SOFTWARE Engineering Australia (WA) has announced it will close its doors in December leaving a conspicuous gap in the WA information and communication technology industry.
SOFTWARE Engineering Australia (WA) has announced it will close its doors in December leaving a conspicuous gap in the WA information and communication technology industry.
The decision follows what SEAWA CEO Stuart Hope described as a lack of government support for the resource centre and the current market conditions in the WA ICT industry.
“The SEAWA board has decided that due to current market conditions and lack of government support the concept of a not-for-profit organisation geared to providing practical help to build a WA ICT industry was not sustainable at this time,” Mr Hope said.
He said SEAWA had been surviving on income earned through training programs and an annual grant of $300,000 that was administered through SEA National via the Software Engineering Quality Centres (SEQC) program.
Mr Hope said while SEAWA had been offered some support by the Western Australian Government, it was not sufficient to ensure the survival of the organisation.
“We were dealing with State Government to secure more funding,” Mr Hope said.
“The minister [Clive Brown] has been quite supportive but due to a lack of funds was unable to offer any substantial financial support.”
Mr Hope expressed concerns over the State’s ICT industry, which he said lacked a level of cohesiveness between industry players.
Efforts to improve the situation have been hampered by the “ongoing battle” to secure funding, he said.
“We tried to create an ICT forum back in 2000 and we produced a document on industry development that was presented to government, industry and commercial interests,” Mr Hope said.
However he said there was a lack of cooperation between interested parties.
“Without an indigenous ICT industry, WA will be at the mercy of the rest of the world and talented young people will seek opportunities outside the State.”
There has been an outpouring of disappointment from SEAWA members and in the ICT industry as a whole with the WA branch of the Australian Computer Society publicly expressing disappointment.
Mr Hope said there was an immediate response to announcement by members with the SEAWA office receiving a large number of emails and phone calls.
Australian Computer Society WA branch vice chair Adrian Porteous said the closure of SEAWA was disappointing.
“The ACS regrets the closing of SEAWA but is optimistic that other organisations including the ACS will take up the role that SEAWA has fulfilled.
“The ICT industry in WA faces significant challenges due to its size and geographical location in both Australia and the world.”
SEAWA was formed in October 1998 as a separate entity to the national body Software Engineering Australia (SEA) with the purpose of encouraging growth and innovation in the WA ICT sector.
It played an integral part in the local software development industry by running technical training courses for its 180 members and providing much-needed assistance to local start up companies.
Mr Hope said SEAWA had assisted 14 start up companies including Calytrix, SigPoint and Autumn Care Systems and was a key player in obtaining a $10 million Building on Information Technology Strengths grant for WA.
