2005 has been a year of change, a year of expansion, a year of evaluation, a year of achievement and a year of significant outcomes for members and affiliates.

The year began with a review by the board of AIIA’s operations and a decision on the organisation’s future strategic direction. It has ended with governments agreeing to adopt or review procurement issues the policy team had been pressing throughout the year.

Along the way there were the continuing merger talks with the Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturer’s Association (AEEMA), record numbers nominating for the Board elections and state branch elections, record entries for the iAwards, the executive committee of the Asia Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA) meeting in Melbourne and inaugural events such as the marketing forums in Queensland, Victoria and NSW, the women in ICT forum in Western Australia, the open source software forum in Victoria and the government information sessions in various states and territories.

As part of the ongoing services to members, AIIA launched a new revitalised website in March, the Developing Business Skills for ICT Entrepreneurs program in July, CollabIT in November, and continued to develop and publish valuable industry information such as the SME Marketing guide.

The year also saw the continued emphasis on revitalising and growing services to SMEs, initially with the aid of a $250,000 grant from Software Engineering Australia and culminating in a project to develop a software industry action plan which will provide direction and actions to be implemented over the coming 12 months.

The merger talks with AEEMA resulted in a thorough analysis of AIIA and led to valuable feedback from members. Surveys carried out as part of the merger deliberations highlighted a number of issues which are being addressed and will continue to be addressed in the coming year. They include:

1. More overt leadership, taking a position on industry issues, lobbying to Government, and a bigger voice
2. More industry benchmarking, policy research
3. The formation of SIGs/clusters around a common issue/interest
4. More SME representation
5. More appropriate, nation-wide events – issues, topics, speakers, putting buyers and sellers together

The “new dialogue” with government which was initiated at a meeting in Canberra in August sought to establish a common understanding of the role and importance of the ICT industry as a driver of productivity and growth across the entire Australian economy.

The success of this new approach is reflected in the Federal and Victorian Governments undertakings to address the issues of IP, liability and insurance.

The Victorian Government has foreshadowed plans to alter ICT procurement processes by March next year to allow retention of IP developed through the course of a contract, as well as the replacement of uncapped liability with a risk evaluation approach and variations to insurance requirements to reflect the actual level of risk.

With the Federal Government and other states indicating similar changes, the outlook resulting from the continuing dialogue is encouraging for the ICT sector involved in government procurement.

Already the Federal Government has developed a draft guide for government departments and agencies which is aimed at capping liability and is moving to replace the current Information Technology and Communications (GITC) framework with supply specific model contracts. In addition, the Attorney General’s Department is conducting a whole of government review of IP.

All these actions have been championed by AIIA and an ongoing dialogue will be maintained in 2006 to ensure the changes are adopted by all governments and are put into practice by government department and agencies.

Further details of these decisions can be found in media releases on the AIIA website and in previous editions of the Bulletin newsletters, also on the AIIA website.

While AIIA’s sphere of influence with policy makers and legislators has strengthened in the past year as a result of the new strategy and direction agreed to by the board in February, membership also has expanded. The total membership of the organisation has grown by 11% and that growth is expected to continue into next year as ICT groups and organisations join under the AIIA banner.

The Association is further extending its influence into the international arena through organisations such as Asian Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation (ASOCIO) and the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA).

ASOCIO continues to provide a platform for the ICT industry to come together across the Asia Pacific region. At the urging of AIIA ASOCIO decided at its meeting in November to establish a benchmarking process to gather information on the structure and activities of ASOCIO members and set up a taskforce to look at ways to support SMEs in the ICT industry.

There is a full report on the ASOCIO decision can be seen elsewhere in this edition of the Bulletin.

AIIA’s state branches are enjoying renewed success also with closer dialogue with governments and their agencies, particularly in the sphere of education and health.

The achievements of 2005 have shown how AIIA can become a better and stronger ICT industry representative with a voice that is heard and accepted by governments.

AIIA’s role in 2006 will be to build on that experience and move the association and the ICT industry forward so that it is better recognised by governments, industry and the community as a leading force in all aspects of the Australian economy.

2005 was a good year also for AIIA’s members with many taking out iAwards and other industry accolades while others were named in prestigious performance lists complied by on-line analysts and the media, including highly respected lists prepared by BRW, The Bulletin magazine and Deloittes Technology.

All this augers well for 2006, which AIIA staff and myself will endeavour to ensure is the best year for AIIA and its members since the organisation’s inception.

I wish all AIIA members, affiliates, industry colleagues and AIIA supporters a happy Christmas and a very fulfilling 2006.

Rob Durie
CEO
Australian Information Industry Association