Recently, SmartCompany released its list of the 10 most influential people in Australian IT. The annual list judged the people in Australia's tech industry based on their involvement in the industry and their capacity to influence the sector beyond their own companies or organizations.

Here are the 10 most influential IT people, according to SmartCompany.

Matt Barrie, CEO, Freelancer.com

The online outsourcing service Freelancer.com has grown to become a major force in online work under the leadership of Matt Barrie who took over in 2009. The service has paid more than U.S.$100 million to freelancers and facilitated more than 1.15 million jobs.

Senator The Hon. Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

Senator Stephen Conroy has been instrumental in promoting the National Broadband Network and the digital economy. His efforts have been lauded outside the country with an appointment as a founding member of the United Nations' Broadband Commission for Digital Development.

Philip Cronin, Managing Director, Intel Australia and New Zealand

Philip Cronin took over as head of Intel for Australia and New Zealand. He is one of the few country managers to support the NBN proposal. He was elected chair of the board of the Australian Information Industry Association.

Paul Harapin, VP for Business Development and Cloud for Asia Pacific, VMware

Paul Harapin is instrumental in making VMware a driving force in Australia. He helped introduce virtualization technology in Australia which helped companies cut down powers costs and greenhouse emissions.

Michael Harte, Group Executive Enterprise Services, and Chief Information Officer, Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Michael Harte has modernized the Commonwealth Bank's core banking system. He was named the "CIO of the Year" by the AIIA and the ACS.

Bob Hayward, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, CSC Australia and Asia

Bob Hayward has been responsible for bringing two international technology companies to Australia. He sold one of them and ran the analyst firm Gartner for 12 years. He is now the chief technology officer for CSC in Australia.

Mick Liubinskas and Phil Morle, Co-founders, Pollenzier

The two built the company Pollenzier and made the fledgling company into a significant player in the IT field. The firm has funded 25 new companies and raised more than $12 million for innovative ideas.

Alan Noble, Engineering Director, Google Australia and New Zealand

Google is a giant in the tech industry and since joining Alan Noble has used the company's vast resources to improve the teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in Australian schools. Noble currently sits on the boards of four universities and on the national board of the AIIA.

Dr Ian Oppermann, Director, CSIRO ICT Centre

Dr. Ian Opperman took over the directorship of the CSIRO's ICT Centre in December 2010 and since then has made it his mission to link the Australian IT research field with business communities.

Oppermann has chaired the executive committee of the IEEE's International Conference on Ultra Wideband since 2004, and is a member of the board of directors of the Australian eHealth Research Centre and the Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation.

Mike Quigley, Executive Chairman, NBNCo

Mike Quigley is responsible for the organization tasked to build the multi-billion dollar network. NBN Co. is facing numerous challenges in connecting thousands of homes every day to meet its target but should he succeed, Quigley could become a hero.

Read the rest of the list of most influential IT people at SmartCompany,