IT or so al change

Perth ased IT ro ess onal s tak n te hnolo y to the ost nder served se t ons o A stral an so ety

BY JYOTI SHANKAR

Nilesh a ana founder and of Perth-based ICT consultancy Illuminance Solutions, has been named a Gold Disruptor in the Australian Computer Society’s CXO isru tor of the ear a ards this year.

true change ma er ho elie es in harnessing the o er of technology ( T) to change society for the etter ilesh has on acclaim for his ro ect ant are.

The platform is designed to help local ( ational isa ility nsurance cheme) ser ice ro iders com ly ith the changes in the regulations hile deli ering uality ser ice for their customers.

The latform on him icrosoft s artner for ocial m act ard earlier this year only one of t o ustralian usinesses to in a ards.

Nilesh encouraged Microsoft to reduce their soft are licensing costs for not for rofit organisations ( s) ho struggle to ma e their dollar stretch.

nitially they did not li e that as lobbying against them after they gave me an a ard ut they listened and agreed to release ten free ce licences for s he told Indian Link hen isiting ydney to listen to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote address at the nno ate conference.

Nilesh has consistently used technology to ro ide solutions to societal issues. is company and the University of Notre Dame ( ) oined forces to launch an initiati e designed to boost digital literacy in the ndigenous community in roome .

Nearly 50 per cent of Indigenous households in remote Australia have no access to the Internet, resulting in increasingly lo digital literacy rates. ommunities there re ort di culty in accessing vital services related to medical needs, finance, housing, mental health and legal matters most of hich can e accessed online.

“Technology should be an enabler; instead, it is currently unintentionally marginalising some eo le in our society said ilesh.

This free initiative is focused on providing a practical understanding of a range of Microsoft business programs and is open to all u lic not ust students. igital literacy layed a ig role in my life so no the difference this ro ect can ma e.

A Year 10 drop out, Nilesh’s IT journey started hen his father got him to train at his friend s sho to learn com uters for a year. e asn t aid ut uic ly got the hang of technology and soon started his o n e site usiness. ilesh ent on to com lete his education in ngland and also or ed there for a it. n 2012, he moved to Perth to pursue Masters in Information Management Systems and stayed ac to start lluminance olutions. y focus for lluminance has al ays een on ho e can create and a ly technological solutions for social im act ilesh mused. et inning the usiness e s ising tar ard for i ersity came as a sur rise. e al ays loo for eo le ho e thin can deli er on their romises and hose alues align ith ours. don t thin of being diverse but rather of being inclusive,” says ilesh ho asserts that his team s di ersity ha ened organically ithout any deli erate intention. esides the a ard inning ant are platform, Illuminance also designed the original Trust anagement ystem hich helps Indigenous people manage royalties for land titles from mining com anies. re iously records ere e t manually and there ere issues of corru tion and go ernance.

“Then the dot-com bubble burst, so I decided to finish school. had a real life conte t no and it all made sense.

He observed that the most disadvantaged in terms of technology as the area as most com anies in erth ere focused on mining or the go ernment sector. oing something meaningful and purposeful drives our organisation said ilesh ho elie es in armic hiloso hy.

“While others have been focusing on the ‘big end of to n e e een usy transforming the not for rofit sector ith tech that ma es a real difference in eo le s li es.

Nilesh believes that IT should be “a cost sa ings centre not a cost centre. etter technology can free NFPs to be more roducti e e cient and deli er im ro ed ser ices to society he adds.

Since its inception in 2015 Illuminance has gro n from a four erson com any to a em loyee or lace that em races di ersity. t em loys staff from nationalities eo le ith disa ilities Indigenous Australians, people of varying ages ( et een and ) and is also gender alanced.

When invited to speak at the Australian Computer Society’s Young ICT conference as a keynote speaker recently, Nilesh asked his audience to or on their eulogy rather than their resume. hen you die eo le ill remem er you for eing a good father mother, husband, friend, community mem er neigh our colleague oss. They on t recall that you ere the of com any or that you o ned a . our resume uilds hen you focus on your eulogy.

“If you are ridgy didge, a good bloke, ustralia is ery elcoming ac no ledged ilesh ho lo es the culture of mateshi and olunteering here. hen mentoring international students and ne migrants in Perth, Nilesh advises them against complaining about not finding a job; instead, he as s hat can they offer this country that has provided them safety, free parks, clean ater health care and so much more.

“You get a lot already just by landing here,” he noted, encouraging all to make olunteering a ay of life instead of a ath ay to a o sage ad ice from someone ho has himself al ed the tal .