Ben is TechRepublic's local content lead for Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. Based in Sydney, Australia, he has over two decades of experience as a B2B journalist and editor in Australia, Asia and the UK covering developments in technology across multiple industry verticals, including banking and finance, education and the law. He currently covers news and trends relevant to business technology buyers, from technology vendor and product updates, to analysis from local industry thought leaders on the challenges and opportunities organizations are facing in a areas like AI, digital transformation and cybersecurity.
Australia’s public sector agencies are under increasing pressure to improve their readiness for cyber attacks and data breaches, as surveys and investigations find their preparedness lackluster.
Businesses worldwide are trying to squeeze more productivity out of software developers. Atlassian finds this strategy counterproductive, suggesting companies should instead focus on maximising “developer joy.”
Australian regulators allege that cyber security failures at Optus and Medibank contributed to data breaches in 2022, leading to theft of sensitive customer data.
The number of technical and non-technical AI-related roles could grow fast, says the Technology Council of Australia, with entry level, mid-career and international candidates all standing to benefit.
“Digital intensity” caused by multiple cloud environments, application growth and AI is putting pressure on IT leaders in medium-sized businesses to manage costs while modernising their infrastructure.
The hybrid multicloud strategies that many Australian enterprises have adopted over the last decade could be made more complex by new AI applications. The only solutions could be rationalisation or an abstraction layer.
Australia is among the APAC governments forging closer ties with the private sector due to the realisation that the public sector can no longer fight the increase in cyber criminals alone.
Software vendor SAP plans to end mainstream support for its on premise ERP software in 2027 as it pushes global customers to upgrade to S/4HANA Cloud. SAP customers in APAC will soon need to migrate or look for other ERP products or SAP service options.
Operational technology users face challenges including communication between process engineering and cyber security teams, a growth in malware and ransomware, and insiders making basic technology mistakes.
A number of open source tech tools have moved towards commercial licences. Thoughtworks says this creates “big headaches” for IT, who are scrambling to maintain compliance and find replacement tools.
