Managing Director, EM Solutions
