The Australian Government has recently launched a website with the support of the technology sector to support Australian businesses with staff working remotely during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Australian Business Continuity is a site set up with the help of the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) and its technology partners which provides free practical tools to support the continuity of Australia’s small to medium businesses, including advice on how to best use teleworking services.
AIIA’s new hub complements business.gov.au—the Government’s existing website for small to medium enterprises. business.gov.au is the main government digital service for information and support to help businesses in Australia, it simplifies access to relevant and essential information, tools and advice across all levels of Government, and it particularly useful during this period.
Technology Sector Work with Government To Support Businesses Working Remotely
Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, the Hon Karen Andrews MP, said the new site offers clear and targeted information to support businesses using alternative work arrangements and new technologies during this period.
‘This is just another example of how our business community—in this case the tech sector—is stepping up to help other Australian SMEs navigate the unprecedented challenges of coronavirus,’ Minister Andrews said.
‘The new hub sees industry working together to keep our businesses running, with the AIIA partnering with Microsoft, Cisco, ServiceNow, Adobe, Telstra, Google, Facebook, SAP, Salesforce and others to provide guidance and free access to tools for video-conferencing, virtual meetings and other remote business services.
The Australian Business Continuity site aims to help businesses function with minimal disruption as businesses have to operate remotely during the coronavirus outbreak.
‘The AIIA in conjunction with some of its members and with the support of the Federal Government, has come together to provide a suite of free service offerings, advice and tools designed to support Australian business continuity through the use of technology.”
This support includes a range of remote communications, collaboration, workforce management and video conferencing solutions for business continuity that can be accessed on any device at any time anywhere.
The Minister said that working remotely is foreign to many businesses but is now essential as they practice social distancing and she encouraged all businesses to explore the new hub and see how it could help them make it to the other side of this outbreak.
Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said he was pleased to see the tech sector mobilising quickly to offer tangible support for Australian businesses so they can sustain the important work they do via teleworking, video conferencing and other remote working productivity platforms.
National Broadband Network to Support Connectivity During Pandemic
‘Businesses are well placed to take advantage of remote working solutions with the National Broadband Network now 95 per cent complete, providing more than 11 million homes and businesses across Australia with access to fast, reliable and affordable broadband,’ Minister Fletcher said.
‘NBN Co has made 40 per cent more network capacity available to retail service providers at no through the network at high speed, which will underpin people’s productivity and connectivity requirements as they shift their work habits in response to COVID-19.’
NBN Co announced 18 March 2020 that it will waive charges for additional capacity of up to 40 percent to Retail Service Providers (RSPs) for at least three months to help them support Australian residential and business NBN customers. The additional capacity pricing relief will apply to all fixed-line, fixed wireless and satellite NBN technologies.