The Australian economy is poised to benefit between $194-308bn over the next two decades, as the Internet of Things (IoT) and associated technologies enable productivity improvements in key industries, an ACS report has found.
Prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Australia’s IoT Opportunity: Driving Future Growth – An ACS Report assesses the revenue and cost implications of IoT technology on the Australian economy.
Amongst its key findings, the report reveals that from five key industries representing a quarter of Australia’s GDP, IoT can achieve annual benefits of $194-308bn over a period of 8-18 years – representing average productivity improvements of 2% p.a.
Launching the report at the ACS Technology and Innovation Hub in Barangaroo on Friday, ACS President Yohan Ramasundara said IoT technology can enable a shift in the Australian economy.
“Agriculture and resources continue to dominate Australia’s exports, and we do well exporting education to the rest of the world. Technology-wise however, there isn’t anything SMART in our top ten exports,” he said. “IoT provides an opportunity to change all that.”
Also in attendance at the report launch was CEO of PwC Australia, Luke Sayers.
“Our future growth is going to come from innovation and embracing the digital revolution,” Sayers said.
“New technologies are triggering a fundamental transformation in the way we are engaging with each other, the world around us and how we do business.
“The Internet of Things provides a huge opportunity to improve productivity by up to 2% per annum in some industries if we have the courage to embrace it.”
The report warns that Australia is currently in a position where it could slip out of the global G20 to 23rd spot by 2023.
It proposes IoT as a solution to reverse this downward trend.
As well as assisting the productivity of existing primary industries, the report demonstrates the value IoT technology can bring to Australia’s tech sector.
By 2023, IoT can bring an additional $30bn to the tech sector from manufacturers producing the hardware, software, solutions and communications systems required for such technology.
Federal Member for North Sydney, Trent Zimmerman, said that the report could help Australians gain a better understanding of the role of IoT in the future.
"While the Internet of Things will revolutionise what we do at home, what this report does is highlight the fact that the Internet of Things is actually fundamental to our future success in so many other areas,” he said.
