Smart Office

Menu

Oonagh Reidy

OZ Pty Failing To Exploit Web: Report

by

Aussie businesses are not using the Internet to its full potential.


Click to enlarge

Australian small and medium businesses (SMEs) are still far more likely to make an online sale to a customer located around the corner than interstate or overseas.

That’s according to the Sensis e-Business Report, released today, which shows Aussie businesses are failing to exploit the Internet’s global reach and are still selling goods mostly to local web users.

In fact, most web sales by OZ SMBs were made to customers in the same city or town and the likelihood of a sale diminished as the distance between a business and potential customers increased.

87% of SMEs online successfully sold goods and services to local customers, unchanged from 2011, while 51% sold interstate.

Two thirds of businesses said the bulk of online sales came from locals, an increase of 6%.

Overseas customers on the other hand accounted for just 5% of regular transactions (+2%) although over one in four said ‘at least’ some sales were to international customers.

One the retail front, 87% of Aussie retailers are connected to the web with under two thirds accepting e-payments and just over half accepting online orders.

This is one of the lowest figures of all the industries polled by e-Sensis.

This clearly shows Australian small business were still grappling with how to use the internet to target overseas customers, warns the report’s author, Christena Singh.

“E-commerce offers SMEs the opportunity to reach a potentially global market, so itis interesting to note most sales made using e-commerce are still relatively close tohome,” Ms Singh said.

“If small businesses want to make the most of the new world of mobile and internetenabledcustomers they really need to think strategically and put in place a strongdigital business plan.”

 

Only 15 per cent have a digital business strategy, according to the report, even though 62% of SMEs have a website, meaning it could be time for business to sit down and think about the web.

SMBs listed internet security as the top concern, but a lack of computer expertise and the cost and time to introduce new technologies and the cost of hardware/software were issues raised.

Telstra 1 Million IPTV Play

by

Telstra looks at IPTV domination as it seeks to lure mobile customers over to Internet TV services.


Rick Ellis, Group Managing Director of Telstra Media, is setting an ambitious target of 1 million Internet TV (IPTV)  devices sold by 2016, he told  Australian Media. 

Telstra plans to introduce more content ‘bundles’ of T-Box and Foxtel content, Big Pond Movies and other TV services, which he says is “a first” for Australia.  
Telstra’s set-top box known as T-Box currently gives subscribers access to free-to-air TV channels delivered via the Internet. As he revealed to Australian Media, half a million T-Boxes have been sold since 2010, meaning it aims to effectively double its user numbers. 
“Up until now we have basically bundled a T-Box just as a personal video recorder device that gives you access to IP (internet protocol) content and acts as a digital terrestrial PVR (personal video recorder) for free-to-air TV and basic account access to transaction video on demand which is BigPond movies,” Ellis said.

“But what we are doing now is…bundling up subscription linear (scheduled programming) channels, and further down the track we will be bundling subscription video-on-demand as well as movies and TV services.” 
The largest telco in Australia is gearing up to drive more value from its millions of mobile and fixed-line customers, which could mean even more bundling of phone, Internet and TV services in the future; something which analysts have predicted for some time. 

Recently, Telstra launched “entertainer bundles” with 11 Foxtel channels (on T-Box), BigPond broadband, unlimited calls on home phone, at an attractive price. 
Telstra’s new IPTV push will be aimed at “pay-light” users: those that do not want to be locked in to long term contracts – something which it recently kicked off in its mobile services offering no commitment contracts. 
Ellis, a former Chief Executive Officer of TVNZ,  is eyeing major growth in the Media business ahead of the rollout of the NBN which will mean all homes will have access to cheap, high speed Internet, making Internet TV the norm in future. 
Telstra have pushed hard into its new Digital Media business in the last year, and have made Foxtel content available on more of its Telstra T-Box services, as traditional revenue streams from fixed line and Sensis business slides. 
Telstra owns 50% of the Pay TV giant. 
Foxtel, too, has upped the IPTV ante in a big way, allowing users to view Foxtel channels on iPhones, tablets and other devices, as it seeks to fend off competition from Internet TV services like Quickflix, Fetchtv. 
Last week, Seven Network revealed it is working on plans to deliver an ad-free subscription TV service via the Internet, hybrid broadcast broadband television, which broadcasts digital TV content from a number of sources including traditional TV, Internet and connected devices at home.

iOS Rule: Nokia, Droid Drool – Apple King AGAIN

by

Look out Samsung: Apple is back on top as world No.1 smartphone, according to analysts.


