Creeping normalcy is killing-off regional business.

Achieving more with less is a challenge that has always been close to the heart of regional business.

Yet increasingly we are pushed to rethink our approach to innovation, managing cost structures, increasing efficiency and maintaining margins.

Many tools are already available to help regional businesses streamline their operations.  They are the new digital tools available online.

There is compelling evidence to suggest we should take advantage of this new technology.

In a recent study of the global food and beverage industry called Hunger for Growth, advisory firm Grant Thornton said that new digital practices represent a seismic shift in how the sector will operate in the future.

91% of CEOs surveyed in PwC’s 17^th Annual Global CEO Survey said that digital technology will create the biggest transformation of their businesses in the next 5 years.

Yet local business owners and operators in regional South Australia remain largely uninspired.  

Why?

Because the internet service we pay premium rates for is well below any globally acceptable standard for doing business.  

Although it’s pleasing to know that late last year, Australia’s internet speed surpassed Mongolia’s!

Failing to provide regional businesses with a reliable, high-speed internet service is a major contributor to our local agribusiness and food sector becoming a casualty of unrelenting global competition.

What is needed now is an impact statement that quantifies how much the productivity and competitiveness of regional businesses in South Australia has been negatively impacted by our dilapidated telecommunications service.

The fact that South Australia’s economy can be slowed-down because the kids are home from school means it’s time for action.