A Tender Farewell to 2010

Welcome to 2011, and it’s already looking frenetic. Enex TestLab finished 2010 with a flurry of tenders and 2011 has started much the same. Governments and Commercials are ramping up contracts and Enex TestLab is right in the thick of them all. “The end of the year has been all about tenders, tenders and more tenders,” says Matt Tett, Director, Enex TestLab. Of particular note has been a contract signed between Enex TestLab and the Department from Broadband, Communcations and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) establishing a standing agreement for Enex TestLab to provide technical advice and support to the department. This is a critical alignment, Enex TestLab’s vast technical experience and independent perspective will provide continued valuable support for the department’s decision making process.

2011 also welcomes the prospect of the first major project for Enex TestLab to be undertaken with its China-based affiliate. Digital broadcasting is an exciting emerging area for us to be working in – more news will follow.

In a string of announcements, we are also proud to confirm our affiliation in Australia with well known vendors Compuware and MicroFocus. In the UK, Enex TestLab and MicroFocus already has a strong ongoing relationship. In future we expect to extend these agreements into other regions such as China.

Enex TestLab Gaming, Wagering, Lotteries and Casino Testing Division has been a major source of activity through 2010. We have recently completed our ISO 17025 gaming accreditation, meaning that Enex TestLab can now be an Accredited Test Facility (ATF) for the UK Gambling Commission, adding this jurisdiction to an already impressive list of licences held by Enex TestLab including all of Australia, New Zealand and Macau. Enex TestLab had a significant presence at the AGE (Australian Gaming Expo) held in Sydney in Q4 2010, and marks our aggressive growth in this market. Enex TestLab is bringing a welcome increase in choice, value and independence to this industry. You will see an ongoing ramping up of our presence and activity in this sector for 2011.

As we mentioned briefly last newsletter Matthew Hackling has joined Enex TestLab as General Manager of our Australian Security testing division. Matt is the first of what will be a number of management announcements for Enex TestLab. We look forward to revealing a number of new additions in 2011. With the expansion of our physical and materials testing division, and our ever growing work in media and communications, new additions to these will see Enex TestLab’s local senior headcount rise significantly.

Finally, a new year also marks the return of the Internet Industry Associations (IIA) annual Gala dinner. Enex TestLab is once again sponsoring the entertainment for the event and we look forward to seeing our clients and friends there again in February.

Telling the Enex TestLab Value Story

Enex TestLab has always been prepared to walk the walk. We’re comfortable letting the value we deliver to customers, be the face of our business.

Nevertheless, Enex TestLab is a rapidly growing business – one of the fastest in Victoria and Australia. We’ve been growing year on year for some time now and reflecting this, as well as the increasing complexity and capacity of our services, Enex TestLab is refining its marketing and communications products. We’re working to ensure clear and relevant information is available to our customers, highlighting the value of Enex TestLab’s diverse portfolio of testing services and products.

In addition to a suite of engagement products, revised global websites will offer an increasing level of insight into our work, our value proposition and more detail about the innovative ways we’ve worked with customers. Enex TestLab delivers independent testing into so many different and exciting technologies and industry sectors that our website is becoming a major channel for customers to understand our business.

Our work for Q3 2010 certainly reflects a growing level of innovation and the application of testing by customers. We’ve recently completed an interesting project for an importer of car audio units. The results enabled the retailer to select the best value product to add to its range with confidence that the product had sufficient quality to add their own branding and reputation to; it would impact positively on its bottom line, and have confidence in the warranty and support they would offer.

Interestingly, during testing of the car audio devices, Enex TestLab was pleased to discover that the units achieved an impressive standard of audio quality and shock protection. You’ll hear them on streets around the country soon.

Our work for a number of government departments procurement continues, we’ve been busy evaluating desktops, notebooks, monitors, projectors and even smart tables and interactive whiteboards to ensure that product value is maximised. We’ve also completed WLAN load and performance testing for a government agency.

