Australia: Economic Port in a Global Storm
Posted by Barry Murphy on 8 August, 2011 in Australia | Finance | Finance Sector | Telecom - (Be the first to comment)

As the world heads into another period of uncertainty, Australia’s economic fundamentals remain healthy, if not immune to the winds of change affecting the Northern Hemisphere. Low Government debt, unemployment at around 5%, legislative initiatives that continues to drive a signficantly healthy spend on IT – all this means that in the words of one local commentator “If you choose where to be in the developed world, it is here”.

Enterprise Ireland’s Software mission in September may be an opportunity for you to avail of EI’s extensive network across the ICT sector and develop a new business strategy to support growth of your business Down Under.

Full Schedule of the Software and Services event (Link)

Why Australia?

  • Australia has proven to be one of the economies most resilient to the worldwide economic downturn. GDP growth from June 2009 to June 2010 was measured at 3.3% according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The strong growth in recent years is underpinned by strong commodity exports and a very healthy financial services sector. (more…)

Australia – The Worlds Broadband Petrie Dish – Webinar June 22nd
Posted by Barry Murphy on 17 June, 2011 in Australia | Dublin | Telecom - (Be the first to comment)

Update: Title should read 9.15am Irish Time, rather than the newspaper!

The Chief Scientist of Salesforce.com recently said that Australia’s investment in the National Broadband Network (NBN) means that it is likely that organizations would use the NBN as a ‘petrie dish’ – in other words a showcase for advanced technologies and usage cases. The rest of the world is beginning to take notice as NBNCo finalises negotiations with Telstra and Optus over the sale of existing fibre and construction work kicks off in earnest on the world’s largest infrastructure spend at A$43BN. The project is the most talked about initiative in Australian business because of its opportunity to transform business and home life in this country, where distance is an issue for so many who want to access essential education, medical and business services that we all take for granted.

For those Irish companies interested in understanding where the opportunities lie with the NBN, Paul Budde will speak at a webinar hosted by Enterprise Ireland next Wednesday, June 22nd, at 9.15am Irish Time. There are still some places available: go to https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/624226294 to register.

Who should attend the webinar?

  • Those interested in learning of the challenges and drivers of spending in the Australian telecommunications market today
  • Those interested in learning about the services Telstra, Optus and Vodafone Hutchinson Australia are considering as they transition from traditional revenues to digital services
  • Those interested in learning where the opportunities are for developing and selling new applications that can be delivered through the National Broadband Network

Paul Budde is the Managing Director of BuddeComm http://www.budde.com.au , an independent telecommunications research and consultancy organisation.

BuddeComm develops strategic plans for interactive services, including: Digital information and communications media, Communications and Energy Network Convergence (Smart Grid), FttH Broadband and IP-based infrastructure and Developments in the digital economy, including the building of smart communities. Paul has acted as policy adviser to Governments in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Netherlands and the UK on matters such as: open infrastructure and wholesale industry policies, national broadband infrastructure and various Senate inquiries on telecommunications regulatory issues.

The Chief Scientist of Salesforce.com recently said that Australia’s investment in the National Broadband Network (NBN) means that it is likely that organizations would use the NBN as a ‘petrie dish’ – in other words a showcase for advanced technologies and usage cases. The rest of the world is beginning to take notice as NBNCo finalises negotiations with Telstra and Optus over the sale of existing fibre and construction work kicks off in earnest on the world’s largest infrastructure spend at A$43BN. The project is the most talked about initiative in Australian business because of its opportunity to transform business and home life in this country, where distance is an issue for so many who want to access essential education, medical and business services that we all take for granted.

For those Irish companies interested in understanding where the opportunities lie with the NBN, Paul Budde will speak at a webinar hosted by Enterprise Ireland next Wednesday, June 22nd, at 9.15am Irish Time. There are still some places available: go to https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/624226294 to register.

Who should attend the webinar?

*   Those interested in learning of the challenges and drivers of spending in the Australian telecommunications market today

*    Those interested in learning about the services Telstra, Optus and Vodafone Hutchinson Australia are considering as they transition from traditional revenues to digital services

*   Those interested in learning where the opportunities are for developing and selling new applications that can be delivered through the National Broadband Network

Paul Budde is the Managing Director of BuddeComm http://www.budde.com.au , an independent telecommunications research and consultancy organisation.

