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Entrepreneurship and innovation

The Rise in Consumerisation of IT

Craig Scroggie

Employees are bringing their mobile devices to work and expect IT to support them.

The trend toward employees introducing their own consumer devices - including laptops and mobile devices - into the workplace is resulting in a change of how enterprises deliver services to their employees and customers.

The challenge for IT managers today is to find ways to enable the use of a wide range of technologies in the workplace while ensuring the data residing at the endpoint and in the network is secured and managed appropriately. A key part to managing this change is to put in place policies, educate employees and implement data loss prevention and encryption tools so that organisations can understand where their data is and how it is being used.

Consumerisation of IT is transforming our industry and it's especially transforming the IT function in all enterprises - large and small. This transformation has been driven by the explosive growth of mobile devices.  Smart phones and smart mobile devices, are outstripping PCs by a very large number in terms of their shipments, and eventually, they will dominate in terms of the way people access the Web, and in many cases access applications.

Employees are bringing these to work and they expect IT to support their mobile devices.  The days in which IT can dictate the standard device are vanishing. Rather than trying to hold on to control, some companies have embraced the change and moved to a model in which they allow employees to bring their own PC or mobile device to work, and the company will accommodate it.

What we need today

Martin Duursma

We need a set of legislative changes and incentives to encourage investments into R&D and early stage start-ups, so that Australia too can claim a multinational like Nokia, CheckPoint or Google.

There's definitely something to be said for finally having a minister dedicated to the areas or research development and innovation in the Federal Government. And certainly when I met with Senator Kim Carr together with a group of IT industry representatives a few months ago, he's making the right noises regarding the sorts of approaches which would lead to a more innovative economy.

What we need to see now is some action. Specifically we need the government to adopt legislation which encourages what might be termed a "virtuous circle of innovation" within the Australian economy.

We don't need a hand out, and we don't need any extra money. We need a series of approaches which encourage investors to put their money into enterprises which lead to the creation of intellectual property, which can go on to make money in the global economy.

The real value of technical innovation

proberts's picture

Yes, process and entreprenurial innovation is crucial - but let's not forget the importance technical innovation.

It is always hazardous to make a distinction between technical and non-technical innovation, lest one be accused of favouring one over the other. As has been pointed out, technical innovation is still a critical area where Australia is falling behind the rest of the world.

Business spends only the equivalent of one per cent of GDP on R&D, half the OECD average and a third of that of the leaders - even Icelandic business does better. Our venture capital sector which might fund businesses to come from research is 0.1 per cent of GDP - again even Iceland manages more. Australia accounts for a mere one half of one per cent of global exports in technology-intensive industries.

The fact is there are few R&D driven business on the stock exchange other than the familiar, Cochlear, Resmed and CSL. Most of our top companies are banks or miners. Multi nationals from Ericcson to JDS Uniphase have voted with their feet and ceased large scale R&D in Australia while most global giants in pharmaceuticals and IT spend a fraction on R&D locally compared to overseas rates.

The source of Australian innovation

proberts's picture

Innovation comes from entrepreneurs - and rarely from science.

There is a pervasive Australian myth that goes something like this: innovations come from brilliant scientists who pass on their discoveries to grateful businessmen and women and, eventually, the consumer. This linear progression does occur, but is a rarity compared to the real source of Australian innovation - the entrepreneur.

The world's stock of science and technology is increasing at a rapid rate and, in fact, there is already enough of it around to fuel a number of industrial revolutions. What is in short supply are the people who can assemble technologies and ideas into a coherent business plan, raise the finance and assemble the team that can turn all these inputs into something consumers value - in short, into an innovative product or service.

National Policy for Innovation

Open Forum would like to hear your thoughts on the recently proposed National Innovation Policy (NIP), the national agenda for a more innovative Australia. Your responses will help formulate future steps and activities the Society for Knolwedge Economics (SKE) will be undertaking in furthering Australia’s Innovation Agenda.