Australia - The Sharing and Networking Economy

Synopsis

The digital economy began to take hold a decade or so ago, and some organisations were fast to react to it, while others were slow. The naysayers saw the impact of the internet on their business as a fad that would soon fade away; others, such as Google, Amazon, Facebook and Yahoo, saw it as the new business model.

A decade later the next stage of this development started. The new digital economy companies have exploited this new environment and have taken this economic development one step further toward sharing and networking, as well as those mentioned above, Uber, Airbnb and many local commercial and non-commercial organisations have joined this new trend; again those who failed to move along have been further pushed behind. Digitalisation has made networking possible and this is the key as it makes it possible to better utilise assets and people in collaborative and sharing ways.. One of the real threats to traditional business is that those who are embracing the digital economy have a real chance to grow their business faster and thus widen the gap between the winners and the losers.

The government sector is also at a crossroads here. Because of their large share in the economy and in national ICT spending governments can drive transformation and innovation in the national economy. Furthermore, like the business market, governments have to face the reality of transformation. For example, the healthcare sector is rapidly approaching a fiscal cliff. Costs attached to healthcare have grown to a completely unsustainable level.

Only through digital transformation can we afford to maintain our hard-earned lifestyle.

All of these issues are discussed and analysed in detail in this report.