Skip to main content

Technology is changing Australia’s future, and TMT organisations are leading the charge

Following the release of Tech Trends 2024: An Australian Perspective, we look at how technology is shaping the telecommunications, media and entertainment, and technology (TMT) sectors.

 

 

It’s been a remarkable year to date for TMT organisations as they respond to powerful local and global forces. In March, our annual TMT Predictions painted a detailed picture of these shifts, from evolving consumer behaviour to the push for lower carbon emissions.

As these themes play out, the sector is also seeing the impact of – and playing a crucial role in – six key tech trends influencing the wider business landscape. Here, we look at two of the most compelling trends for TMT organisations: creating value with generative AI and solving emerging cybersecurity challenges. 

 

Investment in generative AI is ramping up. With a growing need to create the Australian AI nation, the TMT sector is leading the charge.

Australia’s generative AI market is expected to grow sevenfold by 2030, reaching $27.5 billion. The value it creates for organisations will likely be much, much greater. For TMT business leaders, the question remains: how can they unlock it?

Most organisations have already experimented with generative AI, exploring simple use cases and proofs of concept. To create value at scale, they’ll need to look across the entire value chain and embed AI at large within their operations. Importantly, this transition relies on significant infrastructure, most of which is currently offshore. But the global regulatory landscape is evolving rapidly, stoking concerns around AI sovereignty.

Organisations need to consider how they can manage these risks. The clear trend is to build the necessary infrastructure and capability onshore, which gives access to local, cost-effective compute capacity. Organisations can then train generative AI on private data and embed solutions into end-to-end value chains. The TMT sector is central to this value creation, which is the foundation of sovereign AI nations.

In 2024, we expect to see the creation of the Australian AI nation – large scale generative AI business solutions (solutions as a service) on local infrastructure (infrastructure as a service). Partnerships between multiple players are likely the best path forward: telcos, hyperscalers, software providers and data centre operators have an opportunity to lay this foundation for the future. The winners of this race will be the founders of the Australian AI nation: those who offer turnkey solutions with onshore, large-scale and cost-effective compute and storage capacity, fully operational in local data centres with the right cooling, power and network connectivity – combined with end-to-end generative AI solutions.

Cyber threats aren’t going away. To stay protected, organisations will increasingly rely on a mix of technology and managed services to keep the wolves from the door. 

Every headline-grabbing cyber attack is a sobering reminder to organisations across Australia. As the digital and data landscapes evolve, these threats will only grow in sophistication as attackers hunt for vulnerable networks, systems, and applications – with the risk of major data breaches, financial loss and reputational damage. The spread of connected devices and the Internet of Things (IoT) is also expanding the attack surface, amplifying the complexity of cybersecurity.

Despite the challenges, organisations are finding solutions, and the TMT sector is at the forefront. Telstra, for example, blocks millions of suspected SMS scams a month and has given customers a new way to report those that slip through. Cybersecurity is also improving through rapid advances in intrusion detection systems, endpoint protection solutions, security analytics platforms and other technologies.

But technology alone isn’t enough. Finding and retaining the right cyber talent continues to be a challenge, and most organisations can’t compete. Going without is too risky, so they will increasingly look to package cybersecurity tech with managed services to better protect themselves from threats. 

Download Tech Trends 2024: An Australian Perspective for a local view on the cutting-edge trends featured in our annual global report, including examples of these trends in action and actionable advice to help separate signal from noise. 

Recommended for you