Dominic Saunders works out of a small office in his home town Ballarat, delivering innovative pathology services to medical practices and hospitals worldwide.
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Global company Cirdan designs, manufactures, and supplies software to enhance and speed up the diagnostic process for medical professionals in five different continents, with offices also based in Canada and Northern Ireland.
But it all started in Ballarat.
Proud Ballarat resident Mr Saunders has been working with the product for 22 years. He is currently the head of global support.
“Twenty two years is a really long time in the one place in information technology. But most of the people that I work with are the same. We have dedicated our working careers to the industry,” he said.
“It is an extremely technical role. I think pathology is one of the most complex healthcare divisions.
“If you go to the doctor for a blood test, the tests get loaded into our system, the blood is automatically tested on the analysers, the results are reviewed in the laboratory and then sent back to the doctor.”
Mr Saunders grew up and studied at university in Ballarat, before moving to Western Australia for a year to take up an IT job with an engineering company. It was the offer to work with pathology technology that brought him back home.
Two decades working in pathology software has been a continual learning journey, to develop knowledge in the complex technical field and keep up with changes over time.
The company is changing all the time.
- Dominic Saunders
“Over the past five years we have been revamping the entire product from front to back. Initially it was developed to run on a terminal. Now we are developing a web browser version with brand new technology to make it more flexible,” Mr Saunders said.
For Mr Saunders, having Cidran’s head office based in Ballarat has meant he could maintain a strong connection with his extended family and bring up his two children in his home town. When he’s not with his family, it’s likely you’ll find him on a golf course.
“The family grew up here. It is a great place to live,” he said.
“And the technology we have with the university and the tech park is fantastic and there are heaps of facilities and IT companies in Ballarat. IT is a huge industry for Ballarat.”
Cirdan is set to expand, with a vision to hire graduates and undergraduates, and run a teaching program for students.
“We are really keen to get some younger IT people to come who want to stay and work in Ballarat in the industry.”
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