SYDNEY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) will host its first ever “hackathon” in New South Wales – an event that will be a fast-paced, 48-hour challenge to develop technology solutions to overcome complex operational challenges faced by the state’s government and public safety agencies.
The event will take place in Sydney from 13-15 September and starts with participating agencies and organisations, including government and public safety agencies in New South Wales, describing daily operational challenges they hope to solve with new, data-driven applications.
In response, external application developers and teams from Motorola Solutions will apply the principles of agile software development to develop new technology solutions.
The objective of the event is to develop new technologies that strengthen situational awareness, collaboration, safety and emergency response for Australia’s government and public safety organisations. This includes the development of solutions that harness and share critical information with and between first responders and the community, providing public safety agencies with better access to information, where and when they need it most.
The winning app development team will receive an AUD $25,000 prize.
All solutions developed during the hackathon will remain the intellectual property of app developers, meaning participants will be free to develop their solutions further after the hackathon, with support from Motorola Solutions if they wish.
Motorola Solutions vice president and managing director for Australia and New Zealand, Steve Crutchfield, said hackathons help to generate fresh ideas to overcome complex challenges.
“As a company that develops technologies to serve the emergency services sector, we have long understood how important mission-critical voice communications are to achieving the right outcomes. Now, in this new environment, we also understand that software can help to save a life or a business.
“Hackathons help us to enrich our approach to innovation, enabling us to work with a variety of experts to develop much-needed technology solutions,” Crutchfield said.
Motorola Solutions held a 2016 hackathon in Brisbane, which was won by Perth-based startup Fleetsu. The company’s founder and CEO, Jakub Felinski, said the victory was a “turning point” for his business.
“Since the win our business has grown at a phenomenal rate, almost tripling in size,” Felinski said.
“The hackathon helped us to grow and become more competent and mature as a business, and we have used the victory as a reference point to secure a number of new contracts.
“Since last year’s win, we have narrowed our focus, becoming more niche and pursuing the right business opportunities to enable our long-term growth and success,” Felinski said.
Fleetsu’s winning solution from the 2016 event, a fleet asset management app, helps organisations to optimise and coordinate the use of its vehicles, machinery and other equipment.
Motorola Solutions is actively calling for more software developers to join the event. Interested parties can find more information on the event page or contact Kym Little: [email protected] or +0422 136 008.
About Motorola Solutions
Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI) creates innovative, mission-critical communication solutions and services that help public safety and commercial customers build safer cities and thriving communities. For ongoing news, visit www.motorolasolutions.com/newsroom or subscribe to a news feed.
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