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Powering Ahead, With a Healthy Outlook on Life

16 February 2016

Feature in The Advertiser Business Journal, as part of the JOBS SA 2016 series.

The Advertiser Business Journal 16/2/2016 - Powering Ahead, With a Healthy Outlook on LifeThe Advertiser Business Journal 16/2/2016 - Powering Ahead, With a Healthy Outlook on Life

 

Article text

PATRICK Power plans to double his local workforce of 70 at PowerHealth Solutions in the next two years and sees Adelaide as the ideal base for his fast-growing international network.

“Adelaide’s weaknesses are also its strengths,” he said. “We are expanding in Ireland, in Dubai, are doing a lot of work in Saudi Arabia, are partnering with huge multinationals like Oracle – we are very positive
about the future.”

PowerHealth Solutions writes software for hospitals covering areas such as patient billing and safety, and now has some 1000 hospitals around the world as clients.

“We are successful because we take on things none of the larger multinationals want to pick up on,” company managing director Mr Power said.

“We are a niche organisation that takes on back office functionality to improve efficiency. “I’m a firm believer you get good at things by doing them over and over again, and we have become very, very good
at this work.”

PowerHealth Solutions also partners with larger firms, providing niche expertise while the larger firms cover the big picture aspects. This is likely to be the case with the new Royal Adelaide Hospital where Mr Power expects to partner with larger firms to cover billing software in areas such as radiology.

As well as working in partnerships and dealing directly with individual hospitals, the company works with whole-of-government projects such as one rolling out in Ireland at the moment. The company opened its Ireland office in 2012 and is now expanding it, and has partnership presences in Canada, New Zealand, the UK, the US and eight nations in the Middle East.

Mr Power – who studied at Harvard Business School thanks to a grant from SA’s Industry Leaders Fund – said a weakness in South Australia is trying to build a business that only sells products here. “It can
be tough, but the things that make it tough can be a huge strength for businesses like ours,” he said.

“SA has a low cost base, salaries and cost of living are lower than places like Sydney, rents are lower, there is an educated, stable workforce who want to stay here.

“It is similar to what is happening in another city once heavily reliant on the auto industry, Detroit. They are trying to become another Silicon Valley – in Detroit the rents and salaries are cheaper.

“Like SA, they are turning perceived weaknesses into strengths – SA has everything you need to grow a good business and make money in the process.”


The Advertiser SA Business 16 Feb 2016: PowerHealth to double workforce by 2018

 

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