New South Wales (NSW) government plans to build a new technology innovation center in southern Sydney. New state governor Gladys Berejiklian is not shy of calling the center of technological innovation "the Australian version of Silicon Valley."
One of the companies involved in the design of the Australian Silicon Valley is Atlassian., the famous home-grown Australian technology company. Atlassian, headquartered in Sydney, Australia, has a large presence in Silicon Valley and is now valued at nearly $10 billion after a global expansion.
According to estimates, by 2036, Australia`s Silicon Valley is expected to create 10000 jobs.
First, the historical background of the birth of Silicon Valley in Australia
Australia has outperformed the United States and the UK in key technology-related sectors since 2008, according to the latest global industry report.
In the computer systems design industry, which includes computer programming and custom software development, employment growth in the United States was 22 percent, in the UK 10 percent, and in Australia more than 38 percent. This rate of growth also far outpaced the overall employment growth rate in other Australian industries.
There are many reasons behind this exciting regional growth. Sydney has traditionally been Australia`s centre of technology and innovation, and the city`s education system is booming, producing large numbers of skilled workers to meet the needs of local companies.
Australia`s government at all levels also encourages innovation and entrepreneurship. Over the past decade, the new state`s government has invested A $1.5 billion to build infrastructure to push high-tech industries and research to a tipping point for local and multinational companies.
SocietyOne co-founder and Clearmatch founder Greg Symons said: "there is no doubt that Australian tech start-ups are growing, becoming more dynamic and gaining more support. Local entrepreneurs are increasingly showing strong confidence and more global distribution, sales and marketing ambitions. We speak the same language, believe in the same entrepreneurial culture, have fast-evolving angel investment groups and well-educated labor forces. "
Second, the site of "Silicon Valley" in Australia settled down the dust.
The southern tip of Sydney`s central business district, between (Central station) and Eveleigh, will be home to the future "Australian Silicon Valley", with a mission to consolidate Australia`s reputation as an innovation centre, according to the new state of government.
A task force led by (Jobs for NSW) Chairman David Thodey will be responsible for the design and development of Silicon Valley in Australia. Scott Farquhar, chief executive and founder of government partner Atlassian, said the company would help incubate and develop the next generation of tech innovation companies.
Speaking at Sydney University of Science and Technology Innovation Center ProtoSpace, he said: "15 years ago, Australia did not have a technology innovation zone, and there was no technology innovation industry. As a computer major graduate, the best opportunity we can think of is to work in a bank or consulting agency. "
"but today, we see a very different Sydney. We have a booming technology industry and a lot of angel investors. In addition, there are many colleges and universities, start-ups are quickly established, and we do not lack technology incubators and co-offices, but we have always lacked a "home" for technological innovation. I would like to accompany the establishment of the CBD South end Innovation Center in Sydney, and I think we have finally found the home of this technology in Sydney. "
The siting of Silicon Valley in Australia was once a twists and turns.
At first, Mike Baird, the former governor of New York, proposed using the abandoned Baiwan Power Station on Gribb Island, near the Australian-New Zealand Corps Bridge, as a centre for technological innovation. At the time, Mike Baird said its 10-hectare industrial waterfront was expected to become a "global centre for high-tech jobs and innovation," such as Roswell Island in London`s tech town of, New York and Silicon Valley in California.
Google, the tech giant, spent 18 months discussing whether to move its headquarters to Australia, but it had to do so because of the lack of local traffic.
The southern end of Sydney`s CBD finally won with its well-developed transportation, sound infrastructure, and a large number of tech conglomerates. According to statistics, 40% of Australian start-ups are based in Sydney, and 40% of its R & D division is also based in Sydney.
It is understood that Gladys Berejiklian, the governor of the new state, intends to publicly name the innovation center in order to reflect the profound connotation of the center`s "Australian Silicon Valley".
Third, Australian leader in scientific and technological innovation: Atlassian
At present, Australia has established a reputation for excellence in the field of software and cloud technology supply. Atlassian, an Australian technology company that provides online collaboration tools for businesses, is one of the best examples.
Atlassian was founded in Australia and headquartered in Sydney, but has a large business in Silicon Valley and continues to be a profitable software company. After global expansion, the company is now valued at nearly $10 billion.
On Dec. 11, 2015, software company Atlassian debuted on NASDAQ. In the first few minutes of trading, shares surged from $21 to $28.05, up 33 percent, making it the most valued company in Australia`s IT history.
The founders of the company, Scott Farquhar and Mike Cannon-Brookes, met under a paid internship scholarship program at the University of New South Wales. Their development philosophy coincided with the company`s name, Atlassian, which was registered in 2001. Decided to set up a series of software tools to help enterprise IT departments, computer programmers, and other professionals work together.