Click to enlarge
Apple V Samsung: let the smartphone battle begin (again)

Apple reclaimed top position as the world’s No.1  smartphone vendor during final months of 2011, taking the crown off Android rival Samsung, who held the spot in Q3 (stealing Apple prided position).

Thats according to Strategy Analytics who confirmed this week global shipments of iPhones, Androids and others grew at an astounding 54% hitting “record” 155 m units in Q4.

Read Jobs: ‘Stop Pinching Apples’, Google Here

Shipments of Apple’s cult smartie, the iPhone, surged a startling 128% compared to same period in 2010, to 37 million devices.

Korean brand Samsung shifted 36.5 million smartphones during the quarter, while Nokia lagged in third place with 19.6m.

“Apple overtook Samsung to become the world’s largest smartphone vendor by volume with 24 percent market share,” Alex Spektor, Director at Strategy Analytics, said.

This was down to Cupertino’s crafty phone strategy which saw the “distribution of the iPhone family expanded across numerous countries, dozens of operators and multiple price points” he added.

In other words, Apple left no corner of the market unturned in its bid for iPhone domination and sold more new 4S’ than any other model in months October to December, it told investors last week.

However, all is not lost for arch rival Samsung and its flagship Galaxies, say analysts.


Click to enlarge

While Apple nabbed the top spot for Q4, the Galaxy creator were the overall smartphone leader in 2011 – for the first time ever – with 20% share of the smartphone pie, noted Strategy’s Neil Mawston.

Shipments of its Android Galaxy devices, including flagship S II, Nexus and Ace, hit almost one hundred million last year – or 97.4m to be precise, beating Apple’s 93m.

And its most definitely a two horse race between the arch rivals, says Mawston, meaning Galaxy V iPhone is shaping up to be the 2012 smartphone battle, again.

 

“With Samsung is now well positioned alongside Apple in a two-horse race at the forefront of one of the world’s largest and most valuable consumer electronics markets,” said Mawston.

And former mobile darlings Nokia also halved its share of smartphones from 33% to 16% in the past year due to a lackluster portfolio of smartphones and a limited presence in the huge US market – something the Lumia maker is looking to resolve in 2012 via its newly released Windows Phone’s and a concrete US strategy,  which CEO Stephen Elop spelt out last week.

Nokia’s partnership with Microsoft will be very much in focus in 2012, and the industry will be watching closely to see how the duo can expand in the high-value 4G across the US and elsewhere, analysts noted.

NBN Fit? Internode Boots CIO To Move Hackett In, Prepares For War

by

Self declared ‘National broadband company’ restructures its business ahead of NBN rollout.



Click to enlarge

Adelaide based Internode has chopped several roles including Chief Information Officer, to be replaced by MD Simon Hackett as Chief Technology Officer well as keeping his existing role. 

The broadband giant, which has over 200,000 customers, has been busy reshuffling staff and made four roles redundant, in changes announced today.
The change was driven by the need to get Internode “match fit” and get its house in order ahead of the “opportunities” presented by the NBN, CEO, Patrick Tapper, said.

