For Indra, Australia is an example of best practices and business acumen

With over 100 professionals in the country, headquarters in Sydney and offices in Adelaide, Indra has a strong footprint in Australia. “We are the best ambassadors for Australia in the world, because we always hold the country up as a great example of best practices and a strong work ethic, which is something we have in common,” said Indra's Global Director for Institutional Relations, Íñigo de Palacio.

The Leaders visited the company's headquarters to learn about its global activity and its interests in Australia. Indra started operating in the country in 1992, when it signed a contract with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Since then, it has expanded its activities and its portfolio of clients, which includes both public administrations and private companies.

According to Mr de Palacio, Indra's business in Australia focuses on the transport, defence, aviation and energy sectors. Its most recent projects include an update to Sydney's rail CCTV system. At the end of 2016, the company was also awarded a contract to deploy an aerial surveillance network in the Pacific to serve flights linking Australia and New Zealand to the Americas.

The Leaders asked about the outlook for the areas of the technology sector in which Indra operates. The group's cyber-security expert, Liam Nevill, was particularly interested in Indra's activity in this field, specifically in simulators and the recruitment of expert personnel. As was discussed at the meeting, Indra was a cyber-security pioneer in Europe, as it launched the continent's first cyber-simulator in January 2015. “We make all sorts of simulators: cranes, planes, etc., so it was not hard to do the same for cyber-security”.

Alastair Davis praised both Indra's work with private companies and particularly its activity with the public administrations. Íñigo de Palacio explained that the company’s work with the public sector “has been underway for decades, and not only in developed countries (…) Companies and industries are calling on public administrations to underpin digitalisation and to be more efficient in this regard. The trend will continue; the process is unstoppable”.

The future of the economy is linked to digitalisation, the Internet of Things and Big Data, and Indra is among the companies spearheading these developments. According to Garth Pratten, such radical changes in the economy could cause some problems, as the automation of work could lead to the disappearance of millions of jobs. However, Indra's Global Director for Institutional Relations was optimistic about the future: “Most will adapt to new technologies and new opportunities will be created. It is true that every time a new technology is introduced in the world, value is lost somewhere, but it is also created somewhere else. Societies and economies will find new strengths”.