The AGE (Australian Gaming Expo) was held in Sydney during August. Enex TestLab hosted an exhibit, introducing a number of new clients to Enex TestLab’s range of services dedicated to the gaming and wagering sector. We’re an ATF in quite a number of global gaming jurisdictions seeing a lot of growth in our business in this sector.

As we continue to build our headcount, Enex TestLab is pleased to announce Matthew Hackling as our new Divisional Head of Security Testing in Australia. Matthew brings a wealth of security experience and will be a key part of our security market expansion.

The value story Enex TestLab has to tell has never been better, but the number of ways we need to tell it just keeps growing. With our revised website and marketing collateral, this becomes a far more integrated and well coordinated proposition. You’ll see how our activities relate right across our portfolio of services and how innovative companies across the globe are using Enex TestLab’s products and services in unique ways to reduce risk and make money.

Bigger is Better, Digital TV, Gaming, and an Electric Bus

Bigger is Better: In recent newsletters Enex TestLab has made announcements about its growth; and this quarter is no different. We’re getting bigger and we’re getting better. Enex has been aggressively growing its headcount and expanding into new territories for over four years now. On the back of expansion in the UK and China, we’re delighted to be formalising our operations in Hong Kong. In June, Enex registered its business and offices in Fo Tan, and this is already providing useful support to operations throughout the region, including Macau and southern mainland China.

In Europe, Enex UK operations have finished an impressive year. Software testing and security testing were delivered for some high profile clients. The UK is a mature market in terms of testing services and many organisations engage Enex TestLab for highly strategic purposes - seeking assurance and value from vast investments in their applications and systems. As a result, we’ve been actively building out our operations in the UK to service this market. We have also conducted testing in several European countries this past quarter.

In Australia, for many of the same reasons as in the UK, we’ve continued to take on more staff, with particular focus on providing these highly integrated services. Many of our customers (for example) are seeking independent testing that evaluates their software applications and security infrastructure in a more seamless and holistic way. Industries such as financial services are quite enthusiastic about this kind of service. The market appetite for more sophisticated and cross category testing has enabled us to create a key sales role around this, in both Sydney and Melbourne.

Only Enex TestLab can deliver to this level of sophistication. Due to our experience, size and diversity we’re able to provide a far more integrated and cross-organisational evaluation. It’s a key part of Enex’s go-to-market offering, and a great competitive differentiator for our business - complete, professional, supported and managed testing services.

Digital TV: Enex has taken a proactive role in the growth of digital television services across Australia. In the past we’ve tested many TVs and digital tuners, and have written numerous media articles and reviews on the products available. It seems logical then that we support the Department of Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy by sitting on the supplier evaluation panel for digital TV products. Through this Enex TestLab provides independent assessments for the certification of products and services introduced to the Australian market. It will help regulate the industry and provide consumers with constancy and assurance when purchasing their digital TV products.

Gaming: Enex Gaming, Wagering, Lotteries and Casinos Testing division has had a huge year already. We’ve had an active presence in many of the global gaming hot spots, and as part of our commitment to the gaming industry Enex TestLab will host a stand at the Australasian Gaming Expo in August. This is a key event on the international gaming industry calendar, attracting the world’s leading machine and gaming system vendors.

The Enex TestLab stand will not only provide a detailed insight into our gaming systems testing, certification and security services, but also provide a welcome opportunity to showcase our seven other testing divisions and enjoy the razzle-dazzle of the more glamorous side of technology.

Electric Bus: The sheer diversity of how Enex TestLab services are being used is as eye opening to us, as it is to anyone else. It serves as a reminder that extra value can be found anywhere, if you are prepared to evaluate the product carefully. Last year it was cranes, millions of dollars worth, and Enex was able to save our client a bundle as part of the process.

This quarter Enex is testing and evaluating electric buses in China. You’d be impressed to know what can be discovered about a bus when you put some solid testing behind the purchasing decision. We expect to save our client another bundle on this occasion as well. We can only imagine what product we’ll strike next.

