Australian economy stories
The board reshuffle comes as BAI expands beyond broadcast infrastructure into digital services for mining, resources and energy customers.
Its founders say the consultancy has avoided redundancies and kept growth lean, even as demand for AI transformation rises across the region.
Despite inflation and interest-rate pressure, most small firms are boosting marketing and AI use to win customers and protect revenue.
Rising risk and cost pressures are driving demand for cloud-managed, unified security systems as councils and energy firms seek simpler protection.
The deal gives agriculture and industrial clients broader communications support as specialist agencies chase scale in policy-driven sectors.
More than 170,000 TAFE students in Victoria will gain a single platform for enrolments and administration as ageing systems are replaced.
Australian pubs are seeing extra footfall and kit purchases have surged as live matches spur late-night and early-morning spending.
Rising costs and overdue invoices are squeezing Australian SMEs, with late payments now at a six-year high, Earlypay says.
Adoption alone may not lift output, with only 5% of Australian small firms fully using AI despite two-thirds already experimenting with it.
Unemployment held above the Reserve Bank of Australia's forecast in May, keeping interest rate markets guessing despite a 40,300 jobs rebound.
Insolvencies in the industry are now more than three times the national average, as diesel, landfill levies and debt costs squeeze margins.
Higher housing and wage pressures are keeping Australian inflation too hot for the Reserve Bank to rule out another rate rise as soon as November.
Population growth and tight supply are pushing 10 suburbs towards the million-dollar mark, with Queensland and Western Australia dominating the list.
Weaker demand and rising wage costs are leaving most SMEs in a holding pattern, with few planning to add staff over the next year.
The award will send the ARM Hub founder to Stanford, bolstering efforts to push AI into Australian manufacturing and policy.
The honours highlight a sector under tighter scrutiny yet still adding more than AUD $13.6 billion to Australia's economy and employing 50,200 staff.
As SMEs demand faster lending and integrated tools, banks risk losing ground unless they cut red tape and modernise their platforms.
Weak lending to software and other asset-light firms is, Colter Bay says, dragging on productivity as Australia's credit flows into property.
New data show Kiwi small firms generating less per hour than peers in Australia and the UK, as rising costs squeeze margins.
AI adoption could lift earnings for software and cybersecurity groups even as businesses trim staff and automation threatens more jobs.