Well-Known Software Trademarks from Australia and New Zealand

It would come as no big surprise that the global software industry is huge. In 2020 Grandiview research calculated that the business software and services market was valued at almost $390 billion dollars and will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 11.3% from 2021 to 2028. This total market is roughly divided into equal parts finance, sales and marketing, human resources, supply chain and others.

For better or worse, computers have become inextricably linked with our technocratic civilization. Software rules, controlling functions as diverse as banking, transportation schedules, people management, publishing, design and of course, entertainment. In fact it’s almost impossible to think of an industry or business in the developed world that hasn’t been affected, often profoundly affected by computers and the software that runs them.

Although the global software market is dominated by players from the United States, Europe and Asia, both Australian and New Zealand companies have made a disproportionately large contribution to the industry. Software is one of those industries where the Davids of the world can compete with the Goliaths because software is primarily about intelligence and human ingenuity and there’s nothing intrinsically American, European or Asian about that. Of course it helps if all that programming genius has access to markets and capital, but it also helps if the software that programmers develop confers a definite benefit, true value for the businesses and consumers that will use it.

Software takes time to write, test and develop and, as software becomes increasingly sophisticated the investment becomes ever greater. Obviously, all that investment, all that intellectual capital, has to be protected with copyright and the reputation of software companies is key. The short-hand way of communicating that “this is a brand whose performance you can trust” remains the trademark, created in partnership with an appropriately qualified and experienced intellectual property lawyer.
Here are some Australian and New Zealand software companies who have made a significant impact in the global market.

Afterpay

Afterpay’s principle innovation is that it gives you short-term, interest-free credit to buy an item. It allows you to purchase then pay back in four equal instalments. The catch? If you don’t make your payments on time, fees accrue. The formula works because services like Afterpay are now making significant inroads in what was once the exclusive territory of credit cards.

AskNicely

Founded in New Zealand in 2014, AskNicely makes customer feedback simple, allowing marketers to easily gauge customer user experiences so that companies can improve their products and services and actually give their customers something that they want.

Atlassian

“Atlassian is a provider of collaboration, development, and issue tracking software for teams.” Collaboration software has become big business, especially in the post-Covid world where more than ever people are not physically connected in a traditional office environment. Atlassian now has over 50,000 global customers, including 85 of the Fortune 100.

Canva

“Canva empowers users to create social media graphics, presentations, posters and other visual content.” While Canva might not be as powerful as some other programs, users cite that it’s very easy to use and gives excellent results fast. Perfect for designers who aren’t, and who don’t aspire to be pros, but who still want to get things done.

Cascade Strategy

They describe themselves as “the world’s #1 strategy execution platform”. Basically, they provide a structure upon which an enterprise can create and execute an operation – turning a vision into a practical series of steps and monitoring those steps to achieve a goal.

MYOB

While no longer the market dominator they once were MYOB continues to be a popular accounting software for small business, and, you have to admit, “Mind Your Own Business” is a clever, catchy and memorable name.

PushPay

Anyone with a smartphone can use pushpay to simplify payments for products or services or to make donations.

Qwilr

Software specifically designed for creating presentations like sales pitches and proposals that not only makes you look slick and professional, but that also incorporates tracking and analytics and makes creating supporting documentation easy.

SafetyCulture / iAuditor

Quality control and work safety software used to conduct over 2 million inspections and 600 million safety checks per year.

Sublime Text

A text editor that not only handles prose, but also markup and code. Yes, there are alternatives to Word and Adobe.

Xero

The accounting software of choice for many small to medium enterprises.