Taranaki as New Zealand’s answer to Silicon Valley?
Why not, says Sonny Fernando, who believes Taranaki has the talent and ability to be a New Zealand leader in providing innovative and cutting-edge technology solutions for the world.
“Taranaki is a region of problem solvers with some very innovative and exciting businesses,” says the managing director of Trackitportal.com Ltd, a ‘software as a service’ logistics platform.
“When Trackitportal.com first started, we found it hard to get the likes of software engineers to come to Taranaki as it was perceived largely as a rural farming community.
“But Taranaki is building a reputation as a great place to live and work. Ultrafast broadband and cloud computing are making working outside the main centres easy, and we have had people from all over the world say they can, and want, to come and work here.”
Trackitportal.com is a standout example of a Taranaki business producing innovative tech solutions that have had global impact. It currently works with Fortune 500 companies in seven countries and continues to grow.
Sonny and his team have developed a software platform that enables an organisation to better manage the logistics of people and materials using an ecosystem of interconnected modules that span personnel, rosters, inventory, aviation, marine, personnel on board/camp management and communications.
“The platform aims to improve efficiency, and drive collaboration and compliance. A company will subscribe to Trackit Energy, log in online and use it to manage their logistics operations – there is no infrastructure to support or software to download, so
you can work from anywhere,” explains Sonny.
“As an example, Trackit saved one company 25% on their helicopter movements through planning better.”
Taranaki’s long-established energy industry has been central to the company’s development and success.
“As with all good ideas, it started with a coffee or two with some industry experts in town. This was the inspiration for coming up with the concept. We questioned and listened, identified the key issues they had and then set about solving them."
“The oil and gas companies in New Plymouth helped us in shaping our product for the world and we are very grateful.”
Now the company has a staff of 14 in New Plymouth, agents internationally, and has some major global clients, such as OMV, Petronas, Eni, and BHP.
Continuing to innovate is crucial to “keeping ahead of the game”.
“We’re an agile development house, always looking at how we can adapt and move forward. Trackit is a logistics tool that is applicable to other projects or industries. For example, we’ve had interest from offshore wind farm projects in Europe."
“Our very talented team takes a continuous improvement philosophy to the product, a can-do attitude to every challenge, and never shies away from solving big problems for our clients – they rock,” Sonny enthuses.
He says Taranaki is well placed to be at the forefront of innovative businesses in the future. “Events such as regular tech start-up weekends, the Taranaki Technology group, and programmes by the likes of Venture Taranaki and government agencies
foster a culture of innovation and collaboration.
“There are smart innovative people in the region and there’s huge opportunity for Taranaki to be a tech and innovation leader.”