The uptake of information technology by businesses in the Central Highlands region

Abstract. Businesses in the Central Highlands region of Queensland were surveyed in September 2000 to ascertain their takeup and usage of information technology. The results indicate that there has been substantial takeup in the region over the previous two years, and that the majority of businesses now have some involvement with information technology. This involvement varies across the townships in the region, with businesses in the larger towns tending to be more advanced than those in smaller townships. There are also variations according to business structure and industry type. The extent of uptake calls into question whether the "digital divide" does exist in reality between urban and regional areas. The results of this study reveal little difference in many indicators relating to access and ownership of information technology hardware. To explore the extent to which this regional area may be lagging behind the major urban centres in Australia in terms of information technology, more sophisticated indicators need to be explored. When information was collected about training histories and usage rates, major differences emerged between businesses in the Central Highlands and those in urban centres. These results indicate that businesses are tending to be reactionary rather than proactive to information technology opportunities, and that major gains in production and management efficiencies are still to be realised. These results highlight a potential danger for the region, in that new advances in information technology may increase the supply of retail goods and services from outside the region. This would ultimately lead to increased spending losses from the region, and reduce regional economic activity. To achieve net gains from advances in information technology, businesses in the region will need to be more aware of the potential benefits to gained from using information technology tools, and to be more skilled in their usage.