More IT Products For Sale, Sensis
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Small-medium businesses in Australia are producing far more IT products for sale than they were a year ago – and far more than most people suspect, a report by Telstra subsidiary Sensis suggests.

Comms and IT Minister Helen Coonan launched the 2005 Sensis Business Index Special Report, ICT Production In Australian SEMs on Friday.The report, which is based on a survey of 1800 companies across Australia, found the total amount of revenue from the sale of ICT goods and services produced by SMEs – 85 percent of whom aren’t directly in the IT sector – is closes to $27.5 billion, or approximately three percent of Australia’s gross national income. Sensis says the kind of goods and services encompassed by its report include hardware, components, software, advice or consulting in computers and software, database development, tech repairs, and Web design.

In May 2005, 42 per cent of ICT producing SMEs reported earning over $100,000 from the sale of ICT goods and services, up from 32 per cent in May 2004. Sensis says that in a major turnaround, the most frequent amount of revenue gained from the sale of ICT by SMEs involved in ICT production in the year to June 30 was between $500,000 and $1 million. This compares starkly to last year’s finding, when the most frequent amount of revenue was under $10,000.

Some 42 percent of ICT-producing SMEs reported earning more than $100,000 from the sale of ICT goods and services, up from 32 percent in  May last year. Coonan noted that “Sensis have estimated that 85 per cent of the ICT goods and services produced by SMEs in Australia are by firms outside the traditional ICT industry”. “This demonstrates just how pervasive ICT has become across the economy, with 17 percent of all SMEs producing some form of ICT for direct sale, for embedding in other products or to use in day-to-day business operations,” she said.