Infosys pumps in AU $1.9 million into Smart Services Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for R&D in Australia

Technology giant Infosys will pump in up to Australian dollar 1.9 million in cash and services into Australia’s newly formed Smart Services Cooperative Research Centre (CRC).

The new round of investment by Infosys is seen as bringing together the best technology minds from industry, six Australian universities and government to develop an ambitious R&D program aimed at creating intellectual property (IP) of value to Australia’s services market – with initial demonstrators planned for the finance, media and government sectors, an Infosys statement said. Infosys’ participation in Smart Services CRC is a joint venture between its Australian subsidiary Infosys Australia and SETLabs, the company’s India-based research group. 

Over the course of the programme, this IP will be engineered and commercialised by CRC participants resulting in new technology products and services that will increase the competitiveness of Australia’s IT industry and make the services market more innovative. As the only global IT services company involved with the programme, Infosys will be spearheading the Smart Service CRC from a technology perspective alongside SAP, with industry heavyweights including Telstra, Fairfax Digital and Suncorp-Metway actively involved in setting the research agenda.  World-class researchers from around the country will also contribute to the R&D and IP creation. 

According to Gary Ebeyan, CEO, Infosys Australia, “innovation is imperative for growth and with Australia an emerging market on the global IT stage, we’re pleased to be contributing to the development of the industry in such a significant way.” He added that “the good part of the Smart Services CRC is that we get to work with not only the best and brightest minds from academia but also the private sector, some of whom are our clients. With these companies actively setting the research agenda, our clients as well as the IT industry would be able to reap long-term benefits of this IP development.” 

As part of the collaboration, Infosys Australia and Infosys’ SETLabs will initially focus on three research projects exploring business process innovation and service orientated architecture. The CRC programme will extend on the research currently being undertaken by SETLabs and provide valuable insights into the needs of the Australian market.

The Smart Services CRC will also focus on producing graduates with the skills required to alleviate the industry’s skills shortage through its close association with Australia’s leading universities.