“A major focus for us is to make it easier for our customers to deal with us online. Simon is taking on the role of CTO in order to provide additional ‘hands-on’ leadership of this process.”
Just recently Tapper’s company released made its NBN pricing structure public, which starting at $59 was higher than anticipated and started off a price war, with cut-price operator Dodo announcing plans for services starting below $40, and Exetel undercutting both rivals pricing. 
“The position of CTO formalises the role that Simon has consistently performed in the business during its 20-year history. Simon will also retain the role of managing director.” 
However, Tapper laughed off any hint of woes at the Internet provider, saying, “t is very much full steam ahead at Internode.” 
The four people who have left each played a great role at Internode, but there would have been too much overlap if remained unchanged, he insisted. 
And, despite the departures, Internode is still “actively” hiring people for its 100-strong Technology division, with 13 positions currently open. 
 

Internode has about 200,000 customers connected to its national network, the third largest ISP.

Asus Nabs No. 2 Tab Crown Off Samsung, Working On Transformer Honeycomb 3.1?

by

Notebook maker is now No. 2 tab maker behind the iPad, reports suggest.

The Taiwanese Transformer maker has succeeded in nabbing the title from under rival Samsung’s nose, having achieved shipments figures of 400,000 units for the first half of this year, reports Digitimes, citing components supplier figures. 

Asus Eee Pad family of tabs which includes Transformer and Eee Pad and Slider on Honeycomb 3.0 have been well received in the US and here in Australia, although the Slider is not available until July. 

Asus have made no secret of its mission to out-tab rival slates including Galaxy Tab with CEO Jerry Shen confiding in journalists at CeBIT in Germany earlier this year of his desire to be No.2 in tabs by 2012. 
And it looks as though Christmas has come early for Shen, to the dismay of its Korean rivals Samsung. 

Samsung have not released official sales figures for its Galaxy Tab although said it sold 1.5 million of the 7″ Tabs in 2010 (which was later revealed as the amount shipped) admitting in February sales of its first Tab “wasn’t as fast as we expected.” 

Considering the first Tab went on sale mid last year, it would appear Samsung have a serious rival on its hands although is set to launch its Galaxy Tab 10.v here soon and earlier this week launched its high spec 10.1″ Tab on Honeycomb 3.0 OS in the US, which it will be hoping revive consumer interest. 

And looking to emulate the success of Transformer, the giant is said to be busy working on a second-generation model running Honeycomb 3.1, tipped to see the light of day launch in October “at the earliest.” 

This is also to be swiftly followed by a 7-inch Eee Pad MeMO 3D also due for release in Q4 and Padfone, the smartphone meshed with a tab running Android Ice Cream Sandwich and Nvidia Tegra 3 to retail for US$549-$799.

 

But it’s not just notebooks that’s burning the midnight oil in Asus’ backroom labs. 


Shen’s giant is also planning a notebook running Google’s Chromebook using Nvidia Tegra 3 this year, according to reports. 

Online Prices To Soar After GST Revision

by

GST on online goods purchased abroad may jump 10% as the NSW Treasurer makes a fresh call to slash the GST threshold to $30.


Click to enlarge

NSW Treasurer Mike Baird is calling on the government to change the GST rules for goods purchased online from overseas and lower the threshold from the current $1000 to just $30.

The move, if implemented, would please retailers like Gerry Harvey, Bernie Brookes and Co – Mr Harvey in particular was lambasted by consumers following his call for similar GST threshold cutting measures last year, calling on the government to make the playing field fair for domestic and international retailers selling online.

”It’s clear that the GST base is growing less than anticipated and the government needs to look at all options to replace revenue that is essential to deliver services and the building of infrastructure,” Baird said.

”It’s time that we seriously consider online retailing because it is growing exponentially and means that our domestic retailers aren’t competing on a level playing field.”

However, this would mean a jump in the cost of purchasing goods from international retailers as much as 10%, to the dismay of price savvy Aussie consumers.

At the moment, consumers who purchase clothing, electronics or other durables from international retailers don’t pay any additional GST if the goods are worth under $1000.

Mike Baird, made the proposals as a recent Productivity Commission report, examining competiveness in the retail sector, also proposed similar moves, but only if was cost effective to do so.

The PC report found is was currently not cost-efficient to do so without significant improvements in the efficiency of processing low value parcels coming through customs.

