Many industries in Australia face disruption to current business models and ways of working thanks to emerging technologies. Stay ahead of the changes impacting your industry with analysis and insights into market trends from the Smarter Business™ team.
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Responding to COVID-19: How The Digital Picnic reshaped its content strategy
Melbourne-based digital agency The Digital Picnic provides its readers with engaging blog posts and consistent social media content. When COVID-19 struck, the business’s online audience altered its behaviour significantly – search habits and consumption of online content changed overnight. Find out how The Digital Picnic team turned this hurdle int…
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Responding to COVID-19: A Q&A with William On, CEO and co-founder of Shippit
Shippit is a technology platform that powers delivery for retailers across Australia, connecting e-commerce stores with courier companies. When the realities of COVID-19 struck…
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Is your business nbn™ ready? Take the quiz
Getting ready for the nbn™ network is simpler than you might think. Test your knowledge and learn more about what to expect with the Smarter Business™ nbn quiz. The nbn network…
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How your business can be an Instagram Video star
Instagram has evolved well beyond still images. We look at video-sharing: what does it mean for your business and how can you use it. Grab a cuppa and take in some of the best …
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How to make your videos go viral
It’s possible to create your own viral story, here are the core ingredients you’ll need to do it. When a story or a picture goes viral, it can be a wonderful marketing tool if …
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Cyber security: Is your business cyber-secure? Take our interactive quiz
Cyber security is a hot topic across the business world. Whether your business is big, small, or somewhere in between, data protection is now essential for you to gain and main…
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A day in the life of a network engineer in 2020
It’s 2020 and network engineers are no longer just IT nerds. Sure, they need technology skills, but their problem-solving ability and sense of empathy are just as important to …
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In the Loop: Is small business overlooking the opportunities presented by increased mobility?
Welcome to In the Loop, our monthly snapshot of Telstra’s research into the state of small business in Australia. Small businesses may be underestimating how much mobile tech…
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The rise of the microbusiness
The microbusiness boom is a 21st-century phenomenon. These days, thanks to the power and accessibility of technology, almost anyone can start up a business – and a huge number …
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In the Loop: Small businesses struggling with IT
The increasing complexity of IT systems has been outed as the biggest challenge for Australian small businesses in 2017. Welcome to In the Loop, our monthly snapshot of Telstra…
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A day in the life of a construction manager in 2020
It’s 2020 and the demands of clients and ever-growing use of smart technologies have changed the way construction managers operate, for the better. Off to work … Fresh from…
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Hot-desking: How successful businesses make it about people not desk space
Hot-desking is still a thing, but the secret to making it work is to look beyond mere desks and realise it’s not about moving, swapping or removing furniture, it’s about workin…
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Omnichannel vs multichannel: Providing a seamless experience
Customers increasingly expect an omnichannel experience. But what does that actually mean and how might it differ from a multichannel retail strategy? “You say multichannel, I …
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In the Loop: Less than half of Australian businesses have a website
Welcome to In the Loop, our monthly snapshot of Telstra’s research into the state of small business in Australia. Ever been frustrated at not being able to find a business onli…
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Future ways of working: Retail, construction and manufacturing
From 3D printing to robot bricklayers, we take a look at what the future could look like in the manufacturing, retail and construction industries. Sixty-five per cent of childr…
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Why construction needs to think beyond the bottom line
Builders and project managers operate in one of the most competitive industries in Australia. And this competition means a bottom-line approach to management is no longer enoug…
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Trend watch: What’s happening in healthcare?
The healthcare sector is seeing significant challenges. But with great challenges comes great opportunity to evolve.
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The changing face of finance
For finance, accounting and other professional services, technology has fundamentally shifted operations. What used to be primarily functional is now about much, much more. Whe…
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Getting secure in finance
When it comes to the finance industry, protecting data isn’t optional – but many businesses aren’t prepared for the risk.
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Sensis e-Business Report: Online sales mean connectivity is key
A recent report from Sensis looking at the state of online business in Australia has shown connectivity is more important than ever.
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Fiscal forecast: Finance and insurance
Regulatory requirements put onto the big four and Macquarie Group mean big changes for the financial sector. The big issue affecting the finance industry over the next three mo…
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The small business economy
Leon Gettler says tech, the dollar and changes to GST are the big things for Aussie business to watch out for in the coming months. The biggest trend to watch out for in small …
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Fiscal outlook: Manufacturing
Manufacturing has had a challenging few years, but great challenges have led to a leaner and more efficient industry. Activity across the Australian manufacturing sector fell s…
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Economic forecast: Retail
Figures show that retailers could be in for a rocky ride for the next six months. But being adaptive and online can help manage a difficult period. In the months ahead, retaile…
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Google Trends: What can it do for your business?
