When should I start planning for the new broadband network?

There can only be one IT topic to discuss this week, and it has to be the shock announcement by Kevin Rudd on the biggest investment in infrastructure this country has ever seen.

Nerds like me all over Australia are feeling vindicated for the hours we spend huddled over computers.  This project throws computer technologies to the forefront of the business world with the message that fast information flow is a big part of the future of this country.

Opportunities abound, from video conferencing in homes to new cloud-based solutions to old problems.

Data storage as I mentioned last week will rapidly move on line as files will be able to be called on from anywhere, unlike today where we can wait to upload and wait to download, which does not work in most business cases.

As the broadband dust settles, what is next for business?

Most of our business clients are running 100Mb networks from their server room to the desk in their office. Some are using gigabit connections, but most don’t need that much.

So what the new NBN means to me is that now we will be able to connect every home-based office in Australia to my data centre at full speed.  What could only be done in the office will now be able to be done anywhere in Australia.  There are so many spin offs of this serious technology upgrade that it is hard to know where to start.

If anyone wants to form an opportunity seeking think tank with me, let me know – because the rules changed this week and that means big opportunities for people who lay the right plans.

I see massive potential for hosted applications and hosted servers and services.  I have hardly mentioned virtualised servers in my articles to date, but it is now time to ramp up plans for massive server fabrics hosting virtual environments for all sizes of businesses.

It’s time I added video conferencing technologies to my suite of products, as this will be a great time saver for any SME with distributed staff or clients.  This will become a smooth technology in every home and office.

I can look forward to video based webinars educating my future clients on the latest technology developments.  Note to self: “Must start the diet and plastic surgery regimen soon”.  Hmm, can software make me look better on video?

I have lots of questions that SMEs like Combo and our clients should start asking themselves:

• How soon can we start connecting at home and at work?
• Should we run our own servers or can it be done more efficiently by IT hosting companies?
• Will our software move to multi-tenant environments such as Salesforce.com or will we still need our own hosted servers to create single company instances of software?
• Do we still need a central office or can we decentralise and work from home and local offices to reduce our costs and lost time and to reduce our carbon footprint caused by travel?
• How will this affect the current ISPs which will convert consumer demand to connected clients and how will these businesses be regulated?
• How will pricing be determined for the end user? Will our fees have to pay the installation cost over three years, five or 10? 
• How long will it be before the fibre technology is obsolete?
• Will Telstra’s upgraded cable technology be a competitor to the NBN?
• Which city should the NBN company be based in?  My vote goes to Melbourne as the best possible location.

I’m sure there are many more questions that we will all wish we thought of as the solution emerges. The answers will play out and shape our business and social communities over the next 10 years.

Share your ideas in the comments below.

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