Testimonials
“I became acquainted with Shara through her work in the Advanced Networking Forum of Australia and the ATM Interest Group in the 1990s and kept in touch with her at a professional level after that organisation closed. Her knowledge and skills were such that in 2002 I invited her to join the Steering Committee of the newly established Centre for Networking Technologies for the Information Economy (CeNTIE) of which I was the founding Director. CeNTIE was a $44M initiative established by CSIRO, industry, government and the research community to create new applications and networking technologies for a broadband enabled economy.
Shara’s vast network of industry and enterprise contacts, coupled with her technical knowledge, was incredibly useful throughout the CeNTIE project – which introduced very high speed fibre-based broadband to Australia, connecting some 35 sites across the continent with 1 Gbps or higher fibre to the premises. Shara was also instrumental in publicising CeNTIE’s work through her speaking engagements, publications and client assignments.”
— Dr Terence Percival, Director Broadband and the Digital Economy Business team at NICTA, former Chief Research Scientist (Telecommunications) at the CSIRO, and co-inventor of Wi-Fi (for which Dr Percival received the European 2012 Inventors awards in recognition of this work)
“As Founder and Managing Director of Internode, I worked with Shara and the Market Clarity team on wide range of projects over the course of many years. One of the stand-out aspects of Market Clarity’s research is their geospatial tracking of telecom infrastructure. They are the only independent source of Australian infrastructure information, and having a trusted partner who is able to look at matters such as fibre connectivity options has been immensely helpful in Internode’s infrastructure planning.
Market Clarity’s research on the NBN, and specifically their NBN Bandwidth and Price Scenario Model, was particularly important to Internode. Using Market Clarity’s forecast model, Internode was able to clearly see the impact of having 121 Points of Interconnect, coupled with NBN Co’s CVC charges. Other research done for us by Market Clarity on the costs and availability of high capacity backhaul services in various Australian locations provided us with great value in the formulation of our ongoing ADSL2+ DSLAM rollout strategy and on allocating our investments in telco infrastructure in general in a far more efficient and effective manner.
Shara is always a pleasure to work with, and has a long-standing track record of bringing innovative new research to the Australian telecoms community.”
— Simon Hackett, Founder of Internode, Non-Executive Board Member at NBN Co Limited
“I have worked with Shara for many years on our annual industry events where she has participated as a expert speaker and chair. I have always found Shara to be most professionally competent and personally charming, as well as liked and appreciated by our hundreds of client delegates. She has been a key driver of the success of our events.”
— Grahame Lynch, Founder and Managing Director, CommsDay
“We required data on the Tier 3 telecommunications sector and no other research house could help us, except Market Clarity. Shara was quick to jump to the task and turned around data in a matter of days. Shara is professional, reliable and clearly an expert in the telecommunications market. We will definitely be working further with Shara to stay abreast of the reseller market as it grows.”
— Damian Kay, CEO and Managing Director, Inabox Group and Telcoinabox
“Market Clarity was an ACCAN 2012 Research Grant recipient, standing out in a field of over 75 applications that reflected a diverse range of current consumer issues in the communications field. The Small Business Telecommunications Service Use and Experience study provided a vigorous baseline study of the experiences and perceptions of small businesses regarding telecommunications services. It is a significant contribution to the body of evidence of consumer experience that ACCAN can draw upon in our work in consumer education, especially with our recent creation of a Small Business Project Officer position. The research has been well received by the telecommunications industry and consumer groups, and it was a pleasure to work with Shara and her team during the project.”
— Narelle Clark, Deputy CEO, Australian Consumer Communications Action Network (ACCAN)
“Whilst attending an investment briefing with both investment bankers and VC members, there was a need for strong and insightful telecommunications industry information that provided solid facts on the competitive arena and where the technology trend is moving to. From fourteen people in the room, four mentioned Shara Evans and was additionally supported by five others. I was intrigued to find Shara’s work and meet her.
In researching her work with a view to understand the quality of delivery first, I was impressed with the great work that Shara and her company – Market Clarity – provide. They have a substantial edge on anything else available that I have come across both here and many years abroad. I met Shara and what a great, knowledgeable, insightful and caring person.
With my belief that great organisations can only come from great people, Shara has it to perfection and highly recommend her and Market Clarity for your industry research, insight and analytical needs.”
