Retailer’s Perspective: NBN Will Encourage E-Commerce Growth

• Tweet

Image: Salvatore Vuono/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Following the National Digital Economic Strategy launch, Paul Greenberg, Co-Founder of DealsDirect, shares his opinion on how this will impact e-commerce.

Yesterday at CeBIT, Senator Stephen Conroy, The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy launched his National Digital Economic Strategy. In support of this strategy launch, was a group of about twenty leaders from business, academia, community and, health,  loosely known as ‘broadband champions’. I was one of them.

Let me jump in quickly by saying that I am no political animal, and in fact this is the first time I have got behind such an initiative. Not unexpectedly, I have copped a bit of flack, mainly good natured, from friends, family and colleagues. Of course the National Broadband Network (NBN) is an emotive topic, as it should be, being one of the boldest national infrastructure projects in our history.

My view is simply this – I will support any government that is committed, really committed, to investing money in technology and technology infrastructure. It was thanks to technology, that Mike Rosenbaum and myself were able to grow a business, from literally nothing, to a plus one hundred million dollar business, employing over one hundred and twenty people. And it will be advances in technology that will allow us to grow to a billion dollar business employing thousands of Australians. And indeed it is stories like ours that have been, and will be, repeated many times over by bold and technologically enabled entrepreneurs with innovative and enduring models.

So I am an advocate of the NBN. And I also acknowledge Stephen Conroy as a passionate Australian who undoubtedly has a deep inner conviction that this infrastructure project will benefit Australians for generations to come, long after his government and others, have had their innings.

Are the NBN plans and the National Digital Economic Strategy perfect and without flaws? Look, I don’t think an infrastructure project of this scale can run without issues. I was walking past the Opera House today, and was reminded of the drama and scandal around its construction many years ago. Yet today, who would wish we never had it? We love that iconic landmark. So, yes, I expect that there will be the normal ups and downs, wins and misses, with an infrastructure project of this size and scale. But I say, let’s put in the standard checks and balances, and then let’s get on with it. There is lots to do, and the clock is ticking in this fast and fantastic world of digital opportunity.

E-commerce entrepreneurs in Australia will see significant opportunities and upside from the NBN. So indeed will their customers.

Article by Paul Greenberg

Paul is the Co- founder of www.dealsdirect.com.au, a pioneering online retail brand in Australia. He is a passionate advocate of the multichannel retail experience, particularly web enabled consumer direct models, having spent over 10 years in this space in Australia. He is also the Co-Founder of recently launched www.dealme.com.au - a deal of the day site that features products and experiences. Paul has a Bachelors and Post Graduate qualifications in psychology, is a registered psychologist, with a keen interest in organisational psychology and consumer psychology. He is married with two children, and lives in Sydney.