Australian tech group use global award to fight for bigger social change

An Australian tech company has won a global Microsoft award for social impact, and says it will use its platform to champion social change in the industry.

Perth-based Illuminance Solutions picked up the Microsoft Partner for Social Impact award in the US on Friday ahead of nearly 3,000 other nominees for its platform AvantCare.

The platform was developed specifically for National Disability Insurance Scheme providers, and manages client and services information to help providers comply with changing NDIS regulations, while still keeping clients at the centre of service delivery.

The award aims to recognise excellence by organisations using Microsoft technology for customer-based solutions.

It is the first year the awards have run a Partner for Social Impact category, following Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s vision to drive social impact initiatives as part of the organisation’s Technology for Social Impact division, launched in 2017.

Illuminance Solutions CEO Nilesh Makwana told Pro Bono News having an award like this demonstrated a change in the priorities of business.

“It’s not all about keeping shareholders happy or being the best and biggest in terms of revenue,” Makwana said.

“Leaders like Nadella are starting to realise a business can have social impact embedded into everything they do… and how technology can play a role in helping all sorts of different communities.”

He said that Illuminance would now use its position as the inaugural winner to further its impact, particularly for smaller organisations who couldn’t always afford the AvantCare licensing fee.  

“It’s great to receive recognition… but the licensing cost associated with our platform is quite high, and smaller organisations cannot afford it, even with the not-for-profit pricing that we offer,” he said.  

“It’s the smaller providers who are struggling the most, and also the regional service providers which… have different challenges operating out of remote locations.”

He said he hoped Microsoft would continue to work with them to help produce an affordable licensing model that smaller organisations could also access.

“One award is not enough to drive the social impact we need to move forward, more needs to be done, but it is a start,” he said.

All winners will be formally recognised at the annual Microsoft Inspire conference in July.