With processors, speed cameras, car stereos, and more broadband testing all scheduled for the next few months, the diversity of Enex TestLab services looks likely to continue. Our focus, as always, remains as clear as ever –independence, rigor, and a high-quality scientific process.

Enex Turns 21: Crayons, Cranes and The Big Kahuna

A significant milestone was achieved in January, the TestLab turned 21! We think this is an impressive feat in such a cut-throat sector; we’ve outlasted some big names and helped some even bigger ones stay competitive. For over 21 years, Enex TestLab has independently and scientifically sifted through the hype, technicality, broken promises and complexity of the global ICT industry. Today, Enex is renowned for speaking the truth about technology – enabling our customers to make informed decisions, save money and deliver success.

Our founding member, Steve Turvey, is still with us as lab manager. For 21 years he’s been the cornerstone of the organisation (some say mascot as well). Back when Steve set up the lab it was the commercial testing arm of RMIT University, and there were just four staff. Today we have operations globally, cover 92 industry sectors with 8 separate specialist testing divisions. Enex has become one of the fastest growing businesses in Australia.

Over the years we have tested just about every conceivable technology and system, but it has been the more unconventional tests are the most memorable. For example;

· One of our Middle Eastern clients wished to purchase a number of 50 tonne cranes from a vendor in China. Enex was contracted to undertake testing to ensure they were in acceptable condition. Amazingly, Enex discovered that in most cases, the cranes were copies!

· Despite our suspicions that in the real world crayons would be eaten well before they ran out, one European manufacturer wanted to know absolutely, which of its colours would wear out first. So now it’s official, yellow is the most durable colour – but there is no accounting for taste.

· Recently, Enex tested a range of portable promotional bars. One of the criteria was to test its support for a 100kg person. Yep, a bar tested for dancing!

· In addition to testing their built-in security features, Enex batch tested passports for wear and tear. The test ran for over 12 months (exceeding 1 million page turns).

Considering all that’s happened so far, Enex is very excited about its next 21 years. And secretly, we’re all hoping we’ll get to test robots and jet packs sooner rather than later.

Back in the present, in addition to a huge birthday party, Q1 2010 was as busy as ever. Our eMetric products have been a major focus, with a number of broadband performance testing projects happening across metropolitan, regional and rural Australia. At the same time, Enex has been working closely with a group of network service providers and vendors to better develop the capabilities and functionality of the eMetric hardware device. We are also negotiating with a number of networking equipment vendors to embed eMetric code into their Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) enabling ubiquitous testing of broadband. The possibilities are looking very exciting.

Global expansion has also been a feature of the period. Enex is currently in the process of establishing Hong Kong operations in Fo Tan. This provides an ideal base to link with nearby geographies; Southern China, Macau, Singapore, and Southeast Asia. It will also support our existing operations in Shanghai.

European operations have had a great start to 2010. Increased local headcount will drive software testing for a number of large clients, as well as promoting broadband performance testing using eMetric.

Building on the last two years of gaining licences to operate as an Accredited Test Facility in key global jurisdictions. Enex has now been investing heavily in its domestic gaming, wagering, lotteries and casinos division human resources, with the core team now fully resourced. Enex is in a position to consolidate its place in the market, delivering experienced and cost effective services to this sector in a timely manner.

Enex media and communications is delighted to confirm the continuation of an 18 year relationship with CBS owned ZDNet (and its predecessors), and the consolidation of our 2009 relationship with Choice Magazine. A new publisher, IDG has also been added to our customer list. Our media business has come a long way over those 18 years. One of the most amusing anecdotes from our early years of publishing describes how Steve Turvey once announced the invention of the World Wide Worm in his monthly column. In fairness, that was many years ago – before the term Web had been coined.

Finally, and considering Enex has been celebrating, in February Enex TestLab sponsored the Internet Industry Associations (IIA) gala dinner entertainment, The Big Kahuna, whose members comprise Asia Pacific region executives from well known ICT enterprises such as Intel, Symantec, Verizon and Motorola. On this particular occasion, and perhaps for the best, Enex did not undertake any performance testing