Opinion: Brisbane to become tech capital of Australia

Brisbane is well on the way to becoming Australia’s innovation capital, and the 2032 Games will only cement that status, writes Ed Chung.

TechnologyOne CEO Ed Chung

As the famous quote from the movie Field of Dreams goes, “If you build it, he will come.” But in the case of the Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games, what do we want people to come to? What do we want Brisbane to be known for? And what does this look like after the Games have been and gone?

South East Queensland will always be famed for its lifestyle, proximity to beaches, great weather and schools and cheaper housing than Sydney. But the significant event in nine years’ time also opens an opportunity to establish ourselves as something else.

Something new. Something long-term. Something where people come to see the games, but then stay to work, invest, live and thrive.

Rockhampton didn’t become the Beef Capital straight after the establishment of its first meatworks enterprise in the 1870s. It took more than a century for the city to hold the largest concentration of beef cattle in Australia, and a pivotal event – the world’s largest bull sale of pure Brahmans in 1987 – to truly cement this reputation.

For countries and governments around the world, hosting the Olympics and Paralympics is all about legacy. Stimulating long-term value and growth will be key for Queensland.

If we are clever and deliberate, 2032 could be the event that turns to local industry and innovation to put Brisbane – and Queensland – on the map.

As the CEO of the leading Brisbane-based tech company, my vote goes to Brisbane becoming Australia’s “Innovation Capital” – and the good news is we are already well on the way.

Queensland is already a heavy hitter in technology and innovation. Sports tech is thriving here, with notable companies like Vald and Smartabase leading the way.

We have an international reputation for biotech – just look at the role UQ, a world-leading Brisbane university, played in developing a Covid-19 vaccine.

Add to that thousands of start-ups driven by innovative people who think differently and want to put their ideas on the world stage.

My very own company, TechnologyOne, started here in Brisbane, and now as an ASX100 company, more than 35 years later we remain headquartered in Brisbane while competing and winning against the world’s largest multinationals.

The Tech Council this month released a major report on tech jobs and tech hubs around the country. It found, from early 2020, tech jobs have experienced a phenomenal fivefold growth rate compared to all other occupations in Queensland.

With 140,000 tech workers, Queensland makes up 4 per cent of Australia’s tech workforce. This figure is expected to grow to 185,000 by 2030, making it three times larger than Queensland’s agricultural industry today.

In our business we say “Fortitude Valley, not Silicon Valley,” and the report showed that this is a truth, not a slogan – inner Brisbane added a substantial 10,000 tech jobs in the last ten years.

Tech hubs like Silicon Valley are a magnet for tech talent. Microsoft is synonymous with its hometown of Seattle, and has made that city a long-term future with infrastructure, restaurants, retail and professional services all existing due to the halo effect. People move to these places for a great career in tech.

The Olympics have the potential to create a breeding ground for innovation in the lead-up to, and in the delivery of, the Olympic and Paralympic Games but we need to ensure this legacy lives well past the closing ceremony.

It was pleasing to see Premier Palaszczuk promising Queensland companies a strong chance to participate.

Fostering a reputation as an Innovation Capital relies on local grit and determination, but also deliberate investment and commitment from all levels of government and industry.

This is what will ensure long term legacy.

Recently, the Federal Government disclosed how much they had spent on buying technology for their GovERP program – a whopping $344m. In a sliding doors moment for the local tech sector, a multinational company was given the gig.

Those hundreds of millions of dollars fleeing offshore – to another tech hub on the other side of the world and not to local tech companies who were every bit as qualified to deliver.

One of my team tells the story of how she was working remotely during the school holidays from a local play centre. When checking her two kids into the dodgeball court, the Bounce team member saw her TechOne T-shirt and commented, “It’s my dream to land a grad position with you guys.”

My colleague said her two boys beamed with pride at the fact that someone knew where their mum worked, and that others would independently think it was amazing.

But this experience also talks to the huge potential we have as furthering what many of us know – Brisbane – and in fact Queensland – is already an amazing place to forge a future.

Let’s use the Olympics to make this official.

Ed Chung is CEO of TechnologyOne