Ian Dunbar
Australian businesses invested a record $3.75 billion in computer software in the third quarter of 2016, and new highs are expected in 2017, reflecting the rising importance of technology to Australian economy to reap productivity gains and business growth, according to Ian Dunbar, CEO of SuiteBox, a global software provider of digital workspace technology solutions.
The seasonally adjusted private computer software spend rose 3.2% in the September quarter of 2016, a 13.1% jump from a year earlier, according to gross domestic product statistics released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The report reveals spending on computer software has hit record levels for several quarters as the role of technology becomes more vital to business.
In separate data released by the ABS this week, national productivity, as measured by multifactor productivity (MFP), grew 0.9% in 2015-16 across all industries. This year marked the fifth consecutive year of un-interrupted MFP growth. In the financial and insurance services sector, MFP grew 1.9% in 2015-16, outpacing national growth.
Ian Dunbar, CEO of SuiteBox, said: “Australia-wide, organisations are embracing technological innovation to boost business growth by eliminating inefficient processes.
“In the financial services industry in particular, technology is having a huge impact. For example, the advent of robo-advisers and online investment platforms is speeding up interactions with clients and enabling transactions to occur in real time, which can only benefit investors,” he said.
“Something as simple as the electronic signing of a document can bring forward a financial transaction by days or weeks. Software has enabled virtual meetings, which eliminate the need for in-person meetings, which can be time consuming and costly for people to attend. Instead, with a digital meeting room, businesses can be more productive and move ahead with financial transactions at any point in time, anywhere in the world,” Dunbar said.
“In addition, the advancement of cloud-based software and the rising popularity of software-as-a-service (SaaS), and the benefits it offers, such as lower initial costs and easier upgrades, is prompting more businesses to buy software as it becomes more accessible.”
SuiteBox is the only digital workspace technology solution in the world that allows businesses to share, amend and digitally sign documents with customers in real time and authenticate documents on-screen to complete transactions, whilst being in a video meeting on in person. The signature process is recorded and video’s archived for future reference and compliance requirements. Meetings can also be recorded.
SuiteBox has just completed a $1.5 million capital raising and is expanding its sales team as demand for its virtual meeting product grows.
“Professional service providers such as financial advisers, lawyers, mortgage brokers and accountants can dramatically boost their productivity by enabling immediate and personal interactions with clients rather than by communicating through impersonal exchanges such as email and rushed telephone calls,” Dunbar said.
“As time goes on and as technology becomes more important, we can expect to see more businesses adopt digital technologies and software aimed at achieving greater efficiencies and delivering greater transparency to their clients in the advice and investment process. As a result, we expect to see the national quarterly software spend top $4 billion in 2017,” he said.
