Eight key takeaways from The State of Connectivity in Australia, 2024

The State of Connectivity in Australia, 2024,  has found that improved connectivity is a "top priority" for 40% of Australian businesses, yet overall there has been a "lack of urgency" to invest in 5G technology to date.

40% of Australian businesses say improved connectivity is a "top priority"; and agree that connectivity is directly linked to revenue growth. Over 60 percent of businesses agree that smarter facilities, incorporating IoT, and connected devices are needed to operate more efficiently and sustainably.

🚩 2. AI and ML will demand  review of network connectivity

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning applications rely heavily on reliable connectivity and their adoption will demand a review of network connectivity. This is expected to accelerate 5G uptake. Over 25 percent of businesses plan to invest in AI, Machine Learning, and equipment sensors in the next 12 months, and nearly half of Australian businesses plan to invest in these technologies in the longer term.

🚩 3. Connectivity is directly linked to revenue growth

Over a quarter of businesses say that better connectivity would result in 20-29% revenue growth in the next 12 months by enabling things like quicker sales transactions, more efficient operations, and enhanced productivity. 

🚩 4. Businesses lack urgency in adopting 5G

There has been a hesitancy from Australian enterprises to invest in 5G connectivity. Why? 37% fear high costs, 27% are concerned about the 'complexity of change', and 28% are unsure whether the technology can handle enterprise connectivity. 

🚩 5. Inhouse skills barrier to adopting wireless WAN

A shortage of in-house skills and knowledge around deploying and maintaining both wired and wireless networks is also a barrier to investing in 5G connectivity, according to 30% of respondents. 

🚩 6. Fixed line connectivity causing frustration and costing businesses

Nearly 50% of Australian businesses are frustrated with NBN fixed line connectivity due to the lack of flexibility; high costs for installation; long delays for new connections, and worrying outages.  57 percent of businesses say they had 1-2 hours of downtime per week, over the past 12 months, due to fixed line/fibre network failure.

🚩 7. Network security is the #1 connectivity issue for businesses

Of the Australian businesses surveyed, 52 percent selected network security as their top priority, followed by network resilience at 41 percent, bandwidth and speed at 39 percent, and network segmentation capabilities at 30 percent. Security breaches are common in Australian organisations, and while many businesses know about security measures
that are available to help prevent these breaches from occurring, it seems that not all businesses are necessarily focusing on ensuring that their security stack meets today’s technology risks.

🚩 8. 40 percent of businesses revealed they had been the subject of a network attack in the past 12 months

Of the 40 percent who suffered a network attack, over one-quarter suffered a major security breach which resulted in loss of data, and over 20% resulted in significant company fines. The attacks presented as a data breach (37%), phishing attack (30%), hacked IoT devices or Denial-of-Service attacks (25%), and ransomware or zero-day attacks (20%).

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Access the full report here

MobileCorp: Australia's leading Cradlepoint Premier Partner

MobileCorp is your leading Australian Cradlepoint Partner. We have extensive experience deploying 5G networks utilising Cradlepoint 5G-native hardware and Netcloud Manager instance. 

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About MobileCorp

MobileCorp is a Sydney-based communications technology company. We support enterprise and business by providing managed endpoints and ICT services including mobile device security, mobile device management, expense management, 5G networking and managed connectivity solutions.

We are the Telstra Mobility Partner of the Year 2023, and are the winners of the CRN Impact Workforce Empowerment Award 2023.