Five Aussie tech firms looking to shake up the ASX

THE 3D PRINT MAKER: 3D GROUP

Who are they?

First registered in March 2014, this Melbourne start-up has designed and manufactured a fused filament fabrication printer - which unlike hobby 3D printers, is about as tall as a standing adult. The company has plans for industrial grade printers, a print bureau, online 3D print marketplace and a retail kiosk, according to a heads of agreement Oz Brewing has to acquire the company. According to the announcement, the company expects its initial revenue to come from manufacture and sale of large print envelope printers and bureau services to product development, architecture, healthcare and education sectors.

Why should I care?

CRN has reported on several partnerships with technology and mining companies, but far fewer with beer brewers. Oz Brewing Limited makes and distributes Mad Monk beer through a joint venture with Ironbark Brewery in the Swan Valley. Meanwhile, 3d Group has announced an agreement with ASX listed Kibaran Resources to establish a joint venture company to explore and develop the application of graphite and graphene in 3D printing. The company believes its online marketplace and education programs hold "global potential".

What do they say?

"We're very young and very ambitious," said director Frank Pertile in this interview at the 3D Printing Expo 2014. "We're priced quite aggressively... but 3D Group is a much broader company than just the printer… we see this as a genuine opportunity to reinvigorate manufacturing in Australia."

When will they float?

If certain conditions are met under its heads of agreement with 3D Group, Oz Brewing will acquire the company. The proposed timetable will see a prospectus lodged on 31 October and the company reinstated to trade on the ASX on 12 December.

THE FAILED ATTEMPT: CLOUD CENTRAL

Who are they?

CloudCentral was founded by Kristoffer Sheather, who created the company's "Cloud in a Box". He had previously worked as a software developer and frameworks architect in the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations as well as founding a consultancy called Dotnet. The company's official history starts in 2009 and in the past has been able to boast of having the Australian Government Department of Finance as a customer. The company operates a wholesale partner program. Vendor partners include Citrix, Equinix and NextDC. Sitting on the advisory board is Domenic Carosa, who was behind mp3.com.au and was the founder of Destra.

Why should I care?

The company had been making all sorts of positive announcements in the leadup to its planned reverse listing in June. Last year Sheather said the company flagged plans to open an office in each state where it had a data centre, as well as expanding its reach via with NextDC and Equinix to seven data centres. In March CloudCentral announced plans to list on the ASX through a reverse takeover with Dromana Estate Limited. New partners Infinite Networks, cloud broker OOKI and Simple ID and Standard Computers were announced in April. Also in April, CloudCentral acquired US vendor DEY Storage Systems.

What do they say?

"It's a massive opportunity," said Sheather about the acquisition of DEY Storage Systems. "We will be able to sell an integrated cloud system at up to half the price of the legacy incumbent competitors."

"This is the year we are experiencing rapid expansion from the early adopter stage to customers now moving specific workloads to the cloud and leveraging the cloud model for backup and disaster recovery."

When will they float?

CloudCentral's reverse listing hit a major stumbling block in July when Dromana announced the acquisition had been terminated. The listing was originally expected by 14 June.