IT innovation underutilised

A recent report from Nielsen has delivered a resounding business endorsement to the federal government’s national broadband network project, with 75 per cent of the businesses surveyed saying a national broadband infrastructure would increase their ability to engage in the digital economy.

Moreover, 93 per cent of the 275 businesses surveyed for the Smart Digital Connected report, which was commissioned by telecommunication company Alcatel Lucent and released on February 22, described participation in the digital economy as important to their business strategy. Seventy-three per cent said such participation was already having a positive impact on business productivity and efficiency, while 65 per cent suggested it boosted profitability and growth.

Although 80 per cent of all businesses and 87 per cent of large businesses already have access to broadband, most are using their connections for email and basic internet access and have yet to adopt more sophisticated productivity-focused functions such as teleconferencing, remote file storage or software as a service.

Improved technical skills, time and resources, faster and more affordable broadband services and greater executive awareness were the top five elements that respondents identified as necessary to improve their business’ capacity to take part in the digital economy.

While the opportunities presented by strategic use of information technology are increasingly highlighted by such results, business still struggles to integrate information technology into its overall strategic vision. Only 23 per cent of respondents to this Nielsen report characterised themselves as enthusiastic leaders in the digital economy. This relative disenfranchisement chimes with a global chief information officer survey released last year by Ernst & Young, which found that CIOs held a position on only 13 per cent of corporate boards in Australia.

Jeanne-Vida Douglas

BRW

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