Welcome to the Macquarie Technology Summit 2021.
We’re delighted to be joined by clients, partners and investors from around the world
to share in three fascinating days of discussions.
And while we’d ordinarily structure these events
around face-to-face networking, it’s somehow
apt, and by now entirely normal, that we’re using technology to facilitate this event
- connecting entrepreneurs with investors, solutions with potential customers and like-minded
innovators between regions.
Technology is changing how we live, work and interact at a faster pace than any period
in human history.
Distant possibilities in 2019 are daily realities now in 2021.
And to say that change has been driven only by
necessity, as COVID-19 accelerated the adoption
of emerging and next generation technologies, underplays how quickly the information age
was already giving way to the automation age well before the pandemic arose.
The extent of change underway in 2019 already promised to match and surpass the shifts seen
in the transition between agricultural, industrial and information societies in previous centuries.
But the pandemic has certainly dictated an unexpected pace of creative disruption which
continues to drive us forward.
Without doubt, in the near term, technology has been central to our ability to respond
to COVID-19.
While every country has had different experiences, we made progress when technology allowed
more than two billion COVID tests and the mass tracking of tens of millions of cases.
And we’re looking to the future with greater confidence because of the ability to develop
and deploy effective vaccines in record time.
And as this played out - and I must acknowledge continues to play out with tragic consequences
in many societies - technology kept us connected, motivated and productive.
When once the internet supplemented learning possibilities, it became our classroom.
And where shopping online had been a matter of
convenience, it became a necessity and now
an enduring preference.
And when we could no longer see our loved ones in person, technology stepped in to bridge
that gap.
Today’s sessions explore how the accelerated shift to a digital society has redefined essential
relationships in our communities, with doctors, teachers and many service providers, transforming
how we move, learn, engage, exercise and play.
Our digital society sessions explore how smart consumer services are integrating the interface
of our physical world with technologies.
We’ll hear from some of the most innovative companies in digital education, healthcare,
leisure, transport, security, sustainability and in our built environment.
And we’ll consider how inclusive technologies are improving accessibility to information
and services for those with disabilities.
And we’ll look ahead to the potential for a digital society beyond our own planet.
Throughout this week, perspectives from the world’s most innovative technology businesses
are interspersed with those of the investors supporting their growth.
In speaking with the specialist investors of both
private and public capital, we’ll consider
the investment decisions that mattered most, the characteristics of the investible entrepreneur
and we’ll look ahead to the greatest opportunities and threats in this dynamic environment as
we move beyond the pandemic.
Then tomorrow, we turn our attention to the digital
enterprise, through the lens of the employee
adapting to a generational shift in working patterns, and the employer placing technology
at the heart of strategy.
We’ll surface new considerations around the future of work, as teams seek the optimal
balance between virtual and physical collaboration, flexibility, efficiency and productivity.
And we’ll reimagine the future of work in our
cities and the role of digital infrastructure.
And given the opportunities arising from automation, we’ll debate how we best upskill
a resilient future workforce.
For businesses, new near-term opportunities and obligations have emerged around connectivity,
security and data, at the same time as artificial intelligence, automation and cloud-based software
transformation processes.
So we’ll hear from entrepreneurs addressing some of the world’s most intractable human
challenges with data and consider the multitude of possibilities in technological convergence.
And then finally on Thursday, we’ll look at the
latest developments in financial technology
and explore the obsession that fintechs have with
understanding the needs of their customers.
Technology is the biggest disruptor and enabler of financial services, with smart entrepreneurs
around the world delivering better experiences and tailored solutions for retail customers
and for merchants alike.
Our fintech sessions will identify the biggest technological shifts and opportunities in
payments, exchanges, digital currencies, banking, borrowing and in wealth management.
And one clear underlying theme of the week is
optimism.
The optimism of the technologists resolving challenges, of the entrepreneurs commercialising
innovation and of the investors identifying the most promising prospects.
Technology is central to the global economic recovery and to ensuring the recovery
is informed by the experiences of the pandemic period.
Automation may well provide an efficiency-driven brake on the signs of price inflation as well
that
we are starting to see emerge.
The potential of technology makes economic growth more accessible, more equitable and
more sustainable.
And it’s heartening that for many of our speakers, the desire to drive their bottom
line goes hand in hand with a desire to use technology to make a positive impact.
Throughout the week, we'll also hear from inspiring
not-for-profit organisations, creating and deploying
technologies that advance critical social outcomes
and address important areas of unmet need within our communities.
For us at Macquarie, our role is to provide the perspectives and make the connections
so our clients and our business can embrace technological change.
We join the dots between ideas and actions and the tech-inflection point of the pandemic
is what drove us to convene this unique event today.
Technology innovation and investment, touch all areas of Macquarie, from how we operate
to how we engage and support our clients.
We’ve built a strong track record in digital banking and platforms, in developing entrepreneurial
businesses and through the transformation of our own technology.
A growing portfolio of digital infrastructure and technologies disrupting core areas of
client activity represent more recent evolution of our capabilities.
We’re seeing technology-related opportunities in areas as diverse as data, software, agriculture,
biotech, education and health-tech, commodities, climate change, defence, transport, the list
goes on and on.
The entrepreneurship of the tech sector resonates strongly with our own culture and we’ve
made investments globally in innovative businesses moving the provision of many aspects of life
online.
We’ve reflected these diverse areas of activity in this week’s agenda and made connections
between overlapping strands of innovation across sectors and regions.
The deconstruction of borders and ever-improving tools of collaboration means that the competitive
market for technology talent has never been more global as well.
Australia, where we are headquartered, provides an instructive example.
We’ll hear from several successful Australian companies that have globalised their unique
offerings, while also expanding their workforce with specialists located in every region of
the world.
And while more competitive, the talent pool is
more diverse as well, with the ability to work flexibly,
to some extent pioneered over the long term by the technology industry and opening roles
to more women and to people based in less predictable locations.
It’s also a global market for technology investment.
Investors look across borders for the best ideas at the nascent stage, bringing capital
and expertise but also the ability to open up
new markets and help entrepreneurs build a
global customer base.
We’ve seen the recent success of large global technology providers in attracting investment,
leading the strong rebound in listed equity markets.
More generally, we’ve also seen some differentiation in performance favouring companies that have
invested in technology, navigated the pandemic and captured opportunities arising from it.
What’s evident, as we look beyond the pandemic, is that the world has changed, forever.
Technology advances demonstrate human ingenuity and capability when faced with significant
challenges to solve and opportunities to embrace.
So we look forward to continuing our focus on technology and embracing its possibilities
on behalf of our clients for a better future.
I hope you find the next three days thought-provoking and inspiring.
And thank you again for joining us at the 2021
Macquarie Technology Summit.