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Hunter Business Centre - Regional Leadership Award

HunterTech member, Hunter Business Centre has won a Federal Government business special commendation trophy.

The Centre, in King Street, Newcastle, provides start-up and support services for new businesses through a range of State and Federal Government programs.

The award, which recognised the business incubator's contribution to business in regional Australia, was presented to Centre Manager Narelle McClelland at a national conference last week.

HBC Chair Janelle Kirk said the Centre had delivered business assistance as its core activity for 20 years.

 

Are you a chucker or a shredder?
 
NEWCASTLE, N.S.W (September 04, 2008) - Privacy penetrates almost every aspect of our lives. With organisations storing an increasing amount of information including credit ratings, medical records, health status, employee performance, travel records, qualifications and product purchases, it’s like honey to the bee for identity thieves and ripe for other forms of misuse.
There is ample evidence that organisations of all sorts are not moving fast enough to deploy protections and adopt procedures to ensure the privacy and security over the data they store and transmit. Can you possibly imagine what sensitive information about you might currently be communicated via email in an unencrypted form?
Data protection not only involves protecting information from hackers and spammers, but also being proactive and diligent in protecting information from insider mistakes and fraudulent actions. As a quick check, consider:
Do you know how to respond to a data breach and minimize the exposure?
Do you have an internal policy on handling personal information and what it should contain?
Have you got a policy on Acceptable Use of your ICT facilities?
Have you done an internal audit on your security systems and their effectiveness?
Do you look holistically across the threat landscape of how people try to get information and then plan accordingly?
Last month, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) recommended that the Australian Government introduce mandatory data breach disclosure laws. There is a wide-spread ignorance in many organisations about protecting privacy, particularly in regards to online transactions such as credit card processing. The proposed changes requiring you to publically disclose a breech of security will create significant issues for unprepared businesses. Whilst data breech disclosure is not yet mandatory in Australia, there is already plenty of evidence to justify its need.
Anthony Heitmeyer, General Manager for CIBIS, a business software company, supports the mandatory data breach notification provision. "Serious data breaches are a significant threat to the individual whose privacy has been breeched. It also has the capacity to adversely impact a company’s reputation, its relationships with other customers and suppliers and can significantly erode the trust in that organisation. For this reason mandatory data breach notifications would provide significant incentives for companies and agencies to properly secure the data they manage" he said.
"Ensuring privacy may seem like a challenging task, especially for small business" says Dr Ljiljana Brankovic, Associate Professor of Computer Science at The University of Newcastle. "There are, however, numerous technical tools that can assist companies to comply with privacy legislation. They are known as Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PET) and include a variety of techniques, from basic ones such as access control and encryption to highly sophisticated systems such as Statistical Disclosure Control and Privacy Preserving Data Mining. We must always remember that a system is only as secure as its weakest link and thus it is important to identify the risks first and then apply PET systematically."
How confident are you that your business or personal files aren’t in the public domain?
If you can’t tell, it may be a good time to do some serious risk analysis and go from there - it can save you both insult and injury in the long run.
Contact:
Anthony Heitmeyer, General Manager, CIBIS
tony@cibis.com.au
 
(02) 4925 3624
 
 

 
27 August 2008 - Qmastor delivers record results
• Operational profit of $1,226,985
• Total revenues increased by 88% to $5,065,265
• Dividend of 1.0 cents per ordinary share
• Strong outlook for FY09
The directors of QMASTOR Limited (ASX:QML) are pleased to announce a net profit after tax for the year to June 30 2008 of $1.227 million. The company’s result was also impacted by an asset impairment write back, which led to a full year reported profit of $2.464 million.
“QMASTOR has delivered record results in 2008 which highlight a year of progress towards becoming a global leader in mining supply chain management solutions. The increases in profit reflect continued strong growth for our software licenses and services due to ongoing high demand in the resources industry”, the Managing Director of QMASTOR Limited, Mr Trent Bagnall said today.
Commenting on the result, Mr Bagnall said, “Our business is extremely robust as demonstrated by our 30 June 2008 results. We have a strong balance sheet, excellent people and good prospects for future growth. QMASTOR’s investment in product and market development will continue to add value to both customers and shareholders alike.”
Dividend
Directors have declared a final dividend to shareholders of 1c per share, payable on 22nd September 2008.
Outlook
“The company's license orders, a leading indicator of the state of our market, were 109.8% per cent higher in 2008 than at the same time last year. We expect demand to continue to grow at a similar rate throughout 2009, and we are well positioned to meet market requirements. QMASTOR is targeting revenue of $9 million in 2009 and to deliver earnings per share of 3.25 - 4.0 cents for the 2009 year and continue to pay a dividend to shareholders,” Mr Bagnall said.
About QMASTOR Limited
QMASTOR Limited (ASX: QML) provides innovative bulk material software solutions to the global mining, port, power generation and other bulk commodity industries. QMASTOR has pioneered innovative solutions to empower clients to improve their operations and maximise profit through the efficient use of resources across the supply chain.
For further information contact:
Trent Bagnall – Managing Director
Phone:+61 (2) 4908 2222
Email: tbagnall@qmastor.com
Web: www.qmastor.com

HunterTech Wants to Publish Your Success Stories

HunterTech wants to promote local ICT companies to assist them to compete locally, nationally and internationally.

If you have something that you want the world to know contact Peter O'Malley at p.omalley@huntertech.com.au and watch the results!

Why Be a HunterTech Member?

HunterTech seeks to advance the Information Technology and Communications industry in the Hunter Region, promote awareness of the extensive capabilities of our members, keep the business community abreast of the latest trends and impacts of technology and provide innovative services for the education and professional development of our members.

When you join HunterTech, you receive these and other fine benefits.

  • An opportunity for Sole Traders to combine resources and learn from the experiences of others operating within the ICT industry.
  • Informative publications to keep you up-to-date on current trends, tools, and practices vital to the industry.
  • Networking opportunities through HunterTech's events calendar.
  • Educational workshops and seminars, both free and at reduced member rates.
  • An opportunity to create Special Interest Groups.
  • Forums for sharing your expertise, expressing your professional opinion, and enhancing a reputation within the industry.
  • Access to finding quality resources through knowledge of job openings specifically geared toward the industry.
  • Access to a range of professional advisors that support and foster development of start-up or growing businesses through a range of services
  • Regular HunterTech eNews that advises on industry developments and issues, meeting and event announcements, and news stories with a distribution of over 400 businesses throughout the region.
  • Unrestricted access to HunterTech's state of the art Web site that includes full listings of all members, sponsor members and their details, tender opportunities often a step in front of the public arena and promotion of your business on key strategic websites.

Your membership dues also help to fund programs that include:

  • A Business Development Manager with vast industry experience and contacts to assist members in collaborative or individual pursuit of business.
  • Developing alliances with other key strategic organisations to assist in the promotion of member's capabilities as well as their development. These include HunterNet, Hunter Business Chamber, ACS, DSRD, HEDC, etc.
  • Fellowships that help bridge the gap between providers and teachers, including TAFE, Newcastle University and the private sector.

Don't hesitate - join now!

Membership

Individual membership is now available. Click here for more info.

HunterTech is pleased to announce that membership is available to all involved in ICT in the Hunter and Central Coast regions.

HunterTech is happy to provide you - the Hunter ICT professional - with a forum to talk with your peers, get up-to-date information on issues which may affect your - or your livelihood, and to generally have a good time mingling with your peers on a regular basis.

HunterTech is your forum, your chance to be heard.

TELL US NOW what you want from your new and improved HunterTech.
 
© Copyright 2008 Huntertech Pty Ltd