AIIA celebrates Australian IT innovators

The breadth of Australian ICT innovation was recently on show with the announcement of the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) 2009 iAwards winners.

The 27 winning entries across 19 categories were presented their awards in front of 600 attendees at the 2009 iAwards Gala Dinner held at the Crown Casino Melbourne on May 27 and hosted by Victorian ICT minister, John Lenders.

The awards, ranging from e-Health solutions to new forms of entertainment and 21st century business initiatives, highlighted Australian Innovation, AIIA CEO Ian Birks said in a statement.

“As the iAwards enters its 15th presentation this year, we continue to witness the strength of Australian technology innovation,” he said. ”These innovations will generate new market opportunities and improve the productivity of Australian businesses as a whole.”

“AIIA congratulates the winners of the 2009 iAwards as they have demonstrated clever ways to solve the challenges Australian and global industries are facing, through the use of ICT.”

The 2009 iAwards winners will be invited to represent Australia in the Asia-Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA) in Melbourne later this year where they will compete with the best ICT companies recognised in the Asia Pacific region.

Video testimonials of award winners can be viewed here

The categories and winners are:

Communication

Winner: Mobile IP (QLD) for Free2move, an intelligent router that simultaneously accesses multiple uplink technologies while maintaining a static IP address. Free2move seamlessly transitions between prioritised uplinks to create a single, roaming point of connectivity for multiple applications and users.

e-Government

Winner: Mobile IP (QLD) for Free2move.

Merit: Partnership between the KAZ Group and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACT) with the Australian Maritime Identification System (AMIS), a powerful new capability that combines technology and operators collecting maritime data to analyse threats and risks. By presenting detailed, complex information in a single view for rapid decision-making, AMIS significantly enhances Government’s ability to respond proactively to maritime threats as far from Australia’s shores as possible.

e-Health

Winner: HealthCube (ACT) for the Aged Care Medical Assessment Service which supports the efficient compilation of needs-driven, comprehensive medical assessments for Aged Care residents.

Merit: Mobilise IT (VIC) for Service Outlook Mobile Care, a unique application that enables Nurses, Carers, Therapists, Doctors and other medical specialties and practices to access and update key client/patient information via a PDA or Smartphone.

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e-Inclusions e-Community

Winner: Admin Bandit (ACT) for web-based accounting software package, Admin Bandit Online which is designed to meet the specific needs of volunteer treasurers in Australia’s non-profit and community sector, empowering volunteers and making the organisations they serve stronger and more effective.

e-Learning

Winner: The Learning Edge International (TAS) for the EQUELLA application, a centralised digital repository for sharing, managing and creating online content that has been implemented within universities, TAFEs, community colleges, K-12 departments and corporations worldwide.

Merit: Partnership between the CyberInstitute and NQX Freight System (QLD) for NQX College, which delivers a truly blended learning solution to each business and its entire workforce, allowing a sustainable, measurable and engaging approach to vocational training that is aligned to nationally recognised qualifications.

e-Logistics and Supply Chain

Winner: 2ic Software Pty Ltd (SA) for 2ic Pallets, a software tool offering an innovative, cost-effective solution to the problem of pallet loss within the transport logistics industry.

Merit: Infocomm Software (VIC) for icsLogistics, a unique and innovative application that transforms dynamically from single language use to a fully multi-lingual solution.

Financial Industry Application

Winner: Commonwealth Bank (NSW) for Finest Online, a project that provides customers with a simple, consistent and integrated environment to complete their financial activities.

Merit award: Commonwealth Bank (NSW) for CommBiz, a ‘thin client’ online transactional banking channel developed especially to meet the needs of business customers, from small organisations right through to corporate and institutional customers.

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Industrial Application

Winner: Aconex (VIC) for the Aconex tool, an innovative solution designed for the global construction market that reduces the cost, inefficiency and risk of using paper documents.

Media and Entertainment

Winner: miRoamer (VIC) for the miRoamer Internet Car Radio Service, which delivers the first seamless internet car radio solution, allowing users to tune into the football in England, news from Washington or a favourite local music station in India – all from their own car.

Research Development

Winner: PHM Technology (VIC) for the Maintenance Aware Design environment (MADe) suite which enables the user to model, assess, minimise and manage the impact of failures in complex systems using automated analysis and reporting tools.

Merit: Innovation Science Pty Ltd (SA) for Rapid Passenger Tracking software, which quickly identifies the set of passengers relevant to any incident that occurs on highly interconnected, mass-transit rail networks.

Sustainability Green IT

Winner: Tradeslot (VIC) for CarbonNavigator, a web-based Software-as-a-Service offering that allows organisations to easily navigate through the maze of compliance, audits, carbon reduction management, financial forecasting and strategic planning.

Tertiary Student Project

Winner: Gaurav Mitra from Australian National University (ACT) for Linux Robotics Framework

Merit: Mohsen Bazgaleh et al from University of Adelaide (SA) for Robotic Concertina

Tools and Infrastructure

Winner: Atlassian (NSW) for JIRA, an application designed for software development and project management with a focus on task achievement. Used by more than 10,000 organisations, JIRA features customisable workflows and user interfaces as well as role and user-based security, giving businesses the ability to map JIRA to local processes.

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Tourism Hospitality

Winner: ThoughtWorks and the Lonely Planet (VIC) for Lonely Planet Online, a new website that offers a rich, multimedia user experience, tapping 35 years of travel guide authors’ and editors’ knowledge, interactive communities, online shopping and travel bookings and user generated content.

Merit: Proactive Technology Group and PK Business Advantage (SA) for Proactive Tours and eBook Tourism Marketing Software. The software significantly boosts booking rates for tourism operators by providing prospective tourists and venue hire organisations with a dynamic, life-like tour of accommodation, locations and facilities.

Start-Up Company

Winner: Memory Box Backup (SA) for Memory Box, a simple, secure, automated backup solution for work and home that utilises the spare disk space of a community of to lower cost and minimise the effect of natural disasters, theft, and spilled coffee.

Merit: Mobilise IT (VIC) for Service Outlook Mobile Care, a unique application that enables Nurses, Carers, Therapists, Doctors and other medical specialties and practices to access and update key client/patient information via a PDA or Smartphone.

Community Award

Winner: Infoxchange Australia, ThoughtWorks Australia and Victorian Government Neighbourhood Renewal (VIC) for the Wired Community @ Collingwood initiative, Australia’s largest digital inclusion project to date.

ICT Exporter of the Year

Winner: Aconex (VIC) for the Aconex tool, an innovative solution designed for the global construction market that reduces the cost, inefficiency and risk of using paper documents.

Inspiration Award

Winner: Aconex (VIC) for the Aconex tool.

Tony Benson Award for Individual Achievement in ICT

Winner: Roger Allen