Small businesses on the Sunshine Coast are losing out because of inadequate internet speed and reliability – and are prepared to pay for a better service. That is the finding of research conducted by Digital Sunshine Coast into the impact of slow internet on business productivity as part of a campaign known as #SPEEDITUP.

The Sunshine Coast is arguably the home of small business, with 35,326 out of 36,002 businesses based in the region falling under the category of small business, as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Research conducted by Digital Sunshine Coast shows a demand for improved internet speed and efficiency. It shows 86% of businesses reliy on the internet for their core operations, and 98% want faster and/or more stable internet for their business needs. It also shows they are prepared to pay for a better service. See: SPEED IT UP Campaign Findings.

Small Business and the Internet

Fast, stable, and affordable internet has a direct correlation with efficiency and productivity for the myriad of tasks that can now be handled online. The main hindrance to taking advantage of these services is the lack of speed or bandwidth available on the internet connections many businesses may be currently using.

Do you still see your internet and data access spend as a cost?

Businesses on the Sunshine Coast are flipping this traditional view on its head and seeing it as an investment to which return is gained. Don’t think of fast and stable internet as a cost – think of it as an efficiency ‘enabler’. What is it costing you in health and wellbeing, time with your family, lost sales opportunities, under-utilisation of your workforce, employee satisfaction and retention for the sake of $40 – $60 extra per month?

Read Small Business and the Internet – What are your options and why should you care? to investigate the opportunity costs of inadequate broadband and technologies to your business, what sort of internet access is available on the Sunshine Coast, and how you might be able to speed your business up. Below you will also find additional tools and resources, and case studies of Sunshine Coast businesses who have taken advantage of world leading applications to significantly change their business operations and increase their productivity.

Additional Resources

Case studies

​Articles

Business Programs

  • Digital Scorecard: The Queensland Government’s Digital Scorecard will help businesses identify ways to improve their digital capability and be more competitive in a global digital economy. Small to medium enterprises and not-for-profits can use the scorecard to find out how digitally aware and capable they are compared with others in similar industries. Businesses who complete a digital assessment will be invited to targeted workshops to improve their digital readiness in areas including website development, social media, and the use of mobile and other new technologies. 
  • The Level Up Program: The Level Up program is a Sunshine Coast Council funded program aimed at helping local micro, small and medium businesses connect to high-speed broadband where available, and fully utilise digital tools, innovation principles and business solutions to enable them to improve their productivity, profitability and ability to compete locally, nationally and internationally, where desired.