Penten has taken out two category award wins in the ACT Chief Minister’s Export Awards: Emerging Exporter of the Year and Exporter of Government Solutions.
In the 2021 financial year, Penten exported $6.3 million in products and intellectual property to the UK, almost a 300 per cent increase on the year prior. The large increase was due to Penten’s secure mobility solutions which were in high demand due to lockdowns.
This is the first time Penten has entered the ACT Chief Minister’s Export Awards and CEO Matthew Wilson was incredibly proud of his team.
“This award really belongs to our staff," Wilson said. "They are the ones innovating and creating these technologies to help governments in Australia and overseas continue to work when and where they need to, especially in difficult times."
Wilson believes that cyber security provides Australia with the opportunity to become a world-leader in the field with many export opportunities world-wide.
“Australia has skilled people, we have the resources and the will," Wilson said. "We at Penten found our niche looking for global problems that had no obvious solution. We aren’t trying to make a better mousetrap, we’re looking to create something completely new that hasn’t been done before and solve important information protection problems.”
To continue to innovate and stay one step ahead, Penten invests heavily in research and development with $8m spent on R&D in the last year.
“It’s one thing to spend money on R&D, but what creates success is working with early adopters," Wilson said. "These customers are key to ensuring we make the right product. We engage with these customers throughout the whole creation journey to ensure the solution is perfect for their needs, we listen to their input each step of the way."
There were 18 finalists in the ACT Chief Minister’s Export Awards, coordinated by the Canberra Business Chamber. Instaclustr, another Canberra technology company won the overall ACT Exporter of the Year award. Penten along with the other ACT award winners will now compete in the national award competition.