Even bad times, the dotcom bubble began to burst on March 10, 2000, the Internet company from the investment industry`s favorite to become the industry to sell-off object. In Australia, the Internet industry has seen "neither investors nor entrepreneurs." in 2002, with a credit card of A $10, 000, Farquhar and Cannon-Brookes officially started operating Atlassian. The two famous "low-key and wayward" lads made headlines with excellent products and unique marketing strategies.
What drove the Australian software company to such a high valuation? The answer is a unique business model that drives the company`s rapid growth and a liquid balance sheet that many tech companies cannot do.
Atlassian specializes in developing online business software tools, known as JIRA (error tracking software,), Confluence (, enterprise knowledge management and collaboration software,), HipChat (internal chat / collaboration). BitBucket (code base) and JIRA help desk (help desk software) and so on.
Atlassian Services has more than 60, 000 company customers worldwide, including BMW (BMW), American Airlines (American Airlines), Cisco (Cisco), Atlassian, a heavyweight company such as Facebook and Citigroup (Citigroup), has a positive cash flow and has been doing so for the past 10 years, with a compound annual growth rate of 40% over the past five years.
In recent years, in addition to rapid development and breakthroughs in areas such as software and cloud computing, a new technology sector has begun to gain more momentum. Financial technology companies such as Xero and SocietyOne have become the region`s greatest success stories.
Fourth, "Silicon Valley in Australia" may push up the price of office space again.
Although Sydney`s housing market continues to lackluster, the commercial real estate market such as office buildings is a different picture.
Sydney`s commercial property market is now a perfect technological storm, according to Trent James, a portfolio manager of. Charter Hall Office Trust`s office property portfolio, whose office rents have risen more than 15 percent in the year to June.
As new entrants expand, some of the old buildings will be demolished to make room for today`s technology companies, according to the company. But office property managers estimate that no new office properties will be available until 2020, meaning Sydney`s offices will be nervous for at least a few years to come.
Sydney Morning Frontier reports that Martin Place, known as the financial center, has tightened office leases and reduced the vacancy rate in Sydney to a 10-year low.
According to property manager Jones Lang, Amazon, one of the most recent high-tech giants expanding in Australia, has snapped up nine-story office buildings in Sydney`s financial centre, giving views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Hyde Park.
Nasdaq-listed cloud computing company LogMeIn has occupied two floors of the Martin Place building. As the new Asia-Pacific headquarters. Martin Place and Facebook, Alphabet Google, LinkedIn and Apple, Sydney`s Silicon Valley has also expanded to George St, including Expedia,Dropbox,. WeWork Space and Home Technology Company Atlassian.
Lindsay Brown, vice president for Asia Pacific at LogMeIn, said: "Sydney is very similar to Silicon Valley in terms of technology use, development and maturity and is a good gateway to Asia. The office building in Sydney`s CBD is very tight, so we have some luck in getting the office here. "
Since 2018, more and more investors have begun to accelerate investment in high-quality core assets in growing markets. In all cities, the commercial property markets in Sydney and Melbourne have benefited significantly; the office markets in cities such as Brisbane and Perth have also appreciated significantly, driven by capital.
According to security capital (AMP Captial) as a whole, demand for office space has continued to climb, driven by low unemployment and rising business confidence; meanwhile, the overall quality of office space has improved significantly. More and more investors are bullish on the high-quality office market and looking for long-term cash returns. Australia`s office market is expected to grow at an effective rate of 5 percent a year over the next three years, along with significant improvements in the Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane office markets.
5. There are different kinds of praise and criticism among the parties.
Australian netizens said: "Silicon Valley house prices are twice as much as Australian house prices, and wages are only one and a half times as much as Australia." While IT is mostly a start-up, Australia does not have an advantage in terms of cost and R & D efficiency. "
Of course, there are disagreements in the market. According to the company, big companies such as Google, Sunda, and Federal Bank are considering bringing their headquarters across Australia together.
According to online research, most of Sydney`s CBD south of Silicon Valley is a center for scientific innovation, which is a great benefit. For example, some netizens believe that only in this way can Sydney have better development.
"if you really want to create something similar to Silicon Valley, there are two additional factors to consider," said a netizen. First: encourage diversity and allow talent to come from all directions. Second, talent also needs money to "support."
Other netizens believe that investors` investment interest in local property will rise sharply after the news is announced, which in turn will promote the recent decline in the property market. Even some people directly suggest that investors with surplus money can go to the neighborhood to see the house.
Sydney is one of the largest financial centres in the world.
According to a report released by KPMG (KPMG), a leading accounting firm, Australia`s technology services industry contributes the highest to the country`s total economy. For Australia, financial technology is also a way for Australia to export its powerful financial power to the world.
"Technology-driven financial services models are changing and new business models are emerging," KPMG said in the report. "Sydney is the ideal place to capitalize on this growth trend, as a leading global financial centre, complemented by information technology / digitization, innovation and professional services industries."
By Jone