However, the Low Value Parcel Processing (LVP) Taskforce, set up buy the PC to examine how to efficiently process thousands of parcels coming in from overseas each week, delivered it recommendations yesterday, indicating Customs and Border Protection, DAFF Biosecurity, the ATO, the States and Territories and Australia Post would need to work together to implement the new rules and processes.

The report also found that any streamlining of the processes involved in the handling of imported parcels, would require “significant change,” indicating it may be some time yet before the changes to GST are implemented.

Mr Baird also admitted to Fairfax Media there was “more work to do” in examining the administrative costs involved in implementing the new rules.

The lowering of the GST threshold to $30 would put Australia in line with other countries such as the UK, where the threshold is particularly low at around $28, while Canada is slightly higher and the US is $200.

 

The Productivity Commission estimate online represents 6% of total Australian retail sales – 4% domestic ($8.4 bn) and 2% from overseas sellers ($4.2 bn); however, projects this to grow by 10-15% per year over the next three years.

The Australian Retailers Association welcomed the LVP report and said it outlined a “economically propitious plan towards achieving a level playing field for online, traditional and multichannel Australian retailers alike.”

ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said the report highlighted the need to address and remove the inherent disadvantage currently presented to Australian retailers as well as open up a revenue stream for state and territory governments.

The ARA are calling on the Government to “implement the report’s recommendations as soon as practicable given the obvious win- win situation for retailers and the economy.”

Mr Zimmerman also told Channel News the ARA was currently in discussions with state governments on the issue and although could give no indications of how soon the new rules could be in place, said he hopes the changes are implemented “very quickly.”

Hello 4G: Telstra Hits OZ @ High-Speed

by

Telstra revs up 4G coverage as rivals hit town.


Click to enlarge

Capital cities Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth will now have next gen, 4G LTE web coverage all over, almost.

The 4G expansion, announced earlier today, will the reach two-thirds of the population over the next 10 months.

The first new 4G sites were launched today in Sydney’s Bondi and in the North Shore rail tunnel for passengers travelling on the North Shore line between Central and North Sydney.

The network expansion will see more than 1,000 new 4G/LTE base stations installed by mid 2013, covering 66% of the population, up from 40% at present.

Telstra’s typical 4G download speeds are 2Mbps – 40Mbps, uploads 1Mbps – 10Mbps.

And Aussies are crying out for 4G services, if Telstra’s figures are anything to go by.

Over half a million of its customers have switched to 4G services – either via smartphone or mobile broadband devices, since it launched the first service in Oz last September (340,000 broadband + 160,000 4G smartphones).

Rival Optus unleashed its 4G service, which it claims is fastest in Oz, earlier this month.

“Since launching the nation’s first 4G LTE service last September, our customers have embraced 4G technology and today they’re using more than half a million 4G devices to browse the web faster, stream music and video and enjoy rich internet content traditionally reserved for PCs,” said Brendon Riley, Telstra’s Chief Operations Officer.

Telstra currently offers limited 4G coverage in capital CBDs and 100 other metro and regional locations.

It also appears men are more enamoured with faster Internet than women – accounting for 56% of Telstra’s 4G customer base, Queenslanders are also the fastest to takeup teh 4G LTE services, followed by Victorians (22%) and NSW (21%).

Is your area set to be 4G-ed?

 

Check out Telstra 4G Coverage expansion state-by-state:

· Brisbane: Brisbane Airport in the East to Indooroopilly in the West and from Coopers Plains in the South to Chermside in the North.

· Gold Coast:Surfers Paradise in the East to Nerang in the West and from Tugun in the South to Hope Island in the North.

· Sydney: Manly in the East to Greystanes in the West and from Kogarah in the South to Hornsby in the North.

· Canberra: Queanbeyan in the East to Duffy in the West and from Farrer in the South to Moncrieff in the North.

· Melbourne: Ringwood in the East to Werribee in the West and from Bentleigh in the South to Epping in the North.

· Adelaide: Magill in the East to Henley Beach in the West and from Torrens Park in the South to Broadview in the North.