— Chris Lira, Finance & Business Professional
“The Register asked Market Clarity to participate in an innovative and risky crowdfunding project that aimed to influence political debate.
Market Clarity quickly understood the nature of the project, made suggestions that refined and improved the concept and then swiftly delivered professional and comprehensive documentation that enhanced its credibility.
Important influencers stated that Market Clarity’s participation in the project elevated it to a point at which the goal of influencing debate was eminently possible.
The Register would work with Market Clarity again in a heartbeat. Shara and her team were able to take and advance a brief, responded in a timely and professional fashion and left us wanting more.”
— Simon Sharwood, APAC Editor, The Register
“Shara’s warm personality and engaging speaking style is an asset to any event and FirstPath would gladly recommend her to host or MC. Her deep understanding of the evolving Telco marketplace and strategy is equally impressive and adds to the occasion.”
— Stephen Carter, Director, FirstPath
“I’ve known Shara for many, many years. I’ve seen her present at numerous conferences. I’ve seen her emcee and run various conferences, and in my mind there is no one better that could run a conference and help keep it running smoothly, talk knowledgeably with all of the presenters, and always ask intelligent questions when the audience can’t seem to think of one.”
— Paul Brooks, Head of Network Architecture and Technology, Trident Subsea Cables
“I engaged Shara to speak at the ACMA’s Mobile Network Performance Forum at Melbourne’s Federation Square in November 2013. Shara is an engaging speaker and her presentation truly informed the discussion on the day.”
— Darren McClelland, Project Manager, Australian Communications and Media Authority
“Shara, thanks a lot for today. It was a great session and I’ll share some of your insights and thought-starters with the marketing team here at amaysim. I’ll definitely be showing people the Netflix video!”
— Ged Mansour, Head of PR & Social Media, amaysim Australia
“A well presented and in-depth explanation of conducted research into future technologies.”
— Ray Larkin, General Manager – Telecommunications, BSA
“Shara has showcased the future in an interesting and concise seminar that has opened my eyes to a world of opportunity.”
— Tony Paul, Principal, PicoNet Consulting
“Great! All should come and listen.”
— Mike Elliott, Account Director, STEP Electronics -Communications & Mobility Group. Hills Holdings
“A realistic ‘here and now’ presentation for business and the end-user. Shara is an excellent presenter, clear, precise and engaging. The presentation had excellent content.”
— Beth Mackenzie, Business Development Manager, National Infrastructure Services
“Shara left me feeling inspired and thinking the future is bright.”
— Kasia Gospos, Senior Commercial Analyst, Vocus + CEO, Leaders in Heels
“Excellent and worth attending with many interesting insights.”
— Martyn Taylor, Partner / Head of Telecoms Group (Asia-Pacific), Norton Rose Fulbright
“Very well researched and well presented session. Shara hit all the key future opportunities for IOT and definitely got the room thinking.”
— Anthony Stewart, Practice Manager M2M, Optus
“Shara draws on extensive research to present an interesting overview of the latest technology innovations. She draws together the threads of different technology streams to provide valuable insight into the future impact of technology on various industries. Informative and entertaining.”
— Robyn Elliott, Former CIO, Foxtel + Non-Executive Company Director
“We asked Shara to present to our quarterly Creator Tech Industry Dinner, on a subject of her choosing. Her talk was which was entitled “Flying Robots – Friend or Foe” was thoroughly engaging, well researched and perfectly targeted, to our select group.”
— Frank Zeichner, Director, Creator Tech
“Thank you for your talk at the ICT Trends 2014 – Celebrating the Technology of Tomorrow event. Your presentation was absolutely brilliant, interesting and engaging. I actually heard gasps in the audience they were so engaged:) Lots of verbal feedback around the preso as well, and as you probably saw our Twitter feed went wild today — although I think during your presentation people were trying to keep up/peel their jaws off the table let alone look at their phones:) Thanks again and I really look forward to the next one!”
— Valeria Ignatieva, Events Lead at Females in IT & Telecommunications (FITT)
“Your presentation at the ICT Trends 2014 – Celebrating the Technology of Tomorrow event was fantastic (very thought provoking and engaging). The guests I brought along today loved it.”
