| January 29, 2010
Preparing for the ICT revolution
By Anthony Wong*
WITH THE IMPACTS of the global downturn now receding, there is an opportunity for Australia's ICT sector to establish itself as a leading player in key areas like the financial services market and the digital economy.
Having survived the recession relatively intact, our financial services sector is well positioned to market its services throughout the Asia/Pacific Region and even globally.
A report released late last year by the Australian Financial Centre Forum noted the Australian financial services sector's recent strong performance and highlighted that, despite its solid domestic base and the enormous opportunities in the offshore market, there was very little cross-border activity.
The report identified key areas of policy which, if amended, could lead to a "more competitive, efficient and internationally engaged financial sector, a sector where offshore participants want and need to do business".
With the Asia/Pacific still the fastest-growing region in the world, a more internationally engaged financial services sector would deliver a range of benefits for Australia.
Since financial services rely heavily on new developments in technology to enable them to manage the flow of information, conduct transactions, and maintain the privacy and security of stakeholders and clients, any expansion of this sector would have enormous flow-on benefits for the ICT industry.
Australia needs a policy framework that encourages greater exports of financial services and expertise while the demand for these services remains strong.
Another key area of focus must be the digital economy, which will be a key driver of economic prosperity throughout this coming decade. Leveraging the digital economy allows small or medium-sized companies to create the perception of a much larger organisation, significantly levelling the playing field to enable them to compete effectively with bigger rivals.
Local e-tailer, dstore.com.au, is a case in point. The company plans to open its first storefront in coming weeks, the first of six outlets it will open in regional towns of around 10,000 people over the next 18 months. With just 20 full-time employees, the company has enjoyed tremendous growth thanks to a strategy of sourcing and selling a range of around 800,000 consumer and electronic goods direct to the public. dstore's online retail and marketing model allows it to take advantage of significantly lower prices in regional areas while still selling to the world.
The Australian ICT sector will benefit enormously from greater collaboration towards creating a more competitive business landscape.
The ACS believes we can do more to leverage the significant impact of ICT innovations, products and services to improve Australian living standards and quality of life.
We will also champion professionalism as a way to reduce risk and ensure that technology solutions not only deliver on their promised functionality and performance, but are also reliable and secure.
*Anthony Wong is chairman of the ACS and chief executive of AGW Consulting, a multidisciplinary ICT, intellectual property, legal, and consulting practice. www.acs.com.au
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