· Perth: Maida Vale in the East to Fremantle in the West and from Willetton in the South to Dianella in the North.*

R U Watching? Telstra Kick Off Sports IPTV

by

Calling all Sports Fans: Welcome to the Clubhouse
Telstra announce The Clubhouse, its “star-studded” IPTV sports show and “revolutionary” SportFan app today as it goes hard on Internet TV and sports.

SportsFan is basically a haven for all die hard footy, rugby and sports fans with a TV show on four times a week and a mobile app where you can rate games that are hot and not, set scores, and also has Aussie’s first ever free sport tipping game, Tip-Off.

The Clubhouse, is Telstra’s new sports panel show broadcast over the web headed by former Network Ten presenter Bill Woods, streamed live across Telstra T Box, online, mobile, tablet or watched on-demand.

The flagship program mixes comprehensive sports news, comment and opinion from personalities including Matt Burke, Brad Fittler, Brad Seymour, Wendell Sailor, Layne Beachley, Joel Caine, Renee Gartner and Mieke Buchan.

“There are panel shows out there and a lot try to be too serious, while others try to be too funny and don’t have any substance,” Woods said.

“What The Clubhouse offers is an intelligent but humorous, satirical but knowledgeable take on Aussie sport – we don’t mince words and we don’t pull punches.”

The launch of SportsFan and sportsfan.com.au is a “defining moment” in Telstra’s push to become Australia’s premier multi-screen IPTV and digital content provider, said Mark Buckman, Telstra Media Executive Director. 

Telstra already has exclusive mobile rights to NRL and AFL sports games.

“What we have in SportsFan is the combination of three market-first products that together create an engaging multi-screen brand specifically tailored to Aussie sports fans,” said Buckman. 

The Clubhouse will be shown on on the SportsFan App, allows fans to vote on which live matches across all sports are the most exciting, giving a live barometer of what’s “Hot” and ‘Not”.

Users can select favourite sports and teams and receive personalised notifications alerting them to a range of scenarios, including the ability to set score and “excitement” alerts and there is also an “R U Watching This” tool which lets users determine which live matches are the most exciting.

“The SportsFan App is the ultimate tool to keep across what’s happening in Australian sport at any given moment,” Mark Buckman said.

 “For example if you’re a NRL fan and your team is about to upset the premiers, you’ll get a personal alert to tune in and check the score, or watch it live on the NRL LIVE 2013 App.”

The SportsFan app also offers Australia’s first free multi-sport tipping game, Tip-Off, which gives sports fans of all ages the chance to participate in a fun tipping game across a range of sports including AFL, NRL, Rugby, tennis, horse racing, and more, to win sports merchandise prizes.

‘Yatango’: Kogan Mobile’s Save-Our-Souls Plan

by

E-Tailer announces save-our-souls plan for thousands of abandoned mobile users.

Kogan Mobile announced an “exclusive free deal” for Kogan customers with Yatango, offering “unlimited” mobile service, 6GB data for 30 days. 

The SIM-only mobile provider launched earlier this year runs on the Optus network.  
Over 110,000  Kogan Mobile prepaid customers this week face having their service cut off, after service provider ispOne went into administration. 

Telstra began shifting Kogan users to a limited 7 Day Plan last week, after which their service is terminated. 

Some Kogan Mobile customers had prepaid their cut price “unlimited” Kogan mobile service for up to a year. 
Kogan’s ‘exclusive’ Yatango deal offers  “Unlimited Talk, Unlimited SMS and 6GB Data for a month.” 
Users can monitor usage during the trial, Yatango says it will help build a flexible month-to-month plan that’s right for users and saves money. 
“Up to 80% of Kogan customers WILL save money on Yatango based on their usage, ” Andy Taylor  CEO of Yatango, claims. 
There no fees or commitment for those who take up the Yatango Sim-only plan. All Kogan Mobile customers have been sent a voucher code by email.
An Optus spokesperson told CN it has received a “positive” response to its special double-your-data offer to abandoned Kogan Mobile users, last week.