M70 Computer System Design and Related Services

AirTrunk’s $23.5b AI pay day

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Original article by Paul Smith, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 20 : 4-Sep-24

US-based asset manager Blackstone has secured a deal to buy Australian data centre company AirTrunk. The deal values AirTrunk at about $23.5bn, eclipsing the previous record price of $US15bn ($22bn) for a data centre company. Sources have indicated that AirTrunk founder Robin Khuda will sell half of his 10 per cent stake to Blackstone for about $500m, while he will remain CEO of the company. Macquarie Group’s infrastructure arm and Canada-based PSP Investments will in turn sell their entire stakes in AirTrunk to Blackstone. AirTrunk owns 11 data centres in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.

CORPORATES
AIRTRUNK, THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, PSP INVESTMENTS

Artificial intelligence predicted to affect 40 per cent of jobs globally, IMF warns

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Original article by Holly Williams
The New Daily – Page: Online : 16-Jan-24

The International Monetary Fund says artificial intelligence and machine learning technology could worsen inequality between nations and within society. The IMF has concluded that AI technology will affect about 40 per cent of jobs worldwide, including 60 per cent of jobs in advanced economies. The IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva says the technology could boost productivity, global economic growth and incomes; however, she cautions that it could also replace jobs and deepen inequality.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

ACCC targets big tech’s AI power

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: 15 & 19 : 30-Oct-23

Documents released under freedom of information laws have revealed that the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has called on Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus to establish a digital platforms ombudsman, so as to help consumers resolve disputes with big technology companies. The documents also show that the ACCC wants UK-style legislation to curb the power of large tech firms like Google, Microsoft and Amazon, claiming that their early dominance in generative AI runs the risk of squeezing out smaller rivals.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MICROSOFT AUSTRALIA, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED

Australia ranks worst in the world for data breaches

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Original article by Matthew Elmas
The New Daily – Page: Online : 14-Dec-22

Data from virtual private network provider Surfshark suggests that there was a 489 per cent increase in data breaches across Australia in the September quarter. The analysis shows that 7,387 local accounts were hacked per 100,000 Australians during the period, which equates to an average of 22 accounts being hacked every minute. Agneska Sablovskaja of Surfshark adds that there was 1,550 per cent growth in data breaches in Australia between October and November, compared with a 70.8 per cent decline globally over the same period. The issue of data security has come under scrutiny in the wake of high-profile incidents such as the Medibank and Optus hacks.

CORPORATES
SURFSHARK, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD

Let tech be part of vaccine rollout

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Original article by David Swan
The Australian – Page: 13 : 7-Jan-21

The Australian Information Industry Association has urged federal Health Minister Greg Hunt to appoint a representative from the technology industry to the working group tasked with the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. The AIIA believes a digital expert is needed on the group, as it is worried that the separate sourcing of ICT software and systems by state and territory governments risks a "disjointed approach" that could result in a less effective national vaccination program. Members of the AIIA include Telstra, Salesforce and Apple.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN INFORMATION INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, APPLE PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Why Atlassian is more profitable than it looks

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Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 31-Jan-20

Workplace collaboration software company Atlassian’s net income is not a true reflection of its profitability. This is due to its use of a debt instrument known as ‘exchangeable senior notes’, and which does not exist in Australia. Investors wanting to get a better idea of Atlassian’s actual profitability are urged to compare its operating income or free cash flow year-to-year. Company co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes has previously observed that Australian investors tend to overvalue profits and undervalue growth.

CORPORATES
ATLASSIAN CORPORATION PLC

Expense reports to be thing of past

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Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 11-Jan-19

SAP Concur has processed $160.4 billion worth of employee expenses in the past 12 months, with the company boasting 44,000 customers in 150 countries. SAP Concur president Mike Ebarhard notes that employee expense reports could soon become a thing of the past as digital invoicing becomes more common. He says Australia is lagging behind other parts of the world when it comes to the adoption of digital invoicing.

CORPORATES
SAP CONCUR, WECHAT, SAP AG

China giants to control global digital economy: McKinsey

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Original article by Lisa Murray
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 1-Mar-18

The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that China now accounts for more than 40 per cent of global e-commerce in terms of transaction value. McKinsey director Jonathan Woetzel says there is a growing view that Chinese technology companies rather than their US counterparts will become the dominant players in the global digital economy. TechSydney director Bede Moore notes that cashed-up Chinese technology companies are ramping up their investment in Asia.

CORPORATES
McKINSEY GLOBAL INSTITUTE, TECHSYDNEY, ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, TENCENT HOLDINGS LIMITED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, WECHAT, LAZADA, TOKOPEDIA, ANT FINANCIAL, JD.COM INCORPORATED, CENTRAL GROUP OF COMPANIES, BAIDU.COM INCORPORATED

Investors set to profit from Aconex sale

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Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 20-Dec-17

Aconex founders Leigh Jasper and Rob Phillpot are not the only ones who will do well out of Oracle’s $A1.6 billion bid for the construction software firm. Aconex chairman Adam Lewis and his family should gain around $15.4 million from the transaction, while the Sypkes family, who started the Tasmania-based Chickenfeed discount chain, stand to receive about $A27.2 million. Jasper and Phillpot should get about $A94 million and $A88 million respectively if Aconex shareholders approve Oracle’s bid.

CORPORATES
ACONEX LIMITED – ASX ACX, ORACLE CORPORATION, CHICKENFEED PTY LTD, ATLASSIAN CORPORATION PLC, AUSTRALIAN DISCOUNT RETAIL PTY LTD, SPARK INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP – ASX SKI, McKINSEY AND COMPANY, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, APIAM ANIMAL HEALTH LIMITED – ASX AHX, MELBOURNE CRICKET CLUB, CITI AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TEXTURA AUSTRALASIA PTY LTD, SAP AG

Atlassian prices IPO with record $US4.4b valuation

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 11-Dec-15

Atlassian Corporation debuted on the NASDAQ stock exchange on 10 December 2015. Investors paid a slightly higher than expected $US21 per share in the $US462m IPO, valuing the software developer at around $US6.1bn. Atlassian was founded by Australian entrepreneurs Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, who will now rank among the nation’s 20 wealthiest individuals on the "BRW" Rich List.

CORPORATES
ATLASSIAN CORPORATION PLC, NASDAQ, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, MYOB GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYO, DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, T ROWE PRICE GROUP INCORPORATED, SQUARE INCORPORATED, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, GODADDY.COM INCORPORATED, PURE STORAGE, RENAISSANCE CAPITAL CORPORATION, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION, VISA INTERNATIONAL, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, EBAY INCORPORATED, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, ALIBABA.COM CORPORATION