Although Australia has some of the slowest internet speeds in the developed world, it hasn't stopped the country from producing some of the most exciting tech companies around.
The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is home to a good number of tech companies making waves across the world, with the following three in particular catching my eye.
I believe their explosive growth prospects make them great buy and hold investments with the potential to create significant wealth for shareholders over the long-term. Here they are:
Aconex Ltd (ASX: ACX)
Although its shares came under fire earlier this year, this leading online project management software provider appears to have found favour with the market once again after delivering a strong first quarter with even stronger full year guidance. For the full year revenue is expected to grow to between $172 million and $180 million, up approximately 39% to 46% on FY 2017's result. Driving the result is the growing popularity of its construction collaboration platform. It isn't hard to see why some of the biggest names in the construction industry are using it either. Management believes that the platform accelerates the pace of product delivery and could help build five hospitals for the price of four.
iSentia Group Ltd (ASX: ISD)
There had been concerns floating around the market that media monitoring company iSentia was struggling in the Asia market. But the company put that risk to bed earlier this year when a strong performance from its Asia/Rest of the World segment helped drive iSentia's full year net profit after tax 23.6% higher to $24.3 million. Very positively management believes its Asia business is poised for excellent revenue momentum, which should help it deliver on its target of producing strong earnings per share growth through to at least 2020. At under 18x estimated FY 2017 earnings, I think iSentia is great value now.
WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)
It may not come cheap at 59x estimated FY 2017 earnings, but this cloud-based supply chain management software provider could be a fantastic buy and hold investment in my opinion. At present WiseTech Global has approximately 6,000 customers on its books, with some of the world's largest logistics companies such as DHL amongst them. The strong demand for its software led the company to upgrade its full year guidance in August. For FY 2017 management expects EBITDA in the region of $50 million to $53 million. This will be approximately 59% to 68% higher than in FY 2016.
