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ICT is a national priority: it's time to ValueICT

Sheryle Moon, Information Age

15/02/2007 12:12:02

However, there is strong evidence that the last 20 years was just the warm-up as the tools that enable collaboration and connection were forged, sharpened and distributed.

The real revolution is about to begin as the complementarities between the tools start to work together and flatten the playing field. ICT will literally transform every aspect of business, life and society.

Technology already underpins most aspects of our daily lives as consumers and citizens, employees and employers. It has already transformed the way we interact with each other, the way we shop, access public services and run our businesses.

For example, a medium-sized car contains around 80 processors, 100 megabytes of coding and thousands of program steps; the business processes of financial service providers are now almost exclusively IT-based; and with the help of global communication networks it is possible to manage processes such as accounting, human resources or IT infrastructure management at any location in the world.

iPods, Nintendos and plasma screen televisions have changed the way we entertain ourselves, and the Internet, text messaging and mobile phones have shaped the way we communicate.

ICT is taking interactive learning into the classroom - with smartboards, for instance, ensuring even the smallest surfers have access to the Internet. ICT is leading the resource sector boom, with the mining industry making large profits and gaining efficiencies through the deployment of high technology.

And ICT is literally saving lives, with e-health initiatives enabling medical professionals to communicate in real time, collaborate on research projects over multiple locations and process patient records more swiftly and reliably.

According to the World Bank, global GDP was almost $45 trillion in 2005. From 2001, that makes an increase of almost 50 per cent. During the same period, the global population increased 5 per cent. There is no question that the world is using fewer people to produce more goods and services.

Many important factors contribute to this productivity trend, including a growing reliance on technology. ICT is removing economic barriers which enable countries to engage in a global marketplace, driving jobs, wages, business opportunities and wealth creation.

Developed nations such as Australia operate in services or knowledge economies in which knowledge (rather than the quantity of labour) and technology (as the main productivity facilitator) hold the key to economic growth. 73 per cent of the workforce is employed in knowledge and services sector, contributing 53 per cent of national gross domestic product.

The application of technology is driving significant upswings in economic productivity in Australia. ICT drives 85 percent of productivity growth in the manufacturing sector, for instance, and up to 78 percent in the services sector. Technology impacts upon every part of our economy - from health, education, environment and security, to research and development, manufacturing, tourism and transport.

Our industry's role as an enabler is an exponential phenomenon. On the one hand, the industry is highly innovative and has increased its own productivity by developing ICT products and services. On the other, these technologies and solutions help vertical industries to improve efficiency by enabling them to develop new products, services or processes that in turn lead to new innovations.

Australia's industries have been using technology to transform processes, business models and marketing channels for several decades now. The introduction of the PC network, the Internet and mobile communications have revolutionised the way businesses manage their people, finances, supply chains and customer relationships.

Each new technology offers tremendous competitive advantage for early adopters and failure to capitalise on these developments can lead to missed opportunities and business downturn.

Australia needs to be at the forefront of technological innovation. In broad terms, innovation is about doing things in a new way - improving previous inventions and applying best practice principles - as well as doing new things. This means that our industry and Australia as a whole must focus on the production of ICT goods and services as well as the enabling aspects that ICT can deliver to other industry sectors.

Our nation faces many challenges, particularly in the areas of skills and education, security, water and energy management, health and an ageing population. The application of ICT is vital to enable solutions to these pressing issues.

For some time now AIIA has been urging governments around Australia to recognise the contributions that ICT makes to national productivity. We've been asking parliamentarians and policy makers to remember what life was like before the personal computer, the mobile phone and the Internet.

AIIA has developed a value proposition for the ICT industry - which we call ValueICT - which has formed the basis of dialogue with government and the community and highlights the importance of our industry.

The ValueICT campaign urges all levels of Australian government and the broader Australian community to recognise the vital role our industry plays in enabling economic growth and productivity and to implement supportive policies that encourage the ICT industry to grow. Together, we can elevate our status on the world stage to that of a true knowledge economy.

The overarching message is simple: ICT is a national priority - it's time to ValueICT.

Sheryle Moon is CEO, Australian Information Industry Association