Rather than just track your own performance, you can chart Google searches for your business alongside searches for your competitors – offering a snapshot of how you’re faring …
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The future of M2M in the industrial sector
The Land Of Sweeping Change report released by Telstra on trends in the Machine to Machine (M2M) sector shows varied uptake and interest, but the sector shows great promise. Th…
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Fiscal forecast: Construction
The construction industry has been going through healthy growth but there are doubts from some analysts whether it can be sustained. We look at what the future holds for constr…
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Small business outlook: The quarter ahead
The Aussie economy can have a huge difference to how small businesses run. Leon Gettler looks at what it holds for the first quarter of the new financial year. The most recent …
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Get ahead with Smarter’s Small Business Reports
In a series of six research reports, Telstra Smarter Business™ explores the trends affecting Retail, professional services, construction, healthcare, finance and manufacturing.
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Hungry for a sale: What SMBs can learn from food vans
Pop-up restaurants aren’t just creating heat in these portable kitchens, but in the business world, too. Food vans are all the rage. Restaurant owners looking for new ways to b…
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Diving Aussie dollar to cause pain for SMEs
Recent falls in the value of the Australian dollar are placing upward pressure on costs for local businesses.
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2015: Mobile retail trends coming to you
2014 was a pivotal year for many mobile technologies – 2015 will extend the gains.
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O come all ye shoppers: Retailers counting on a solid christmas
By the standards of recent Christmas seasons, 2014 is shaping to be solid, if a little unspectacular, for the nation’s Retailers.
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Everyone wants to be a retailer now
Where would you go to buy a Swiss Army Knife? To a Swiss Army Knife store, of course. Michael Baker explains why manufacturers are increasingly opening up their own stores to s…
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Global fashion retailers in the ‘burbs
What does it mean for local stores when shopping centres build spaces for international brands to establish a presence in Australia? How do these mega-malls fit into the overal…
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Management to do list Q2 2014-15: What you need to know now
Keep on top of legal, marketing and technology matters this quarter with Australia’s leading experts.
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Box Ready: Making the most of mail order
Australia Post gives spice vendor Gourmet Morsels a variety of delivery options for orders of all sizes.
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Nearly half of Australian mid-size businesses face extinction
Close to half of Australian medium-size enterprises could start failing in three years, according to a new survey of chief financial officers. Close to half of Australian mediu…
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Farmers expect business performance to improve despite worrisome agricultural economy
Australian farmers are less confident about the national agricultural economy but more confident about their own business performance, according to a recent report. The latest …
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What will become of Bitcoin?
Australian Retailers may risk swallowing a double dose of GST liability if they choose to trade in crypto-currencies, law firm DLA Piper Australia warns. The Australian Taxatio…
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Is retail the worst industry to work in?
According to a ranking published by 24/7 Wall Street, a US financial news / commentary site, they are absolutely at the bottom of the corporate heap as far as their current and…
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Post budget gloom for micro businesses
Despite the increasing optimism of small, medium, and large Australian businesses since the May 2014 Budget, Australia’s micro businesses are feeling the pressure according to …
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Building a future: The changing face of construction
These six free apps use your little data to streamline your day. Construction companies are integral to the Australian economy, with their total contribution to the production …
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The outlook on retailers In Australia
Independent Retailers have been doing it tough in recent years and the accelerating globalisation of Australian fashion Retail isn’t doing them many favours. As recently as fiv…
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The high-tech route to faster checkouts
When people think about technology and the shopping experience it’s common to focus on the ‘wow’ factor of technology as entertainment. There is a more prosaic and arguably muc…
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What Aussie business travellers miss most
A recent survey discovered that Aussie business travellers get more homesick than global counterparts. Aussies miss the comforts of home more than business travellers from the …
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Give not take: A look at social entrepreneurship
Social responsibility: Why doing your bit for the community can do wonders for your small business. Earlier this month Gail Kelly, CEO of Westpac, announced that the group had …
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Playing to win: Are TV commercials and viral videos effective?
Like David and Goliath, one small business dared to take on the big names in the Super Bowl ad war and went viral. Find out how TV and social media campaigns can benefit your b…
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Is the business of crime in decline?
Is the business of crime in decline? Thieves are taking half what they were a decade ago. Most of us choose to live on the right side of the law, but crime, in some ways, can b…
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Gold medal’s socially responsible practices
Apprenticeships are built into the foundations of Gold Medal Services, a plumbing service based in Darwin. Business manager Jackie Maclean says they have employed at least one …
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5 future business trends set to go the distance
JWT have peered into the future again. Here are the business ideas that are taking off. Each year renowned marketing communications brand JWT compiles a list of 100 of the bigg…
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Fad or forever: Geo-fencing to target customers
Retail analyst Michael Baker asks if mobile marketing can pull customers into bricks-and-mortar stores. The new technologies of ‘geo-fencing’ are an enticing prospect for retai…