Australian biometrics software developer finds success in U.K.
Aussie biometric company finds success in the United Kingdom, with recent order from Wales bringing to company’s U.K. orders to more than $1 million; company still awaits similar recognition at home in Australia
North Sydney, Australia-based biometrics developer Argus Solutions has won a half million dollar deal with the Government of Wales (Welsh Assembly). The order takes Argus’s product orders in the United Kingdom to around $1 million. Argus Solutions develops software that manages the identity of the person. The company’s products have the ability to manage the business processes through the automation of identification processes. Argus has further business under negotiation with the Welsh Assembly with this order being the largest single order received so far.
According to Bruce Lyman, chief executive officer of Argus Solutions, the sale confirms the merits of the Australian-built biometric application and validates the business improvements and benefits that the product delivers. “This was an important contract for the company to secure in so far as the traditional lengthy sales cycle was significantly shortened,” he said. Lyman told CRN that the sale underscores the strategy of pursuing international markets and specifically to build on the sales beachhead already established in the U.K. market where the company now has a range of strong reference sites.
Argus was formed eight years ago and has been in business with various U.K. government departments since 2004. “If you go back far enough there was a trip we did to London in 2004/5 where we represented our software products at a trade show. We started with a number of small sales, which just grew from there,” said Lyman. He added that the company has only just started getting traction in Australia. “After eight years of building the products we are just starting to get some attraction from government departments. It’s not wide spread, but key departments in federal government, prisons and a number of hospitals have started to use our products,” he said.
Lyman said it was a bit ironic that the company was successful overseas and just starting to get some notice in Australia. “It’s typical of high technology, it’s not recognized here and that has to do with Government departments choosing to go with bigger name vendors when tenders come up,” said Lyman.
