At the release of a report into technological change and the accounting profession last week, Melbourne University’s Professor Colin Ferguson said “I could see as many as 25% of companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) disappearing in the next decade because of the proposed National Broadband Network (NBN) roll out and other rapid technological change.”.
Professor Ferguson could be optimistic. The Internet today is where the automobile, telephone and mains electricity were eighty years ago — all were established technologies that had been around for a while, but the society wide benefits only began to be felt in the 1930s.
Many industries failed as motor vehicles became common and communities were connected to electricity grids and phone networks. Businesses who didn’t recognise those changes simply ceased to exist while those who survived embraced and adapted to the new technologies.
The best example of why more that a quarter of enterprises will probably fail this decade is that 44% of businesses still haven’t bothered to get a website despite three quarters of consumers and almost all business now researching their purchases online. These businesses without websites are invisible to those customers.
The tragedy is business websites are free with both Sensis and Google offering free Local Business Centre and Yellow Pages online listings. While these websites aren’t flashy, they give the basic information about your business that prospective customers are looking for and filling in the forms only takes a few minutes.
Business Internet though is far more than just a bit of brochure ware on the web, a few weeks ago we discussed location based services like Foursquare and bar code readers like Red Laser. These are small examples of how technology is changing entire business processes and models, not just the marketing.
Like the car, telephone and mains electricity, the Internet fundamentally changes business methods and the markets they sell to. If you aren’t adapting to those changes then your business won’t be around to talk about it in three years time.
The truth is Australia’s National Broadband Network has little do with it. These changes are happening now as pervasive broadband is being rolled out across major population centres. The role of initiatives like the NBN and Google’s US Fibre network is to make sure those benefits are being applied equally across nations and not just in downtown Melbourne, New York or Beijing.
Regardless of where your business is, it’s almost certain your industry is being radically changed right now. Is your business aware, prepared and flexible enough to adapt to those changes?
This is a comment received from Annie Baxter, Public Relations Manager, Australia and New Zealand, addressing the points I made in this article;
G’day Paul,
Hope all is well!
Hey, we spotted your AdSense story from last week and there were just a couple of points I wanted to come back to you on . The whole Deals Direct thing certainly got people talking!
* All ads on the Google Content Network are vetted for malvertising using our most advanced detection technology before they even appear on any publisher’s page. Our dedicated team – the Google Anti-Malvertising team – actively campaigns and educate publishers, advertisers, and users about malvertising – check out our resources and tools for publishers here: http://www.anti-malvertising.com.
* Sites of all sizes and types use Google AdSense, from the New York Times and the Sydney Morning Herald, right through to local businesses and bloggers. There are many reasons why these companies choose to run Google AdSense – from the ease of management of ads, to the significant revenues they accrue – it’s not just the ‘low’ end of town. AdSense has come a long way in the last five years, and there are Australians making thousands of dollars a month from the service – could be an interesting story in that!
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read, and look forward to hearing from you again soon.
Best,
Annie