Tristan Sternson, ARQ Group’s CEO said,

“This has been a challenging year for many Australian businesses, but also a major wake up call for all business leaders to take full advantage of cloud technologies.

“With approximately 43% of Australia’s businesses in the cloud, there’s an abundance of untapped opportunity to accelerate digital transformation – but more importantly – it’s no longer sustainable for many businesses to simply consider ‘if’ they should migrate to the cloud, but ‘when’. I would urge all business leaders, not just CIOs and tech workers, to consider cloud in their 2021 digital strategy.

“As one of Australia’s first AWS Premium Consulting Partners, and for over 7 years, we have delivered best practice in cloud, data, digital and AI. Achieving this major milestone with AWS migrations competency is just another step in our commitment to helping Australia’s businesses take full advantage of cloud technologies, unlocking new data insights and customer centric applications.”

Steve McCormick, ARQ Group’s Chief Customer Architect, leads the company’s cloud migrations team and said,

“The competency was a key part, demonstrating ARQ Group’s excellence in all aspects of digital transformation.

“I’m immensely proud of my team for the hard work they’ve contributed over the years, for ARQ Group to be recognised as a leading Australian cloud migration specialist by AWS. Cloud migrations are just one part of many that we provide customers.

“COVID-19 has changed the way business leaders think about their businesses, witnessing years of digital progress accomplished in just a few months. As Australia’s leading digital provider, customer capabilities extend to full-service digital experiences, web and app development, and AI and machine learning solutions.

“Many of these innovative, data intensive solutions ARQ offer customers are cloud-based, so our new AWS competency is a real feather in our cap.

“Getting cloud migration done right is crucial to long-term business success. I firmly believe businesses should insist on the best in the business for crucial IT projects. AWS competency helps achieve this.”

Amanda Milin, ARQ Group’s Director – Government and project lead said it was a key part of the Australian Government’s response to the economic impacts of COVID-19.

“We’re immensely proud of this digital platform which ARQ Group has designed and built in collaboration with the National Careers Institute. Your Career provides an end to end solution and is redefining how the Australian Government interacts with job seekers and those looking for a career change.

“COVID-19 has changed the job market and many people have spent time reconsidering their career paths. That’s why it is so important they have access to the right information to make informed decisions.

“Your Career is a one-stop-shop, and by utilising our expertise in building user-friendly digital platforms, we are making sure people have easy access to the information they need.

“It has been a significant undertaking and I am so proud of the entire team at ARQ Group who have made this a reality. Whether we are working with a major corporation, a new enterprise, or a government entity, we are driven by our goal to make a positive impact. Your Career will benefit tens of thousands of Australians for years to come,” Amanda Milin said.

Speaking on the winners, award host and AWS ANZ channel chief Davinia Simon said,

“Earlier this year we had a real challenge around bushfires. The Fires Near Me app changed the way consumers were accessing information about the fires in Australia. ARQ Group were able to deploy that solution to production in a matter of weeks.”

ARQ Group CEO, Tristan Sternson said,

“That given the scale of bushfires over the 2019/20 summer period, the app played an important role in protecting brave firefighters and those impacted.

 “I’m incredibly proud of the team at ARQ that developed the Fires Near Me app. Australia should be looking to invest more heavily in digital infrastructure and the Fires Near Me app is the perfect example of how digital solutions can be rolled out quickly, cost effectively, and can save lives in emergency situations.

“I’m particularly proud as this technical award for the Fires Near Me app comes less than a week after the app won a Good Design Award – Australia’s highest honour for design and innovation – in recognition of innovation, positive social impact and functional design.

“This has been a transformative year for ARQ Group with the COVID-19 pandemic prioritising business leaders’ focus on the importance of building robust technical solutions for tangible business impacts. We’re proud to be working with AWS and other partners delivering digital solutions that make a positive impact for our customers. 

“We’re 100% onshore, proudly Australian owned and operated, and growing quickly. ARQ’s the name behind many of Australia’s most loved household brands and government projects. We’re passionate about leveraging technology to solve organisational challenges – both public and private – no matter how complex.”  

The Good Design Award® Jury praised NSW Rural Fire Service Fires Near Me app, commenting:

“A very thoughtful and technologically appropriate solution to the real and ever present danger of bushfires in Australia. The positive benefits of the app are clearly evident and presents a highly functional solution to the problem of communicating the location and movement of fires quickly.”

For our winning digital design for First State Super’s members app, the Jury said: 

“This is a solid app out there making a difference. Great attention paid to those rare-but-significant moments in the relationship between a person and their superannuation. Beautifully executed, well thought through and extremely useful. Nicely resolved visuals, well-executed visual hierarchy of information and typography. The jury was impressed with comprehensive co-design process. This entry is great reflection of how Superannuation is a category where good design can really make an important difference to the customer outcome.”