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The City of Ballarat's ability to produce entrepreneurs is central to the development of ICT in the region. Many examples of ICT entrepreneurship have arisen from the Ballarat economy over the last decade. Examples in areas including infrastructure, education, manufacturing and ICT services include:
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Netconnect established by George Fong, grew to become the largest regional Internet Service Provider in Australia before being purchased by Chariot Netconnect.
- Employment with IBM was a precursor to the spin-off Sparx Systems (a software development company). The company's flagship product, Enterprise Architect, has received numerous accolades since its commercial release in August 2000. Now at version 6.5, Enterprise Architect is the design tool of choice for over 100,000 registered users in more than 60 countries worldwide.
- Local multimedia companies, Yum Productions and Ziptales, were both established by individuals who identified commercial opportunities for the development and application of multimedia through their previous employment as teachers.
- Long term employee or contractual relationships with Master Foods Australia have preceded the spin-off of new companies including Colourfield Creative (graphic design and marketing) Tenerquo (hand held technologies) and Staley and Associates (electrical engineering and automation solutions).
- Research developed through the Centre for Informatics and Applied Optimisation and Latrobe University has been commercialised through the spin out of JustSys that designs and builds web based decision support systems.
- The Collaborative Centre for eHealth spun out of the Centre for eCommerce and Communication. The foundation Director of CCeH subsequently established Argus Connect to commercialise software that enables health service providers to securely exchange clinical documents between their computer systems via email.
- Employment with the University of Ballarat was also a precursor to the establishment of Alliance Software (now Melbourne based), InBos (providers of Linux and Open Source solutions) and TuxLink (regional registration and location services for ICT professionals).
The Enabling our Future paper, suggests that an entrepreneurial culture would provide the environment and support infrastructure to undertake business development, an education system to develop skills, a network of experienced peers and a research and development system that rewards commercial activity. Such a culture is also necessary in Ballarat to encourage larger organisations to make targeted investments in new ventures and existing local companies. This process would also address SMEs needs concerning the availability of patient early stage capital, and access to markets plus government and big business contracts.
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