Speed It Up Campaign

Small businesses on the Sunshine Coast are losing out because of inadequate internet speed and reliability – and are prepared to pay for a better service. That is the finding of research conducted by Digital Sunshine Coast into the impact of slow internet on business productivity as part of a campaign known as #SPEEDITUP.

The Sunshine Coast is arguably the home of small business, with 35,326 out of 36,002 businesses based in the region falling under the category of small business, as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Research conducted by Digital Sunshine Coast – a project hosted by Regional Development Australia Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast Council and Noosa Shire Council to promote digital innovation to the business community – shows a demand for improved internet speed and efficiency.

It shows 86% of businesses relied on the internet for their core operations, and 98% want faster and/or more stable internet for their business needs. It also shows they are prepared to pay for a better service. See: SPEED IT UP Campaign Findings.

Small Business and the Internet

Fast, stable, and affordable internet has a direct correlation with efficiency and productivity for the myriad of tasks that can now be handled online. The main hindrance to taking advantage of these services is the lack of speed or bandwidth available on the internet connections many businesses may be currently using.

Some things are better in slow motion – the internet is not one of them

Do you still see your internet and data access spend as a cost?

Businesses on the Sunshine Coast are flipping this traditional view on its head and seeing it as an investment to which return is gained. Don’t think of fast and stable internet as a cost – think of it as an efficiency ‘enabler’. What is it costing you in health and wellbeing, time with your family, lost sales opportunities, under-utilisation of your workforce, employee satisfaction and retention for the sake of $40 – $60 extra per month?

Read Small Business and the Internet – What are your options and why should you care? to investigate the opportunity costs of inadequate broadband and technologies to your business, what sort of internet access is available on the Sunshine Coast, and how you might be able to speed your business up.

More Information

For more information go to Digital Sunshine Coast where you will also find additional tools and resources, and case studies of Sunshine Coast businesses who have taken advantage of world leading applications to significantly change their business operations and increase their productivity.

Background

The digital economy has been identified as a key driver of economic growth in the Sunshine Coast region. In 2014 Regional Development Australia Sunshine Coast and Sunshine Coast Council representatives met with several major telecommunications organisations to discuss accelerating investment in digital infrastructure, one of the key actions listed in the Digital Sunshine Coast: Draft Action Plan.

The Speed it Up Campaign was launched in May 2016 and ran through to June 2016. The campaign involved the collection of information about business-grade broadband needs in order to help create a better understanding about the broadband requirements for businesses on the Sunshine Coast. This project has the potential to be used as a catalyst for future investment in digital infrastructure on the Sunshine Coast.