Australian businesses embrace innovation amid COVID-19

Nearly half (45%) of Australian businesses are using COVID-19 as an opportunity to innovate, with 82% of business decision-makers believing innovation is now a must, according to research from Microsoft.

A survey of business leaders in APAC amid the pandemic found that 69% of Australian organisations are transforming digitally to adapt to and survive the transition to a digital economy.

Based on the research, Microsoft estimates that for many businesses, COVID-19 has meant that two years of digital transformation has happened within just two months.

Meanwhile, the proportion of businesses in Australia classed as leaders in a culture of innovation increased by 20% (up by 5.4 percentage points) in just six months during the pandemic. To stay afloat in the next 12 months, organisations in Australia will be focusing on technology (37%) and people (29%).

“[Some] “32% of organisations in Australia are leaders in a culture of innovation, significantly higher than the Asia–Pacific average of 8%,” Microsoft CTO Lee Hicklin said, noting that this demonstrates “a clear focus on innovation amongst Australian organisations”.

He said ongoing digital transformation is helping Australian organisations make better informed decisions, develop transformative processes and create new ways of working.

“This ultimately helps to achieve new and better outcomes. The pandemic has accelerated innovation within the majority of businesses as 63% of surveyed Australian organisations are now finding innovation to be easier when compared to the pre-COVID period,” he said.

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