Morwell-based software company Sage Technology has been awarded the Hall of Fame Award at the Bendigo Bank Gippsland Business Awards.

According to chair of the awards, Graeme Sennett, Sage Technology was selected for demonstrating how a Latrobe Valley business could evolve in a transitioning economy, and reflecting how Gippsland could incubate a business that punched above its weight on the international stage.

Started by Moe South woman Lynda Bertoli and a business partner in 1990 when Lynda was five months pregnant and had an 18-month-old toddler, Sage Technology began as a computer consulting company.

Over the years it grew from a two-woman start-up, to a two-pronged business with infrastructure and software arms, that employed a total of 50 people.

The infrastructure side of the business was sold off when Ms Bertoli and fellow director Peter Kingwill, from Yarragon, decided to focus solely on software development.

The company now employs 20 people and specialises in developing and providing electronic permit to work software systems to major industrial companies across Australia and the Asian Pacific.

Companies of the ilk of Woodside, BAE Systems, Fortescue, Energy Australia, and Rio Tinto.

Sage Technology’s story is an inspiring tale of hard work, passion, and big picture thinking.

“We started Sage when there was an enormous wave of new technology and have surfed that wave ever since,” Ms Bertoli said.

“With a software business you can be based anywhere, and Gippsland is where we want to live. It also helps that a lot of our big clients – the power generators that use electronic permit to work systems – are located here.”

Ms Bertoli said the Hall of Fame Award belonged to the entire Sage Technology team.

“We have some of the world’s best software designers and developers right here in Gippsland and it’s an honour for our work to be recognised locally with this prestigious Gippsland business award,” she said.

“Sage Technology is making workplaces safer whenever companies use our systems. It’s a wonderful feeling to know you are contributing to the safety of thousands of people working in hazardous environments.”

To find out more about Sage Technology, visit www.sagetechnology.com.au.

Sage Technology managing director Lynda Bertoli with directors Peter Kingwill (left) and Steven van der Meiracker (rear).