Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, and Federal Member for New England, Tony Windsor MP, checked in at the Armidale Business Chamber on a recent visit to hear Digital Enterprise Program (DEP) Program Manager and CEO of the Armidale Business Chamber (ABC) Elizabeth Egan present and demonstrate the uptake and success stories of local businesses participating in the Program.
“One of the Chamber’s core values is innovation, so the DEP seemed like a great ‘fit’ for Chamber involvement,” said Ms Egan.
Ms Egan highlighted that the Chamber itself is a fantastic example of a smart, efficient and highly effective office.
“We are cloud based, we telework and use rich media through the use of video and social media to get our message across. We have seen an unprecedented increase of 600 per cent in membership over the past three years and this has been achieved through a commitment to exploring new ways of ‘doing things’ and meeting the needs of our local business people.”
Ms Egan also demonstrated to the visitors the on-line case studies using media interviews with local business as well as interviews with visiting experts. It was also announced that the Chamber are currently developing an app, to make even more accessible the world leading expertise being contributed to the New England region through the program.
Senator Conroy applauded the Chamber’s efforts, saying he was excited by the work being done in this program and encouraged by the local take-up.
Senator Conroy also reiterated the huge advantage Armidale has in being the first town in mainland Australia to be hooked up to the NBN, thus allowing small businesses to be transformed.
“I see this as the way to give people a choice,” said Senator Conroy.
“In the past, if you have wanted a good education or you wanted to take advantage of the sort of facilities that the cities had, then you had to move – now we have a choice and we can stop the brain drain.”
However, his message to those businesses that were not so quick to get on board was clear.
“We will be finished by May next year. This is the first community that can show the way for everybody else. Take the competitive advantage. Every business, small or big, has the opportunity to get a leading edge, don’t delay; just go for it.”