— Sasha Jensen, State Manager – NSW, Launch Recruitment
“Shara Evans is the modern day Melisandre, high priestess of tech. Fantastic presso! Feeling frightened but excited about future!”
— Leigh Angus, Director, Industry and Investment at NICTA and Co-founder at www.jnrengineers.com
“The speaker series provided in Australia by The Data Warehouse Institute offers our members a range of topics to cater to their diverse interests and specialisations. In light of growing interest and demand for insights into data privacy and emerging technologies we approached Shara about a speaking engagement to cover the topic from an Australian and international perspective. Shara’s session was a resounding success. She is one of the best presenters we have ever had, drawing on real experience and examples with high quality presentation materials and a fantastic speaking style. Shara’s deep knowledge of a broad range of topics was very impressive and she really engaged our members in an interesting and challenging session. I would very highly recommend Shara as a keynote speaker for similar events.”
— Jo Gurry, President, The Data Warehouse Institute (Australian Chapter)
“Shara tailored her content/expertise to our audience and it was a perfect fit! She put so much effort into her presentation and it truly showed off.”
— Dr Catherine Rymsha, Program Manager, PCI Security Standards Council Asia-Pacific Community Meeting
“ACCAN invited Shara Evans to facilitate a session at our last Annual Conference in September 2015. The aim of the session was to update the audience of consumer representatives, telecommunications industry delegates, bureaucrats, academics, media and others about the progress of major infrastructure projects such as the NBN and the Federal Government’s Mobile Black Spots Programme. The session consisted of two presentations, followed by a facilitated discussion including questions from the floor. There was some sensitivity amongst some of the speakers at potential hostility from the audience.
Shara navigated the potential difficulties with great competence and skill. She kept the flow of the session at a lively pace, added relevant questions as appropriate, put the panellists at ease, while allowing for plenty of audience participation. Feedback from panellists and the audience was very positive — in fact in a post-conference delegate survey this session scored amongst the highest in terms of it being the most interesting and enjoyable.
Shara has a strong understanding of the telecommunications sector so had a sound grasp of the context. She has a polite and courteous manner but is prepared to tackle more difficult issues. She was easy and professional to deal with leading up to the event, and we were very pleased with the way the session turned out. I have no hesitation in recommending Shara for future roles of this nature.”
— Una Lawrence, ACCAN, Director of Policy
“Shara provided a thought provoking and challenging presentation. She is a skilled presenter and clearly an expert in her chosen field.”
— Michael Krasny, Exec Manager Strategic Projects at Commonwealth Bank Group
“Fantastic presentation. It is always so refreshing to listen to a speaker who is really informative and entertaining.”
— Alison Macfie, Marketing Manager, BusinessMinds Australia
“Shara obviously knows her space extremely well, and is a world authority on this changing landscape.”
— Julian Day, CEO, Consensus
“I found it to be a very thought provoking and interesting presentation that makes you think about our daily lives, but also the career and business opportunities of the future.”
— Kylie Bullock, Senior Manager, Customer Performance Research & Insights, IAG
“Shara gave a great talk that was interesting, entertaining and eye opening. You should go and hear her talk about the future.”
— Chris, Attorney-General’s Department
“A fascinating look into the potential future technology and privacy landscape.”
— Rowan Dunch, ANZ Wealth, Solution Architect
“I suggest privacy being put on the agenda of every CIO/CTO of every company out there.”
— Emily Gao, Data Architect, Commonwealth Bank Group
“I had the pleasure of working with Shara at the Australia Finance Conference, an annual student run conference for students from universities all over Sydney. Shara was very gracious to volunteer her time to be the opening keynote speaker and educate students about emerging technology and its impact on the financial industry. She was eager to share her expert insights in the technology industry, and spoke passionately at the conference.
Her preparation and attention to detail was impeccable. Shara understood the student body and engaged them through her keynote. We received a great deal of verbal feedback praising Shara and her keynote speech. Many students were eager to speak to Shara after the conference, and she kindly returned for our networking evening to answer their queries.
Shara has been an honour and joy to work with. She has played a key role to the success of this year’s conference and we would love to work with her again in the future.”
— Vivien Chau, Co-President, Australia Finance Conference (AUSFIC) 2015
“I have hosted a number of events where Shara has presented and she has always delivered an engaging and thought provoking talk. Her talk at the Australian Computer Society on the current and future impact of drone technology on our society was extremely well received.
