The vast distances that separate Perth from the rest of the world have proved a creative catalyst for fledgling technology business iWebGate.
Inspired by the Western Australian corporate community’s reliance on the internet to do business, iWebGate restructured its operations more than two years ago and switched its focus from reporting and remote access services to cyber security.
iWebGate director of business and commercial operations Kim Mettam said the technology was inspired by Perth’s isolation and the ever-present risk of hacking.
“Because this is one of the most isolated cities in the world, there is this vast amount of distance around us which we all don’t really recognise,” he said.
“So, to work in this state, you have to deal daily with networking problems to be able to reach out.”
The company, which is headed by 2011 40under40 winner Tim Gooch, identified some deficiencies in the popular firewall technology, but at the same time it acknowledged the international gold standard in cyber security was beyond the reach of all but the biggest public institutions and private businesses.
iWebGate’s solution was an affordable security solution based on the principles of the world best-practice model in a technology that took just 20 minutes to install.
In less than three years, this research and development company has hit the break-even point and won some high-profile contracts in Australia and internationally. Its technology creates a zone of separation between a company’s valuable information and the outside world or the internet.
But unlike the world best-practice model deployed by the US Department of Homeland Security, which would cost up to $20 million, iWebGate’s solution can be implemented for a low monthly fee.
Mr Mettam said the innovation put cyber security, firewall and computer networks on steroids and, because it sat above all other applications, it provided businesses with a suite of new tools that reached into areas like data management. iWebGate’s most high-profile contract is with the United States government inter-agency organisation, the Technical Support Working Group or TSWG.
The company’s win at last year’s Global Security Challenge – a high-profile international competition for the security and information industries – brought it to the attention of TSWG, which was interested in the security applications of its innovative technology.
iWebGate is hopeful TSWG will continue to work with it, but the potential of this Perth-born technology will almost certainly see the business set up a North American office within the next 12 months.
Mr Mettam said it was a simple case of moving closer to the major populations and potential partners to further develop its technology. iWebGate has no aspirations to be the next Microsoft, its growth plan is premised on developing partnerships with key ‘channel’ partners.
Potential partners in the private sector could be firewall manufacturers, software developers or gaming groups that could exploit the technology’s networking potential.
“Worldwide there’s a need for this interfacing network between the internet and everybody’s private systems,” Mr Mettam said.
“Our direction is to supply that network and, up to now, you have not been able to buy it so we bring to the world market the first commercially available product and because it’s at network level it touches everything.
“This really is something that sits above all of that and can benefit every application … so we will be encouraging the software market, when they develop applications to design them with the feature of our technology being part of them.”
