APAC Market Update - Australia Overview

Ed Garnsey • 1 January 2023
As we prepare to batten down the financial hatches in 2023, it’s worth taking a moment to see the bigger backdrop. That life is simply returning to a new normal, and one that is infinitely more desirable than the one that came before it.

Our national unemployment – at about a half century low – would be appreciably higher, had the federal government not stepped in during the pandemic, with the historic Job Keeper program and subsidies for faltering businesses. Had this not happened, interest rates would have remained at historic, near-zero per cent lows, not only continuing to push share markets valuations to dangerous highs, but also pushing home ownership even further beyond the reach of younger generations. Let me know your thoughts on how we can help develop your talent pool. Who knows what 2023 will bring- but as we begin to close out 2022, just remember: things could have turned out a lot worse.


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Software Engineering: Businesses transitioning from on-prem to cloud platforms has continued to be at the forefront of our Software Engineering engagements with AWS still the dominant services of choice. The volume & complexity of applications being moved to the cloud on our projects has continued to increase, for example, the Investments sector has begun to embrace cloud more widely.


Automation: IT teams have been automating large sections of their core infrastructure to free up time & investment to focus on actual engineering. From devices at home to applications at scale, automation has been a key focus of 2022 in Australia with professional services like the legal and finance industries being especially disrupted.


Quality Assurance: The Australian QA market has seen a huge increase in the demand for Test Engineers with digital (web and mobile) experience. Usage of apps and websites has increased, especially following the switch to remote working. As a result, digital project spend has increased and so has the demand for people with these skillsets.


Cyber: Following the recent Optus cyber-attacks that received widespread media and political coverage, we are seeing a reaction from most tech teams to combat this. With a significant rise in fines for being non-compliant, top-tier organisations are launching multimillion dollar programs to improve their cyber and vulnerability services. The use of AI/ML has increased significantly in this space as well. Many threats are now responded to automatically, which has eased the responsibility on cybersecurity teams.

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​If you’re curious for more insights into the Australia Tech market or are considering the option to pursue a Tech career in Australia, don’t hesitate to reach out to us:

Ed Garnsey – edgarnsey@hydrogengroup.com / +61 (0)2 9152 8618 (AU)

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