Shara is an expert both in her field and as a speaker. I know I can rely on her for advice and, when organising an event, a professional who is reliable and will deliver.”
— Tristan Gutsche, Project Solution Architect at Stockland and Special Interest Group Convener, Australian Computer Society (ACS)
“The Fraud and Cyber Crime Group, State Crime Command were very privileged to have futurist Shara Evans as a keynote speaker at our Fraud, Cyber and Identity Crime symposium “Triumph Through a Changing World” at the Intercontinental Hotel, Sanctuary Cove, Australia. Shara has a deep understanding of the global landscape and an intuitive ability to identify where technology will lead us in the future. Her thought provoking presentation gave organisations a valuable insight of the future benefits, risks and threats they face as the impact filters through all levels of society. Shara’s captivating presentation was an event highlight and the impetus for discovery, learning and adapting by the delegates as they participated through the symposium.”
— Kylie Rigg, Senior Sergeant and Senior Operational Support Officer, Queensland Police, State Crime Command Fraud and Cyber Crime Group
“Shara’s opening keynote was a fantastic kick-off for our Fraud Focus Group Forum. Her insights into emerging technology trends and future cybercrime threat vectors set the scene for a great event. We received excellent feedback from our clients, who found Shara’s presentation extremely thought provoking.”
— Chris Timmer-Arends, Product Manager – Fraud, Veda
“My first encounter with Shara was in the mid-1990s, through my consulting with CSIRO. By 1999 she and I, together with Dennis Cooper, constituted the Steering Committee for CSIRO’s Center for Networking Technologies for the Information Economy (CeNTIE). When Dennis took over running the project in 2003, Shara and I made up the Steering Committee ourselves. I sure enjoyed that. I had long looked to Shara for keen insight as an industry analyst in networking and telecoms. When we got to work closely together steering this program her expansive knowledge provided valuable context to guide the program to maximum relevance. She helped the projects avoid dead ends by pointing out where others had gone before, either successfully or unsuccessfully, and identified gaps where the projects could make a difference. Her feedback was methodical and well documented, and she delivered it in a constructive and inspirational manner. She was always open to my ideas and often asked for my opinions and the Silicon Valley slant. I was sad when the program came to its conclusion in 2006 but I have kept in touch with Shara ever since. I read her newsletters and learn from them things I did not even know I was ignorant about.
Now, as a futurist, Shara demonstrates an uncanny grasp of a broad range of technology (her technical background proving to be an essential asset) along with an understanding of society and its capabilities to absorb new technologies. In 2015 some colleagues at CSIRO/NICTA/Data61 and UNSW and I organized a symposium on Software-Defined Networking (SDN) in Sydney, called SDN Down Under, and Shara was one of the first speakers we recruited. Her talk centered on smart cities, which are widely enabled by SDN, but her focus was on how we as urban residents will experience and benefit (or otherwise) from what smart cities can bring us. Some of the ideas were shockingly novel, but not far-fetched. That evening, at the symposium dinner, Shara’s presentation dominated the conversation. Shara does her homework, is meticulously prepared, and speaks with conviction and credibility. I felt privileged that she agreed to speak at the symposium, and she raised its take-home value for attendees. Absolutely first-rate.”
— Dr Dan Pitt, Executive Director, Open Networking Foundation, Palo Alto
“Fabulous presentation! I’m now completely terrified of someone stealing my identity! You had a great message, to always consider the security of new technologies and we loved all the examples and case studies that you used.”
— Laura Valentine, Account Manager, Zadro (Official PR Partner for CeBIT 2016)
“I absolutely love that Shara Evans discusses security and emerging technology using the DC Comics TV shows as examples! She truly speaks my language! More speakers should take her example on this. There’ll be a few more references in my own talks now!”
— Patrick Catanzariti, Founder, Dev Diner
“Shara Evans provided an extremely insightful keynote presentation at the official launch of Queensland Privacy Awareness Week 2016. Shara captured the audience’s attention and held it the entire time by using real world examples with a taste of what the future holds of the challenges and risks facing governments and citizens. Shara’s presentation style is engaging and very easy to listen to. The Office of the Information Commissioner received feedback from attendees, indicating the event was highly effective. One attendee emailed, ‘My colleague and I attended the Privacy Week Launch this morning it was both startling and informative, the keynote speaker was absolutely fantastic’.”
