Speaking at the unveiling of Parramatta’s Launch Pad of innovative ideas, Mr Pring said the initiative would be the catalyst for Parramatta Council’s Smart City strategy, being launched on the same morning.
Mr Pring said KPMG was moving away from being “a safe pair of hands” to creating a “safe to fail” environment for start-ups and innovation companies.
KPMG is providing interim space for Launch Pad participants - individuals and companies that want to advance their ideas with support from other experts.
Mr Pring said innovation was at the heart of KPMG, forming alliances with innovative companies was critical for the growth of western Sydney.
“Sure we compete with other companies but collaboration is the way to move forward,” he said.
“We look forward to Launch Pad bringing up new ideas and it is exciting that we don’t know what they could be. It will be a wild ride but that is half the fun.”
Mr Pring said companies were dealing with “the biggest disruption (in terms of technology) since the Industrial Revolution”, with mobile, virtual reality, artificial intelligence and the cloud reshaping how they work.
And that “wild ride” is only going to get wilder, which is why innovations such as Launch Pad and the council’s smart city strategy are so vital in guiding technological advancement.
