Buddy Platform, a US-based company providing crucial data processing infrastructure for the “Internet of Things”, is the latest technology leader to invest in South Australia.
Investment and Trade Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith said Buddy Platform will establish its Australian headquarters in South Australia in a multi-million dollar investment which is expected to create up to 30 new jobs in the State.
The investment was secured by the newly-established Investment Attraction South Australia.
“The term ‘Internet of Things’ refers to the growing network of connected devices and sensors which are connected to computing systems that help businesses and organisations remotely monitor and control key assets,” Mr Hamilton-Smith said.
“Already valued at $669 billion, ‘Internet of Things’ will be the foundation for conducting business in the 21st century, and will be based on capturing and translating data from billions of connected devices activated around the world.
“Buddy makes this possible, collecting, processing and securing data in real time. The company will manage, process and host this data in Australian and international data centres, allowing customers around the world to adhere to privacy and data sovereignty regulations.
“In December 2015, the company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and I’m pleased to announce Buddy Platform has chosen Adelaide as the base for its Australian operations.”
Mr Hamilton-Smith said Buddy Platform’s investment is a great win for South Australia.
“It will make Adelaide home to an innovative, global business ready to make commercial success from what is widely expected to be the fastest growing and largest commercial application of the Internet,” he said.
“Our ability to develop a coherent ecosystem from university research, through to technology start-ups and multinational companies, makes Adelaide one of the few places where collaborative innovation can truly be practiced in Australia.
“This investment was secured by the State Government’s new agency Investment Attraction South Australia, which has been established to attract foreign direct investment, which creates high value-adding industries and sustainable jobs.
“Investment Attraction South Australia helped pave the way for Buddy Platform’s Adelaide investment by linking it with the State’s burgeoning information and communications
technology sector and introducing its leaders to key decision-makers streamlining the investment process.”
Buddy Platform’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer David McLauchlan is an Adelaide ex- pat who has spent the last fifteen years in Seattle working for Microsoft, founding Buddy Platform, and acting as an Advisor to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“I couldn’t be more excited to locate Buddy’s first office outside Seattle, in Adelaide. The vibrant culture, deep talent pool and the relationship with Investment Attraction South Australia made Adelaide a perfect fit,” Mr McLauchlan said.
“There are close to five billion things connected to the Internet this year and that is set to increase ten-fold by the end of the decade. Organisations around the world will have access to an entirely new level of data-driven decision making, which at Buddy we refer to as the ‘Quantified Economy’.
“Businesses that weren’t traditionally in the data processing game are suddenly finding themselves front and centre in the ‘Internet of Things’ wave.
“We are proud to make Adelaide home to an innovative, global business at the heart of this Quantified Economy.”