THEY may be running on SIM card internet, but Caboolture-based company Sterling Systems has just managed to sign a lucrative export deal.
Sterling has found a niche for providing island nation companies with loan and savings software.
The 26-year-old company moved half of its operations to Caboolture late last year so husband-and-wife team CEO Graham Hobson and sales director Pauline Hobson didn't have to travel to Brisbane.
When the NBN was announced for Caboolture, they seized the opportunity to work closer to their Bribie Island home.
Although the NBN rollout has been delayed, the Hobsons aren't letting that slow them down, and have just signed a contract with Papua New Guinea giants Nambawan Savings and Loans.
Sterling is already used by PNG's largest savings and loans company and Fiji's largest credit union, but this new deal only solidifies their growth in Caboolture.
Mr Hobson said he never intended the company to take this path, but was glad it did.
"We're not an overnight success. The company started as a software house in 1990 and gradually it's changed," Mr Hobson said.
"They were using full-blown banking systems, which is overkill for them and costs a fortune, so we tailored our product to that market.
"It wasn't a conscious decision (to work with island nations), it was one that we kind of fell into because we realised there was a gap in the market and started targeting them."
But Sterling isn't a faceless corporation - it actually sponsors Oceanic business conferences and plans to start supporting the local community, too.
"It's absolutely important to hire staff locally, and the other thing we want to do is start sponsoring local sporting clubs," Mr Hobson said.
"We will continue to grow the Caboolture office more and more, and as it gets bigger, we can ramp up our support more and more."