BuddeComm develops strategic plans for interactive services, including: Digital information and communications media, Communications and Energy Network Convergence (Smart Grid), FttH Broadband and IP-based infrastructure and Developments in the digital economy, including the building of smart communities. Paul has acted as policy adviser to Governments in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Netherlands and the UK on matters such as: open infrastructure and wholesale industry policies, national broadband infrastructure and various Senate inquiries on telecommunications regulatory issues.

Mobility Innovation in Financial Services
Posted by Barry Murphy on 13 October, 2010 in Australia | Finance | Mobile | Mobile Solutions - (Be the first to comment)

Last  week I attended a panel discussion in Sydney entitled Mobility Innovation in Financial Services with panel speakers from two of our main Australian banks, one US-owned bank, two of the insurance companies and the Chief Technology Officer of Telstra, Australia’s largest telecoms provider.

Key takeaways from the discussion:

  • A major consideration for going mobile is to ensure consistency of delivery and service, which is difficult with multiple carriers and networks.
  • Security continues to be an issue and despite advances in biometric technology, Telstra’s CTO says that his technical team has been able to hack any phone using biometric security so multi-factor authentication will continue to be a part of mobile security for a long time yet. If the biometric technology improves however, the mobile will evolve into a digital wallet as well as a near-field communications device that handles physical security (No longer will you have to worry about finding your keys – your phone will open your door).
  • Smartphone penetration in Australia is predicted to reach over 50% by end of 2011 as the price of handsets powered by Android comes down.
  • Financial institutions have concentrated on the iPhone when developing apps but increasingly will need to develop to Android.
  • One panelist mentioned survey data that said 60% of all web surfing from smartphones is actually done from within the user’s home.
  • One impediment to greater adoption of the mobile phone for payments is that consumers find it more difficult to know exactly how much they’re spending in their own currency when overseas – until they get home and get the bill: perhaps here lies an opportunity for an enterprising Irish company?
  • Commonwealth  Bank have been very pleased with the success of its Phone augmented reality application for anyone buying or selling a home, or simply looking to keep on top of the property market.
  • Suncorp are pleased with the release of an app that allows consumers to find the nearest ATM machine with  no charges.
  • National Australia Bank now uses voice biometric technology for customer verification and also uses Nuance to push data out to the mobile phone such as account balance information …leading to a large drop-off in live call handling.
  • What was clear from the panel discussion is that most of the focus to date has been on providing B2C apps but little has been done yet on B2B  – yet all on the panel agreed that there is increased business demand for timely access to data. Are there opportunities here for Irish companies? Interesting to see Information Mosaic take the lead on this with a discussion on applying mobile technology to corporate actions….. click here to learn more.

View from Down Under: Australia's National Broadband Network
Posted by Barry Murphy on 9 August, 2010 in Australia | Software | Telecom - (Be the first to comment)

Now that the final of MasterChef is over and any hope of the Wallabies winning the Tri-Nations has dissipated, Australians are starting to focus on the upcoming Federal Election, scheduled for August 21st 2010. The election cycle is short, with a new Government elected every three years and currently the two leading parties, Labor and the Liberal-led coalition, are running neck and neck in the polls.

This is a very important election from an ICT perspective, with the key issue being the future of Australia’s broadband network, upon which the hopes and aspirations of many local and international vendors rely. Irish vendors should take note of the opportunities resulting from this project – the current Federal Government has committed A$43BN to the project, the largest ICT infrastructure project spend in Australian history.

The National Broadband Network (NBN) is a Fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network which will bring speeds of up to 100Mbps to 93% of Australian homes and businesses. The project was formally announced in April 2009 by the current Federal Government and is to be built by NBNCo, an organisation set up by the Government itself, as none of the bids by private enterprise were deemed acceptable.

The project has begun to be rolled out in Tasmania and is scheduled to take roughly eight years to complete. The Liberal opposition has argued that the NBN will be too expensive, is currently under-budgeted and has promised to scrap the NBN if elected but has not clearly outlined an alternative plan for infrastructure as of yet.

(more…)
Get Our Newsletter
Click here for RSS feed
SEARCH
GET INVOLVED      
Contact Information
All EI Social Media