AUSTRALIA, Sydney, Nov. 10, 2020 – Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) today announced new research that sheds light on the preparedness of Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) organizations for the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), currently making waves around the world.

The 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) represents the latest and most profound technological shift in how everyone will live and work, and how organizations must acquire, analyze and act upon their data to stay ahead of the curve in their respective markets.

Lumen surveyed over 1,200 senior IT decisionmakers as part of its global 4IR research. The report found that 89% of these decisionmakers in ANZ agreed that ‘an organization’s ability to act upon its data will help determine which become future technology leaders,’ and 75% agreed that technology will advance at ‘warp speed’ over the next five years.

With the transformation already underway and happening so quickly, some thought leaders in the tech sector believe ANZ may be less prepared.

Seventy-eight percent of respondents were concerned about keeping pace with the rapid changes, while 79% say that current IT infrastructures are not prepared to support the coming increases in data and performance needs.

Olaf Lambooy, head of sales for ANZ, said: “Although many organizations have begun considering what needs to be done, further action needs to be taken. Organizations in Australia and New Zealand may risk being left behind, or at the least less able to compete against better prepared competitors.”

On the bright side, many senior IT decision makers also saw a path forward to making those changes with cloud-based data storage critical for ensuring strong performance of their company’s applications, and having tech partners who are well-versed in edge compute to take their organizations into the future.

In fact, 87% of Australian IT decision makers say they would move their organization’s applications from on-premises to the edge if it were a possibility today. This was also supported by the 87% of respondents who anticipate implementing edge compute services to keep pace with the expansion of Internet of Things (IoT) in the coming years.

Lambooy added: “Lumen provides a technology platform that helps ANZ enterprise organizations take advantage of emerging applications and create amazing digital experiences. We have an increased focus on the ANZ market, and we aim to lead ANZ enterprise companies through the challenges the 4th Industrial Revolution may bring, and to help ensure that all ANZ organizations remain competitive, both regionally and globally.”

About Lumen:

Lumen is guided by our belief that humanity is at its best when technology advances the way we live and work. With approximately 450,000 route fiber miles and serving customers in more than 60 countries, we deliver the fastest, most secure platform for applications and data to help businesses, government and communities deliver amazing experiences.

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