Perth-based Harvest Technology Group is planning an acceleration of its defence-focused strategy following completion of an independent review of its technology and defence market readiness.
The company specialises in network optimised remote operations that deliver real-time remote control, communication, automation and monitoring capabilities for the energy, resources and renewables sectors.
The review, an independent assessment commissioned by the board to evaluate the differentiation, defence relevance and execution requirements of Harvest’s Nodestream platform, confirmed that Nodestream demonstrates "compelling capability in ultra-low bandwidth, resilient video, voice and data transmission", addressing a recognised and growing operational requirement within defence and allied government markets, according to the company.
Nodestream is a communications platform that enables secure, resilient and intelligent real-time video, voice and data transmission for situational awareness and control across mission-critical environments, operating efficiently over minimal bandwidth and any available network.
Nodestream is deployed across a range of industries and use cases and at the most advanced end, Nodestream is configured to support defence and government security use cases.
Feedback from defence stakeholders highlighted the platform’s applicability in contested, bandwidth-constrained and degraded environments. The review also identified a clear pathway to scaling defence adoption, subject to focused execution across independent validation, defence-specific product alignment, governance and market engagement.
As a result, the Board has resolved to prioritise the defence vertical as a core strategic growth pillar, with capital allocation, product development and commercial effort aligned accordingly.
As part of executing the defence strategy, Harvest has commenced independent third‑party technical validation and benchmarking activities with a respected defence and aerospace advisory group with "deep engagement" across United States and allied defence ecosystems.
The validation activities are focused on evaluating Nodestream’s performance and applicability under defence‑relevant operating conditions and are intended to support substantiated engagement with defence customers, prime contractors and strategic partners.
CEO and MD out, executive chairman appointed
Harvest said that execution of a defence-focused strategy requires specialist leadership capabilities, including direct experience in defence and national security markets, highly regulated operating environments, complex procurement frameworks and long-cycle program execution.
As a result, the board has determined that implementing this defence strategy requires executive skillsets incremental to those currently held by the company's CEO and MD Ilario Faenza, and by mutual agreement, he has departed the company.
He will continue to support the company for a period of three months in a consulting capacity to assist with transition, strategic continuity and stakeholder engagement.
He joined the company in January 2024, having previously served as a strategic advisor at Synergy IT Group, a managing partner at Visage Invest, an investment and advisory firm and CEO at Visage Investments, an M&A and consulting practice focused on SMB IT&T businesses.
The board has appointed the current chairman Jeff Sengelman as executive chairman. He brings "extensive defence and national security experience" and will assume direct responsibility for defence strategy execution, strategic partner and defence stakeholder engagement; and oversight of management team formation and delivery.
Harvest is in the process of finalising the appointment of a senior management team with the specific experience required to scale a defence-focused technology business, including expertise across defence procurement, regulated market execution, compliance and sovereign capability.
The company also advised that it does not expect to achieve the financial performance forecasts for FY26 as outlined in June 2025; this included a target to be EBITDA positive by July 2026.
Accordingly, the company withdraws its FY27 forecast previously disclosed - which comprised of projected figures of revenue greater than $9 million and EBITDA greater than $1M million - and will provide further updates to the market as appropriate.
Sengelman said the review has reinforced the board’s conviction that Nodestream addresses a genuine and operationally relevant defence requirement.
"With independent validation underway and leadership now aligned to defence execution, we believe Harvest is well positioned to convert this capability into meaningful outcomes across defence and allied government markets," he said.
Last year, Harvest entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU), through its wholly owned subsidiary Harvest Technology Pty Ltd, with Annex Digital, a Canberra-based registered government supplier specialising in the design and engineering of digital products and services.
The MoU established a non-exclusive strategic collaboration between Harvest and Annex Digital to jointly pursue and deliver government and defence tenders where Harvest’s secure live data, audio, and video streaming technologies can be integrated into Annex Digital’s solutions.
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