Find Computing and Office Supplies expertise in Australia

Australia has a highly developed ICT industry comparable with the best in the world. In 2008 the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked it in the top ten in the world, in terms of ICT personnel, expertise, and infrastructure. In a report commissioned by Microsoft in 2007, the ICT industry in Australia was projected to generate AUS$21 billion annually in added value to the country’s GDP by the end of 2013. About 400,000 Australians are employed in ICT occupations or specific ICT industry businesses. The country has made a lot of inroads in attracting global software giants. Companies such as IBM, Canon, Citrix, EDS, Fujitsu, Google and NEC have established extensive software development facilities in Australia.

The International Telecommunications Union states that there are 720 internet users for every 1,000 people (2008) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics registered that 79% of the population had personal computers in 2010 – 2011. Telstra is the largest telecommunication company in Australia. Microsoft, Acer, Dell and IBM, among others, distribute software and hardware throughout Australia.

The percentage of internet access per state or territory ranges from 88% in the Capital, Canberra, to 70% in Tasmania. Some 6.2 million Australians have access to broadband internet access (2011), an increase of over 1 million since 2009. This means that 73% of all Australian households have access to broadband (2011).

The proportion of households in Australia with access to personal computers was approximately 83% in 2011. As with internet access, home computer access is more common for high income households with 96% of the households in the highest income bracket having access to a personal computer. By state or territory, personal computer access ranges from 91% in Canberra to 76% in Tasmania. In 2011, there were a total of 76 internet service providers in Australia.

Australia ranks 15 in the 2012 Global Competitiveness Report, in terms of technological readiness, with a score of 5.61 putting the country just above Japan at 16 and below the United Kingdom which ranks 7. A firm-level technology absorption value is an indicator of how well a country absorbs new technology, with 1 being the lowest level of new technology absorption and 7 being the highest.  4.8 is the mean. Australia has a score of 5.8, ranking it 19, just below the US at 18 and two places below neighbour New Zealand which ranks 17. Broadband in Australia is widely available, but the average speed is below that of economically and technologically comparable countries such as the UK or Japan.