How government is enabling the digital economy.
I hear about the “digital economy”, but what is it and where can I go to get some help?
As the image shows above, taking advantage of the digital economy seems to be sitting in that “zone of curiosity” space. You know, the gap between recognising you need to embrace digital for your business versus having the deeper knowledge to actually being able to do something about it. So how do Australian businesses bridge that gap to take advantage of the digital economy’s new markets? Whilst there are many potential pathways, this article provides a bit of an insight into what Australian governments are doing to help business move into and prosper in the digital economy.
First, what is the digital economy? There are hundreds of definitions out there but let’s use the version used by the Australian Government: the digital economy is
‘…the global network of economic and social activities that are enabled by information and communications technologies, such as the internet, mobile and sensor networks’.
For me, I tend to break these statements down so I can understand them better. Okay, maybe it is more so I can remember it properly, either way let’s give it whirl.
- Global Network (e-business) – how business is conducted across digital networks.
- Economic and social activities (e-commerce) – actions that are profitable or productive and relate to society or the organisations within it.
- Information and communication technologies (e-business infrastructure) – the technology and systems infrastructure needed to connect to the global network.
These three key terms breakdown what is needed to get involved in the digital economy. So how is government helping Australian businesses to achieve greater economic growth?
e-business
The first foundation is the e-business infrastructure. It is the information and communication technologies and systems that we need in place to connect business to the global network. Like a road connects us to a city, this infrastructure needs to connect us to the world. To make an impact and have Australian business take advantage of the digital economy everyone needs to be connected. It doesn’t matter where you live or what type of business you operate access to the network is the only way participate in the digital economy.
To make this easier, the Australian Government is investing in our telecommunications infrastructure to ensure we can all access the global network. The investments range from nation-wide broadband through to eradicating mobile blackspots and some smaller initiatives through local governments and smart cities such as implementing low power networks. This is driven across all levels of government from our federal level down to our state and local government levels. Being connected through technologies is only one aspect though, we also need the human skills to complete the system.
With a focus on the Victorian government, their budget has listed $626 million of investment to the Digital Futures Now program. The skills and innovation portion of that budget includes many investments, below are some of the areas to look for:
- $64 million in digital skills and jobs program to fund short courses
- $10.3 million Victorian Innovation and digital jobs program
- $60.5 million Victorian start-up capital fund
- $25.7 million over four years to help scaling up initiatives
- $40 million to LaunchVic helping start ups
- $10 million over three years for female founders
If you are a small to medium enterprise look out for digital maturity assessments that are likely to appear on the government websites. These will be helpful tools that enable you to assess your skills and know what resources are available for you to advance.
e-business
The next foundation is e-business, the way trade is conducted across global networks and connects us together. The best way to think about the global network is the rules of engagement to conduct business. In Australia, there are many traditional ways that we must engage with regulators and agencies. Those traditional ways can, and in some cases are, making the digital economy harder to take advantage of, such as requests for hard copies of documents and consent required before you can issue documents electronically.
Our government is currently working through how to reduce the complexity of working in the digital economy with their deregulation taskforce led by Assistant Minister Ben Morton. Their goals are to streamline processes to enable the digital economy, such as digitising processes and assets. We have also had many laws change and alter over the past five years that are starting to drive the inclusion of digital. If you are interested in this follow the Digital Law Association on LinkedIn; they share some amazing insights.
Other initiatives that are taking place are those to keep us safe and aim to protect our information and our critical infrastructure. The digital economy is enabled by sharing data and information and we need to do so in a safe and secure environment by protecting our networks and systems. The Department of Home Affairs has issued the cyber security strategy and supports the technology industry by offering assistance. Their goal is help Australian’s take advantage of the digital economy whilst educating us on keeping our future secure.
There are many more initiatives that define the rules of engagement in the digital economy, the items outlined are just a few to trigger your interest.
e-commerce
The last foundation is e-commerce, the way we buy, sell, and swap over the global network. Along with being secure we need to understand the laws of trade when working together and with other countries. There are many different ways of selling your services in the digital economy and you need to know what works best for the type of product and service you are selling.
The Australian Trade and Investment Commission have tips and resources available to business that explain in detail the rules for e-commerce when working within Australia and overseas. They cover areas ranging from selling from your own website and those large online marketplaces, through to engaging and selling to different markets across social media. Their e-commerce section is comprehensive and when combined with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website, you will have information on how to enable a digital market to work beyond our country.
In summary, government is assisting its citizens by investing in e-business infrastructure and skills, they are leading by example in the e-business operating environment and network that enables and recognises the digital economy, and they are providing e-commerce guidance helping business to understand the rules of engagement for trading within the digital economy. Although this overview is short, I hope it has helped to understand how much government is doing to improve our economy by opening us up to the digital economy. I also hope it has created a “zone of curiosity” that entices you want to investigate further.
Next question, what digital megatrends should I look at to break into the digital economy?