Sydney, September 21: ACS, the professional association for Australia’s ICT sector, has revealed that the Internet of Things (IoT) affords the ability to supercharge Australia’s next wave of economic growth. The finding comes from Australia’s IoT Opportunity: Driving Future Growth – An ACS Report which was released in Sydney today.
The report reveals that in five key sectors – construction, mining, healthcare, manufacturing and agriculture – IoT has the potential to reinvigorate Australia’s stagnant productivity growth.
According to the report, those sectors have the potential to realise a 2% per annum growth in productivity, equivalent to between $194 and $308 billion in GDP over the next 8-18 years.
What’s more, IoT also presents a $30 billion opportunity for Australia’s tech sector by 2023, with IoT hardware, software, solutions and communications systems presenting unprecedented growth rate prospects.
“Agriculture and resources continue to dominate Australia’s exports, and we do well exporting education to the rest of the world. Technology wise however, there isn’t anything SMART in our top ten exports” said ACS President Yohan Ramasundara. “IoT provides an opportunity to change all that”.
“As IoT has matured, the highest value of an IoT solution is no longer sensors and actuators rather in artificial intelligence. We often hear that data is the new fuel for the digital economy, it is however crude oil, and needs to be refined. Artificial Intelligence via software applications is the refinement process, and it is here where Australian can become a market leader developing scalable solutions that can be taken to the rest of the world”.
PWC CEO Luke Sayers also pointed to the significant productivity gains that IoT offers across all sectors of the economy.
“Australia’s productivity has plateaued in the past decade and our growth has largely relied on the bounty of our natural resources. Our future growth is going to come from innovation and embracing the digital revolution. New technologies are triggering a fundamental transformation in the way we are engaging with each other, the world around us and how we do business. The Internet of Things provides a huge opportunity to improve productivity by up to 2% per annum in some industries if we have the courage to embrace it."
In addition to providing an overview of the state of opportunities for IoT in Australia, the report also reveals keys strategies for businesses to develop competitive advantage through IoT, as well as a set of key policies for government to assist in the development of the Australian IoT industry.
“We feel confident that the levers recommended in this report will provide a bright future for Australian Industry, and just as importantly, provide Australians with the ability to attract the higher paying jobs in this Fourth Industrial Revolution” said Ramasundara.
The report is available at https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/acs-publications/ACS-PwC-IoT-report-web.pdf
Further information
Thomas Shanahan
External Engagement Manager M - 0417 678 474
E - thomas.shanahan@acs.org.au
About ACS
The ACS is the professional association for Australia’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. More than 42,000 ACS members work in business, education, government and the community. Our vision is for Australia to be a world leader in technology talent that fosters innovation and creates new forms of value. Visit www.acs.org.au for more information.