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Change is sweeping Australia's IT services sector.

Stephen Cowell, CEO of Etura, believes his company is uniquely placed to take advantage of this shifting technology landscape. Speaking in a recent interview, Cowell outlined both the capabilities of Etura and its strategic ambitions, presenting a vision in which strong, independent Australian IT firms play a vital role in national infrastructure and security.

"We're an advisory and IT services business," Cowell explained. Etura's offerings are broad, encompassing advisory work for government across all levels - local, state, and federal - with particular strengths in defence, national security, and strategic planning. "A lot of advice around defence, national security, a very strong area of kind of strategy planning, business benefits realisation," he said.

It is not just advisory services that are driving Etura's growth. On the IT front, Cowell described the company as a leader in systems integration with "the largest specialised data and integration team in Australia." He explained, "We pretty much connect any system to any other system and really help companies make sense of their information and manage their information, which I'm sure you know is a number one challenge out there right now."

With over a thousand projects completed across various industries, Etura has built a reputation for bridging even the most challenging technical divides. The company also specialises in decision support systems, powered by in-house data scientists, and boasts a robust Microsoft Dynamics practice. This includes, notably, a focus on environments that require security clearances, such as government, defence, utilities, and manufacturing.

Industry expertise is another pillar of Etura's approach. Cowell highlighted, "We've got over 100 local government clients, really focused on business systems and business processes," adding that the company is the largest independent consulting organisation for certain key local government technologies. In manufacturing, Etura serves more than 70 businesses, supporting their shift to sovereign manufacturing and encouraging the onshoring of production. The education sector, too, is a specialisation - with services focused on vocational and university-level institutions, particularly in critical operational areas like student management and timetabling.

The backdrop to all these activities is an Australian IT services sector undergoing rapid transformation, marked by waves of foreign acquisitions and changes in the structure of the local market. "It's been unbelievable, the change in the environment," Cowell said, noting how several domestic IT providers have been snapped up by multinationals. He warned, "I think that's bad for Australia…there's almost no other IT services organisations left" operating independently at scale.

Against this landscape, Cowell offered a clear answer to where he sees Etura: "We're very, very united internally that there's a gap for a strong Australian advisory and IT services company." The CEO drew comparisons with other countries, noting, "If you're in New Zealand, you've got Datacom; in France, you've got Capgemini; in the USA, you've got IBM and Accenture. In Australia, we don't have anyone who kind of sits in that position." 

He believes Etura is poised to fill that gap: "We really believe that Etura is the right organisation to become Australia's leading IT services organisation, and that's really boosted as well by our advisory capabilities."

Sovereign procurement - the drive to build and retain local expertise and capacity - is a major theme. "We're really passionate about servicing those industries," Cowell said, stressing the company's focus on citizen-centric sectors like defence, government, manufacturing, utilities, education, and financial services. "With all the multinationals acquiring companies, there's this huge shift now…to do more sovereign procurement and build local capability, and that's kind of where we see ourselves," he added.

Recent months have seen a string of new partnerships for Etura. Cowell outlined the rationale: "We have a real clear focus around our industries and technology specialisation, so we're always on the lookout for technologies that service those industries we focus [on]." The company targets high-growth or niche technology providers that can offer Etura's clients a distinct competitive edge.

Cowell pointed to the importance of aligning any partnership with client needs, stating, "We only do that if it aligns with what our clients need and things that give them a competitive advantage. That industry focus means we can speak their language and help them drive their business."

He emphasised a preference for supporting home-grown innovation, saying, "We do have a bias to Australian technology companies as well, so we're always on the lookout for those kind of post-revenue, small, innovative Australian companies to help them grow and help them bring their technologies into our client base as well."

Etura's financial trajectory has matched its strategic ambitions, with half-year results showing continuing growth in revenue and earnings since 2019. Cowell said, "A lot of growth has come through that industry and technology focus," noting that a desire to "do more locally and more onshore" is buoying both government and commercial demand. 

Quality of delivery is another driving factor. "We're not necessarily the cheapest in the market, but we're definitely the best value in the market in terms of for what clients engage us to do," he said. "We do it when we say we're going to do it, and we do it how we're going to do it."

Navigating a talent shortage, Cowell cited internal culture as key: "It's definitely probably the tightest labour market I've ever seen," he acknowledged. The company conducts monthly staff surveys with high response rates and uses an Australian firm called Teamgage to maintain engagement. More important still, Cowell believes, is a shared sense of purpose. "A lot of people are really united behind our vision about being that leading Australian sovereign organisation. People want that for the country and themselves, and I think that's helped us attract talent and have lower turnover than a lot of other organisations in our sector."

Asked the best way to engage with Etura, Cowell was characteristically open. "Just reach out to myself on LinkedIn, reach out to any of our management team or actually any employee on LinkedIn and they'll get back to you and connect you in," he said. "I'm pretty confident you can reach out to anyone in the organisation and they'll solve the problem for you, or just link in with me on LinkedIn and I'll follow up straight away as well."