BUSINESS ADVOCATE COLUMN SEPTEMBER 2012

BUSINESS ADVOCATE COLUMN SEPTEMBER 2012 NZ Chambers of Commerce have for a long time being advocating Northland businesses investigate the uptake of ultrafast broadband. If companies want to stay ahead of their competition they need to keep up with the latest developments that will result in robust, reliable and affordable data usage. Data usage in recent times in New Zealand has doubled and with the proliferation of smart devices this will only continue to grow as the consumers preferred choice to access information. It is amazing how often small business owners respond that they are not involved in technology and innovation so they do not see how their business would benefit from uptake of UFB. While it is true that UFB and the rural broadband initiative will provide the impetus for developing technology and innovation related businesses, this is not to say that the average or traditional business would not also benefit. Given that Northland is both isolated and that our business profile is predominately small enterprises, UFB can enable companies to use technology to increase their competitiveness through improved processes and to reduce their isolation through connectivity to a much larger market. A news article on television brought this home to me when it reported a post office in a rural mining town in Australia had experienced a large growth in its parcel delivery service directly related to online purchasing. It highlighted that a large majority of consumers are now shopping online and the opportunity that connectivity to a wider market can present any retailer anywhere in the world. As well as the expanded market, technology enables processes around sales and distribution to be streamlined in a manner that reduces the length of time between when an order is placed and the customer receives the product. This obviously reduces the time between when they receive and pay for the goods from their supplier and the time they in turn get paid by their own customers. Service will always be a critical factor and technology can allow any business to exceed the customer expectations. If you are in business in Northland and if you have previously thought that your business would not benefit from increased improvements to technology, then perhaps it would be worth your while to consult an IT expert regarding the subject or to look at what your competitors are doing that may be giving them a competitive edge.