While Optus is fresh from celebrating 20 years in business, the next two decades will see changes in the telecommunications market that it will need to tackle in order to stay competitive, according to telco analysts.

Retail banking technology spending in the Asia Pacific region is expected to increase by $US1.2 billion this year to reach $30 billion over the next five years, according to a new study by Ovum.

The Gillard government’s treasurer, Wayne Swan, has indicated in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) that there will be a 20 per cent cut in capital expenditure for government agencies with IT projects worth less than $10 million under the knife.

It was 20 years ago on November 19, 1991, when Optus was granted its carrier licence. Since then, the telecommunications company has survived many ups and downs.

The Asia Pacific enterprise smartphone market is set for a shakeup over the next five years, with analyst firm Ovum predicting that Windows Phone handsets will make up 25 per cent of sales by 2016.

As if data quality and stockouts weren’t enough of a day-today worry for CIOs, added pressure to serve demanding online customers and keep up with changing legislation are creating new challenges. With several retail giants lumbering online and the looming introduction of the government’s new carbon tax, CIOs need to be working with procurement, financial and other business leaders to ensure supply-chain systems are up to today’s new challenges.