International computing giant IBM has published a report into the coming four decades of Australia's ICT future, finding that the sector will eventually grow to rival, and even surpass, the resources sector as the country transitions from a 'natural resources' economy to a 'developed resources' economy.

 

Written by Phil Ruthven, Founder and Chairman, IBISWorld, and commissioned by IBM, the report looks ahead of existing research to examine how Australia can harness the booming information technology sector worldwide.

 

The report reveals that the high-speed broadband enhanced information and technology sector will rapidly become the backbone of the country's economy, and that the rollout of the NBN infrastructure is as important and game-changing as the introduction of electricity or telephony was at the start of the 20th century.

 

The report predicts that 10 per cent of Australia’s 509 industries, accounting for 23 per cent of the nation’s revenue, will not function without this new utility. A further 23 per cent of industry revenue will use it to drive step-changes in their business. 15 industry classes are likely to demise if they do not reinvent themselves to embrace the digital future; and some may simply be unable to do so.

 

The report paints a more gloomy picture for traditional media and print advertising, finding that innovation is the sole key to their survival.

 

"Australia’s digital future will transform some industries, including knowledge industries, health and educational services, which will be underpinned by digitised products and services," Mr Stevens wrote in the report.

 

The report finds that Australia will no longer be known for its dependency on the export of natural resources over the next half century. It will become known as much an exporter of services such as tourism, business services, health and education services. The export of tourism alone could match the 2012 mineral exports totalling around $175 billion by 2030.

 

The full report can be found here