SMARTS Group
Winner, Information and Communications Technology

SMARTS Group is a leader in securities market surveillance technology with almost 90 per cent of business derived from over 30 export markets. 

SMARTS was born from Australian ingenuity and innovation. In the early 1990s Mike Aitken, a professor at Sydney University, and two research assistants identified a market niche to automate the real-time surveillance of securities markets as exchanges such as the ASX began to automate.  As market operators began to appreciate the value of an automated surveillance system SMARTS sales grew rapidly.

The Australian Export Award judges made particular note of SMARTS’ superior technological capabilities: its systems are capable of analysing four billion transactions daily in real time, and the company is already focused on upgrading this software to reach 20 billion transactions a day. These systems have a sophisticated alert function which can identify even the most subtle of market manipulations.

Innovative marketing strategies also impressed the judges, central to which is what the company refers to as facilitating a ‘community of interest’ – bringing together key industry specialists for user group meetings and conferences.

The company offers a free trial and data analysis to potential customers which results in more than 90 per cent of sales leads converting to actual sales.

SMARTS is focused on maintaining market leadership and works closely with universities, funding and directing research and a scholarship program that offers internships for students whilst they complete research degrees. SMARTS was also a founding member of the Capital Markets Cooperative Research Centre.

These systems have a sophisticated alert function which can identify even the most subtle of market manipulations.