{"id":44644,"date":"2023-10-20T15:37:23","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/atlassians-scott-farquhar-warns-youre-either-becoming-a-software-company-or-being-disrupted-by-one-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:37:23","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:37:23","slug":"atlassians-scott-farquhar-warns-youre-either-becoming-a-software-company-or-being-disrupted-by-one-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/atlassians-scott-farquhar-warns-youre-either-becoming-a-software-company-or-being-disrupted-by-one-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlassian\u2019s Scott Farquhar warns you\u2019re \u201ceither becoming a software company, or being disrupted by one\u201d – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

Every company is a software company, or is becoming one, according to Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Giving the 2014 JJC Bradfield Lecture in Sydney on Monday night, Farquhar compared software to the invention of electricity in terms of the impact it is having on society.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s software that powers computers, powers robots; software is the ultimate lever for human performance,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAs such, like electricity, it can augment us, enable us, even replace us in many areas. Archimedes said, \u2018Give me a lever long enough\u2026 and I\u2019ll move the world.\u2019 Software gives humanity that lever.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCompanies now only fit into two buckets: either becoming a software company, or being disrupted by one.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Software has liberated Australia from the tyranny of distance, which Farquhar suggests provides both an opportunity and a threat for Australia.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe \u2018made it\u2019 from suburban Sydney. That\u2019s the good news. The bad news is that any other \u2018Mike and Scott\u2019 from any suburb in Seattle or Shanghai, Lucknow or London or Hanoi or Helsinki can make it too,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Given this, Farquhar says it\u2019s important for the government to implement policy that helps foster innovation in the sector. Like employee share option reform (which the government announced today) and encouraging superannuation funds to invest more into local venture capital in order to bridge a gap in the Australian venture capital market.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough the activity level of angel investors and VCs has ramped up \u2013 there is still a significant gap in the market in Australia,\u201d Farquhar says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cParticularly once you move beyond an early stage, it is too difficult for a company to raise finance locally.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He also praised government tax incentives like the R&D Tax Incentive Program and the Export Market Development Grants Scheme.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Communications, Paul Fletcher MP, says he had a number of takeaways from Farquhar\u2019s lecture, including the need for the nation to produce workers with the right skills.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe had some very important points about employee share ownership schemes and venture capital, but the point I want to focus on is the need for the right skills in the workforce,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cClearly when it comes to having enough skilled people to support a software industry, two critical policy levers sit squarely with government: education and immigration.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cClearly this is a timely point to be raising when the Review of the Australian Curriculum was released (Sunday) and Education Minister Christopher Pyne has stated there will now be discussions with states and territories and other key stakeholders about how to strengthen and regime the curriculum.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That review was criticised by those in the IT industry for not doing enough to promote ICT skills<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As for immigration, Fletcher says the Abbott government is setting policy \u201cwith an eye towards meeting the skills needs of the economy\u201d.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIn my view, Scott has had some serious and important things to say,\u201d Fletcher says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is critical to sensible policy development in this area that government is in no doubt what the sector is saying.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Follow<\/i> StartupSmart on<\/i> Facebook<\/i>,<\/i> Twitter<\/i>, and<\/i> LinkedIn<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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