Most firms unprepared for tech globalisation: CBA

New research from Commonwealth Bank (CBA) suggests that the majority of Australian businesses do not feel prepared for technology-driven globalisation.

Asset finance report Equip: Changing Economies suggests that 74% of businesses are unprepared for the changes that will affect Australia’s sharing economy.

The uptake of technologies, such as IoT and blockchain, has contributed to a new era of globalisation, allowing new international companies to sell direct to customers. This evolving marketplace is placing increased cost and revenue pressures on local businesses with many feeling the pinch from overseas (86%) and online (96%) competitors.

Conversely, 90% of surveyed businesses indicated that they have seen positive impacts from the easier access to overseas suppliers, providing more choice and the increasing ability to directly import used machinery.

The report showed the majority of Australian businesses (92%) are actively considering sharing assets or resources to boost revenue and/or lower costs, as they adopt digital and emerging technologies to remain competitive.

Sylvia Terry, Managing Director of Asset Finance, CBA, said that technology has had an immeasurable impact on Australian businesses.

“Businesses need to use technology to be responsive to the range of new local and global competition that is taking place right now. Those businesses that look to new technologies to innovate and build new efficiencies into their operations will thrive and remain competitive,” she said.

“Encouragingly in asset finance, we are seeing businesses start to challenge the status quo of asset ownership and the high capital costs associated with it. Businesses are becoming savvy to the sharing economy and the benefits this can bring to capital-intensive industries.”

In July 2016, the estimated value of the sharing economy in Australia was $14.5 billion. By 2021, this is forecast to grow by more than 250% to $55 billion.

Currently, only a small minority of surveyed businesses are participating in the sharing economy. From Commonwealth Bank’s research, just 9% of businesses are currently sharing assets to cut costs and only 7% are sharing underutilised assets to generate new revenue.

“We know the sharing economy has the potential to help businesses maximise the utilisation and efficiency of their assets; however, it is an approach that has a long way to go,” said Terry.

“For a lot of businesses the main barrier is trust. We know many businesses are willing to consider sharing assets from other businesses but are hesitant to share their own.

“We see this as an opportunity where emerging technologies, such as smart contracts that run on blockchain, could be applied on a trustable platform providing businesses with the structure and governance they need.”

The rise of a sharing economy highlights the impact of renewed business confidence and increased business investment, with nearly three-quarters (72%) of businesses surveyed in an expansionary or stable replacement mode.

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/violetkaipa

Please follow us and share on Twitter and Facebook. You can also subscribe for FREE to our weekly newsletter and quarterly magazine.