5 takeaways from the Telstra Summit 2015

We recently attended the Telstra Digital Summit and came away with the following key takeaways.

1) We finally have a Government that will promote technology as an enabler:

• With a new more technologically savvy Prime Minister, Digital Government remains a top priority. Digitalisation of Government services could result in savings of over A$17b over ten years;
• The importance of innovation and disruption in harnessing the immense opportunities that exist for driving growth and productivity in a digital era and in particular with a focus on digital talent, and partnerships between Government and private sector enterprise; and
• The Government expects to launch an innovation package by Christmas which will focus on innovation in both public and private sector enterprise.  

2) Can the Internet of Things replace the mobile as our primary computing device?

• Tech evangelist Robert Scoble believes that contextual computing driven by artificial intelligence and virtual reality technologies will lead the transition away from the smartphone;
• We see this as an extended process (and time frame) with smartphones not going away anytime soon but we will ultimately see our digital interactions being divided among multiple connected devices including the smartphone.

3) Technology companies will disrupt telcos;

• Earlier telcos would get paid for connectivity, now they are getting paid for access to content;
• The internet of things will result in an explosion of connected devices with the user becoming the product (ie operators will forego charging for the device and instead monetise the data/service);
• Earlier competitors for telcos were other telcos, now the competitors are technology companies such as Google and Apple which means the lines of distinction between technology and telco is blurring.

4) Mobile is driving the disruption in customer experience;

• Customers are increasingly mobile and hence the customer journey needs an overhaul;
• Businesses are being forced to rethink and redesign the customer experience for an increasingly smartphone enabled world;
• We believe businesses that view mobile as ‘the second screen’ risk losing relevance within an increasingly connected customer segment. Once mobile becomes a part of a business’s DNA, it’s no longer just a ‘bolt-on’ to existing digital initiatives but becomes a natural first step in transforming the customer experience.

5) The pace of disruption is accelerating.

• 87% of businesses believe they will be disrupted in the next five years, only 7% of them have a plan to deal with it;
• We believe businesses must embrace disruption by understanding its drivers. It is imperative for companies to realign their skillsets to being more technology focused;
• Disruption is not coming, it’s already here and it’s just the beginning. Its impacting every aspect of our life and its pace is accelerating.

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This blog is based  on our recent Venture Insights report 'Telstra Summit 2015: No going back now', where we highlight our key take aways from the Telstra Digital Summit.

Venture Insights is a strategic research company. Venture Insights provides our clients a competitive advantage by outlining the key trends and implications flowing from disruption in key verticals that result from the information and internet age that we live in. We provide long term strategic thinking to capture the trends that will determine the winners and losers in sectors and sub-sectors as challengers test the rules of engagement with incumbents, whether they are in the telco, media or other digitally affected industries such as finance, health, travel, employment, real estate, etc.

We have partnered with Enders Analysis, the market leading independent research house for media, digital and Telco across UK and Europe. This supplements our local market coverage with coverage from UK and European markets so that our subscribers can gain insight on leading global trends.

For more information on this report and Venture Insights, please go to www.ventureinsights.com.au or contact me on [email protected]