— Rachael Rangihaeata, Information Commissioner and Phil Green, Privacy Commissioner – Office of the Information Commissioner, Queensland
“Thank you for your presentation at the recent Avaya event in Melbourne. I enjoyed your view out to 2050.”
— Wayne Shaw, Owner, Comlinx
“I was completely inspired and energised by Shara Evans at the InfoComm International Women of InfoComm Network Group. Shara shared her story and engaged a room full of both men and women, discussing the role mentors play in fast-tracking your career. Shara was both engaging and inspirational.”
— Yasmin Grigaliunas, AV Technology (avt)
“Shara was a guest panelist at a recent event I co-organised to celebrate the launch of a new book on Robots and Art. This public discussion on the theme of robotics was aimed at bringing in to attention the latest trends, implications and directions of robotics by a number of experts. I was impressed by Shara’s broad understanding of the field and the topic, and was very appreciative of the consumer focused, futuristic perspective she brought to the discussion. Her contributions to the discussion certainly helped keep the conversation lively and enjoyable to a well attended crowd.”
— Damith Herath, Roboticist, University of Canberra and Robological
“I had the pleasure of meeting Shara at one of her keynote speeches. From the first moment I was captivated by her metal preparation and attention to detail before she was about to approach the stage. Once onstage she was full of energy and vibrant, talking about an amazing set of new opportunities that are a reality now, and could be gold mines for leaders / visionaries if actions are taken. I was so impressed that I invited her to a one-on-one meeting. Once again I was fascinated by her business insight and magnetic personality. In a few minutes she gave me valuable personal and business advice that I am now pursuing. I would recommend and work with Shara in the blink of an eye, any minute. She is a lovely lady, full of beauty and passion for a better future world.”
— Rafael Montano, Senior PM, Westpac Group
“I attended the annual CGU Benchmark Awards on Thursday 1 Sep 16 in Sydney (Cleanaway was a proud winner!), and the keynote speaker was Technology Futurist, Shara Evans. Shara introduced herself to our little group before the event and within few minutes, we were all looking forward to hearing her speak; Shara is engaging and knowledgeable, and the remarkable technological insights she provided were captivating. I’m quite sure that most, if not all, people present left the awards ceremony with minds blown! Shara has been ahead of the curve her entire working life, and in the sci-fi movie field of technology, that is something in itself. We were all speaking to everyone we came across for the next 2 days about her keynote address. Commendable.”
— Jason Swemmer, Head of Audit & Risk at Cleanaway Waste Management Limited
“Just wanted to extend my thanks to you for attending and speaking at the Benchmark Awards last Thursday. You were so easy to work with in the lead up to the event and took the time to tailor your content to our audience. I have had many glowing reports on how you were the best speaker that we have ever had and even had one request from a broker for your details to be sent through. Thanks for everything and I look forward to working with you soon.”
— Samantha Seeto, Marketing Specialist – Event Solutions, CGU
“I heard Shara’s excellent and very insightful presentation at the Queensland Police Fraud and Cyber Crime Symposium 2016 held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Shara demonstrated a clear grasp of the global technology landscape, with penetrating insights into the major emerging technology trends. Her pattern of thoughts provided the audience with insights on how to leverage these emerging trends to their advantage, along with the risks and rewards that come with them. Shara’s presentation anchored a solid foundation stimulus and served as a compass for participants to navigate their learning and discovery journey throughout the Symposium.”
— Andrew Koh, Deputy Chief Manager, Risk Management, China Construction Bank
“Shara Evans has now delivered two keynote plenary presentations at CeBIT in 2015 & 2016. Shara’s 2016 session on “CyberCrime: From SciFi to boardroom threat – Where the challenges lie in the digital future” was fantastic. We had excellent feedback from our delegates and media representatives. Shara is a valued participant in CeBIT proceedings having also delivered a superb keynote in 2015 on the implications of drone technology “Flying Robots: Friends or Foe” which received wide coverage by mainstream media. Shara is easy to work with, and is happy to tailor her presentations to our exact requirements. I’d highly recommend Shara as a keynote speaker for any technology themed event.”
— Bruce Ewan, Project Director – CeBIT, Hannover Fairs Australia