Homegrown software house expands to US

Australian company Icon Software Solutions now has 16,000 US local governments as potential customers after establishing its first office in the US.

Icon, which was started by three people in a garage in the Gold Coast hinterlands six years ago, is on the verge of breaking into the US market, with negotiations underway with a US partner.

The software house, which has 17 staff, has set up an office in the Charleston region in the US, after becoming the only Australian company picked for a startup support program in the area.

CEO Marie Phillips said the US market, and Charleston in particular, is a big opportunity for Icon's software, which streamlines development planning applications for local councils.

"That whole region is in growth mode," she told CRN. "We need to be somewhere where lots of [government planning and development] is happening."

"We have a very clear channel to market. To be honest the market in Australia is only 500 councils, it's 16,000 in America."

Icon's PlanningXchange software is currently used by local councils in Australia and New Zealand, but Phillips sees overseas potential.

"We started investigating [the US market] about 18 months ago now," she said. "Our market is global. It's easy to replicate it. What they do in local governments in Texas they do in the UK and Scotland. It's a very, very predictable model"

Support from the Charleston Digital Corridor means Icon only pays a "minimal" amount to maintain an office in the region. Staff will have access to meeting rooms, training rooms, as well as universities and graduate programs.

Icon's efforts have already resulted in two upcoming "study tours" to Australia by councils in the US - by the CEO of the City of Waterloo in Canada, and the Deputy City Manager of the City of Kyle in Texas.

The US relationships follow years building Icon's reputation with Australian local councils.

Icon's first customer was in Ballina, later followed by others including Warringah council. A break came when Icon was selected to write technical specifications for the Western Australian government's Electronic Development Assessment project in 2009.

"Really from there it's just snowballed," Phillips said. She said there are now 65 councils in Australia using the software, including large councils across Sydney, as well as local councils in New Zealand.

In one case, Phillips said the software reduced the average time it takes for development applications to be processed from 78 days to 28 days.

Technology One is also now an Icon reseller in Australia, Phillips said.