The businesses that are outperforming others in productivity are those that heavily use ICT, according to analysis from the Australian Industry Group. Ai Group’s Ready or Not? Technology Investment and Productivity in Australian businesses report, found financial, wholesale trade, information, telecommunications and media industries are the biggest users of ICT. These industries experienced productivity gains of 40 to 45 per cent since 2000, compared to the average for all industry sectors of 13 per cent. “Increased business investment in ICT has contributed to productivity gains in recent decades, with more impact in Australia compared with other markets,” the report reads. “By comparison to the high-productivity sectors, the average majority of Australian industries have experienced slow and sporadic labour productivity growth adding to a total of 10 to 20 per cent since 2000. The mining and utilities sectors are special cases and have seen large declines in labour productivity due to very large and lumpy capital investment, drought, natural disasters and other factors.” The Ai Group also found about 35 per cent of businesses that actively engaged in innovation during 2010 to 2011 reported an increase in productivity from the previous year, compared with 8.4 per cent of non-innovation active businesses. “There is a particularly strong correlation between ICT use and innovation… Investments in ICT can lead to greater business efficiencies which free up company time or funding for innovation. ICT investments may also lead to improved productivity and facilitate innovative behaviours, such as greater collaboration.” However, the lack of access to additional funds is the biggest barrier to innovation, with only about 4 per cent of businesses receiving funding for innovation from Australian government organisations in 2010 to 2011. Ai Group also found small businesses are twice as likely to report this as an issue than larger businesses. “Most of the government funding for RD is indirect support through RD tax incentives with low levels of direct support for RD relative to other OECD countries. Of the direct government funding for RD, 60 per cent is allocated through competitive funding.” Follow CIO Australia on Twitter and Like us on Facebook… Twitter: @CIO_Australia, Facebook: CIO Australia, or take part in the CIO conversation on LinkedIn: CIO Australia Related content feature 10 most popular IT certifications for 2023 Certifications are a great way to show employers you have the right IT skills and specializations for the job. These 10 certs are the ones IT pros are most likely to pursue, according to data from Dice. By Sarah K. White May 26, 2023 8 mins Certifications Careers interview Stepping up to the challenge of a global conglomerate CIO role Dr. Amrut Urkude became CIO of Reliance Polyester after his company was acquired by Reliance Industries. He discusses challenges IT leaders face while transitioning from a small company to a large multinational enterprise, and how to overcome them. By Yashvendra Singh May 26, 2023 7 mins Digital Transformation Careers brandpost With the new financial year looming, now is a good time to review your Microsoft 365 licenses By Veronica Lew May 25, 2023 5 mins Lenovo news Alteryx works in generative AI for speedy analytics results OpenAI integration and AI wizardry for report generation are aimed at making Alteryx’s analytics products more accessible. By Jon Gold May 25, 2023 3 mins Analytics Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe