Latest / Tech Talks With Kinsoft / Australian Tech Update June 2025

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Australian Tech Update June 2025 · Tech Talks With Kinsoft

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  Ever feel like you're just constantly trying
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  to keep up with tech? It moves so fast. Oh, absolutely.
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  Especially here in Australia, right? Yeah. And
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  the sheer amount of information. It's just, well,
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  it's a lot. How do you even start to cut through
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  that noise? It's a real challenge. Welcome to
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  Tech Talks with Kinsoft. This is the show where
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  we try to take that stack of info and turn it
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  into something useful, some actionable insights
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  to help you stay ahead. I'm your host, and I'm
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  joined by our expert guide. Great to be here.
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  So today, yeah, we're doing a deep dive into
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  the really significant Aussie tech news from
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  June 2025. We want to unpack the key trends,
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  flag some maybe surprising developments, and
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  really explore what it all means for you, whether
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  you're managing a business, working in IT, or
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  maybe just really curious about where tech is
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  heading down under. Right. And we've pulled from
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  a whole range of sources for this. Tech predictions,
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  news sites, government reports, industry surveys,
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  the lot. So hopefully a pretty comprehensive
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  picture for this month. So maybe to kick us off,
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  there was that prediction from Anthony Spiteri
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  at Veeam. He called 2025 a year of realization,
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  regulations, and resilience in tech. How are
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  we seeing that play out, particularly with AI
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  here in Australia? Well, that's actually a perfect
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  starting point because with AI, one of the really
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  interesting things happening right now is the
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  rise of these AI middleware companies. Middleware.
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  Explain that a bit. Think of them like. like
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  translators or bridges. They basically help businesses
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  adopt AI -secure, responsible AI much faster.
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  By letting the complex AI models talk properly
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  to a company's existing systems, it just simplifies
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  the whole adoption process. You don't necessarily
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  need a huge team of in -house AI experts right
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  away. Okay, so it's not just about getting AI,
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  it's getting it integrated smartly. Yeah. And
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  faster. Precisely. And that's crucial when you
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  see predictions like IDC's, right? That 24 percent
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  compound annual growth rate for AI investment
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  through to 2028. It's massive. So for an Australian
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  business manager listening, what's the key takeaway
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  there? The key insight is that this middleware
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  isn't just, you know, a technical shortcut. It's
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  becoming this vital link for Aussie businesses
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  to actually use AI effectively and importantly,
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  ethically. Ethically. OK. Which ties straight
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  into Australia's. stricter stance, those new
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  AI guardrails that were announced. This middleware
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  helps companies stay compliant. It could even
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  be a bit of a competitive edge for us here. But
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  there's a flip side. More AI means way more data,
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  much more complex data. So robust data management,
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  proper protection, secure retention, that becomes
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  absolutely critical. That ethical piece is huge.
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  Now, thinking bigger picture about AI growth.
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  I mean, chat GPT hitting 100 million users in
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  just 60 days. That's explosive. Unbelievable
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  growth. But that kind of hypergrowth, it doesn't
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  come free, does it? Especially when you think
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  about energy, the environment. Not at all. It's
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  putting this immense strain on energy resources
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  globally. Data centers are the engine rooms for
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  AI, right? Right. Well, the number of them doubled.
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  Just between 2015 and 2024, we went from 3500
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  to 7000. And Deloitte reckons their energy use
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  is going to jump from about 500 terawatt hours
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  this year to nearly 1600 by 2034. 1600 terawatt
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  hours. Yeah. To put that in perspective, that's
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  roughly what India uses in an entire year. Good
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  grief. Yeah. So for Aussie businesses, sustainability
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  isn't just a buzzword anymore. It's absolutely
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  not a nice to have. It's fundamental. It's a
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  strategic necessity. if you want to scale AI
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  responsibly and, frankly, affordably. So what's
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  the immediate implication then? Beyond just,
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  you know, the environmental concern. Well, it
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  means we just can't keep powering things the
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  same old way. This demand forces a big shift
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  towards more sustainable energy. Nuclear is mentioned
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  as a likely longer term option. Shorter term,
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  we need clever cooling for these packed hot data
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  centers. Things like compute and memory, CIM
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  architectures. They cut down the energy needed
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  to shuttle data back and forth. Makes AI more
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  efficient right at the hardware level. Fascinating.
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  The physical infrastructure has to race to keep
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  up with the digital. Exactly. But it's not just
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  physical infrastructure, is it? It's changing
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  the human side, too. How's this AI surge showing
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  up in the workforce? and leadership roles here
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  in Australia. Oh, it's a profound shift. Take
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  software development. It's being totally revolutionized.
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  We've gone past simple code suggestions like
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  GitHub Copilot to platforms like Cursor AI or
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  Replit .com that can actually generate whole
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  chunks of code. Right. So for developers, the
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  job changes. It's less about typing code, more
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  about high -level design, reviewing the AI's
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  output, integrating it. Huge productivity potential.
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  But risks, too. Definitely risks. AI can generate
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  malware just from a prompt now. So this whole
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  idea of responsible AI becomes critical vendors
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  building in safeguards to stop harmful uses.
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  So a massive change in how software gets made.
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  And leadership. Are new roles popping up? They
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  absolutely are. We're seeing the chief AI officer
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  emerge, the CIO. CIO. These roles are all about
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  overseeing the ethical, responsible, and just
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  plain effective use of AI across the whole organization.
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  So not just an IT thing. Not at all. It signals
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  AI is a strategic C -suite issue now. It touches
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  everything ethics, long -term strategy. They
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  work hand -in -love with chief data officers,
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  data privacy officers, too. We're seeing this
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  reflected in business attitudes. Yeah, you hear
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  reports about Amazon expecting to replace some
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  human roles with AI. And just generally, CEOs
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  seem to be getting the message loud and clear.
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  You need to embrace AI to compete. Which brings
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  us neatly to regulation. How are governments,
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  industry bodies reacting to this speed? especially
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  here? Well, the regulatory landscape is definitely
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  getting more complex. There are new laws forcing
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  companies to really get a handle on their AI
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  implementations. And you're seeing AI governance
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  platforms pop up to help with trust, transparency,
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  ethics. And specifically for Australia, the ACCC,
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  the Competition and Consumer Commission, their
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  latest digital platform services report just
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  came out June 23rd. Right. The final one in that
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  series. What did it find? It found ongoing widespread
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  harms in digital markets, particularly from these
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  fast moving techs like Gen -AI and cloud computing.
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  OK, so harms are still happening. What are they
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  recommending? For businesses listening, this
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  sounds like it could really impact things. It
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  could. They're pushing for a whole new digital
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  competition regime. The idea is to tackle things
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  like self -preferencing or tying by the big cloud
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  players, you know, Amazon, Microsoft, Google.
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  Because they're vertically integrated. Exactly.
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  The ACCC argues that kind of behavior can stifle
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  innovation, especially for smaller Aussie players,
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  and ultimately push up prices for businesses
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  and consumers. They're trying to level the playing
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  field a bit. That's the goal. So for Aussie businesses...
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  particularly startups, SMEs, the insight is this
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  could potentially open things up, reduce costs
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  maybe. Makes sense. And what about consumers
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  directly? Any findings there? Oh, yes. A huge
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  number, 72 percent of Australian consumers said
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  they had run into potentially unfair online practices.
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  Things like accidental subscriptions, hidden
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  fees. We've all seen those. Right. So for businesses,
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  the takeaway is clear. If you're not being upfront
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  and transparent online, you're not just risking
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  customer goodwill. You could be facing serious
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  regulatory heat soon. So ethical design. Clear
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  terms, no longer optional. Absolutely. A regulatory
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  imperative now. The ACCC wants an economy wide
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  ban on unfair trading practices. And interestingly,
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  82 percent of people surveyed agreed there should
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  be an external body to handle disputes with digital
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  platforms. Gives consumers somewhere to go. What
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  about the platforms themselves? How are they
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  tackling things like misinformation, especially
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  with AI making fake content so convincing? That's
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  where the digital industry group, DIGI, comes
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  in. Their report from early June detailed what
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  Aussie platforms are doing. Big focus on AI transparency.
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  Labeling AI content. Google's expanding SynthED,
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  that's like a digital watermark for AI stuff,
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  to text and video now. Meta, TikTok, Adobe, they're
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  all improving their labeling tools too. So trying
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  to show what's AI generated. Yeah, and using
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  things like... like C2PA content credentials
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  to track where digital content actually came
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  from. It's provenance. That must be critical
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  around election time. Hugely important. And platforms
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  did put specific policies in place during the
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  2024 election cycle here. Microsoft, for example,
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  had dedicated teams in Australia, trained over
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  150 people just on tackling election misinformation.
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  Did it work? The numbers suggest they're making
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  headway. TikTok apparently hit over 95 % proactive
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  removal of misinformation. consistently. YouTube
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  pulled over 5 ,000 videos from Australian IPs
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  for violating policies. So the insight. Even
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  though AI makes misinformation more sophisticated,
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  the platforms are developing tools and processes
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  to fight back at scale. It's an ongoing battle,
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  but they are fighting it. That's good to hear.
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  Okay, so we've really dug into AI's impact this
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  month. Huge topic. But June wasn't only about
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  AI, was it? Yeah. There were other big things
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  happening across the Aussie tech scene. Cybersecurity,
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  manufacturing innovation, energy. Where should
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  we go next? How about cybersecurity? How ready
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  are businesses here? It's still a massive concern.
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  You've got two things happening. The threats
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  outside are getting smarter. Like those AI...
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  deep fakes, impersonating CEOs. Exactly. Or AI
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  crafting phishing emails that sound really personal,
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  really convincing. But then you've also got the
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  internal readiness issue. A recent report found
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  only half, just 50 percent of Australian business
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  leaders feel confident their staff could actually
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  handle a cyber incident properly. Only half.
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  Despite all the talk and the push for things
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  like the new cybersecurity bill. Yep. So for
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  anyone managing IT, it screams. It's not just
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  about the tech. It's about the training. the
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  response plans, the people. And we saw real -world
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  examples this month reinforcing that, didn't
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  we? They did. That ex -student charged over the
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  Western Sydney Uni attacks classic insider threat
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  reminder. Then you see Sportsbet actively recruiting
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  security champions from their regular staff.
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  They get it. Your people are a crucial line of
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  defense. Human firewalls. Exactly. And even globally,
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  look at WhatsApp being banned on U .S. house
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  devices over security. It shows a general tightening.
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  Plus, those huge health data breaches, McLaren
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  Health, 743 ,000 patients. Another U .S. provider,
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  5 million patients. The clear message for any
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  Aussie business, no one's safe. You need layers
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  of security tech and people. Proactive is the
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  only way. A sobering thought. Now, related to
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  security, and maybe cost too, I've heard talk
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  about data repatriation. What's that about? Yeah,
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  it's basically businesses moving data back from
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  the big public clouds, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud
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  to their own data centers or maybe a private
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  cloud. Why would they do that? Isn't cloud the
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  future? It's often about cost control, trying
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  to get better efficiency, maybe wanting more
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  direct control over their data. We sometimes
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  call it data freedom, avoiding getting locked
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  into one vendor. Okay, so flexibility. Makes
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  sense for IT managers looking at budgets or owners
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  worried about getting stuck. Precisely. It means
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  rethinking that hybrid cloud mix. What runs best
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  where? For cost, for performance, for compliance,
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  especially with market uncertainty, changing
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  license fees, new regulations. But moving data
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  back isn't simple, I imagine. Not at all. You
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  need absolutely rock solid data resilience solutions
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  in place, backups, disaster recovery. You can't
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  afford data loss or corruption during or after
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  a move like that. Right. OK, let's shift gears.
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  Manufacturing. And skills. How's Australia doing
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  on boosting those fronts? Well, for manufacturing,
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  the phrase being used is transformation at scale.
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  It's basically become essential for survival.
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  Why do or die? Stiff competition globally, high
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  operating costs here. Manufacturers have to embrace
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  industry 4 .0 stuff, AI, robotics, IoT, 3D printing,
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  just to stay in the game. And what's key to making
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  that transformation work? Master data. That core,
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  consistent info about your products, your customers,
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  your suppliers, it's highlighted again and again
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  as the absolute foundation. If your master data
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  is a mess, none of the fancy tech will work properly.
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  That's the insight for any manufacturing leader.
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  Get the basics right first. Makes sense. What
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  about new tech, deep tech innovation? CSIRO's
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  On Accelerate program is doing great work there.
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  It helps fast track serious scientific research
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  into actual commercial products. Their latest
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  group of 11 teams, they've already pulled in
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  over $33 million in funding. They've got tech
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  validated in areas like drug development, health
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  care, sustainability. So turning science into
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  business. Exactly. For investors, for innovation
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  managers, it shows there's real momentum in translating
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  Aussie research into economic growth, finding
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  solutions. pinpointing those future growth spots.
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  That's great to see. And the skills needed for
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  all this. Are we training people? There's definitely
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  investment happening. Riviera, the yacht builder,
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  they just won the Australian Apprenticeship's
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  Leadership Medal for their Training Academy and
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  Life Skills Program. Shows the value placed on
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  vocational training. Good example. And you see
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  TAFE Queensland partnering with One Advance to
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  boost digital literacy. It's broader than just
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  one industry. It's about making sure the workforce
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  generally is ready for this digital shift. Critical
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  piece of the puzzle. Okay. Last area, energy
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  and infrastructure. What stood out in June? Well,
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  something really interesting for homeowners potentially
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  is this virtual energy network study from Deakin
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  Business School. VEN. What's that? It's basically
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  setting up a platform for peer -to -peer energy
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  trading. If you've got rooftop solar. And maybe
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  a battery. You could sell your excess clean energy
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  directly to your neighbors or others on the platform.
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  Even if the buyer doesn't have solar panels.
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  Exactly. So sellers earn more. Buyers potentially
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  get cheaper, cleaner power. It helps decentralize
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  the grid, supports local renewables. Really neat
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  idea. That does sound like a potential game changer.
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  Anything else on the energy front? Yeah, there's
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  a bit of a push from ARIMA, the appliance industry
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  body for urgent reforms, around the incentives
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  for hot water heat pumps. Problems there. They're
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  citing issues with safety, performance, even
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  fraud. They want proper product standards, properly
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  trained technicians. It's a reminder for policymakers
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  that even well -intentioned green schemes need
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  strong oversight. Good point. And big government
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  IT spends. Are they keeping up? Oh, yeah. Queensland's
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  got a massive $1 billion whole -of -government
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  tech overhaul underway. SA Water is doing a once
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  -in -a -generation core tech upgrade. WA Police,
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  $30 million for IT optimization. Serious money.
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  Definitely. For anyone in public sector tech
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  or bidding for government work, its most digital
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  infrastructure is a huge priority for modernizing
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  services. And nationally, keep an eye on the
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  NBN. New faster speeds rolling out, potential
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  teething troubles, plus that baseline shift from
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  25 megabits per second up to 100. That affects
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  millions. A lot happening there, too. Okay, we've
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  covered a massive amount of ground. Let's try
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  and synthesize. What does this all mean for you
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  listening for the Aussie tech scene? Well, I
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  think a few core themes stand out. AI's influence
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  is just undeniable, isn't it? It's growth, the
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  energy demands, the workforce changes, the regulation
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  scramble. It touches everything. Then there's
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  that constant battle for cybersecurity. And this
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  interesting trend towards data repatriation,
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  focusing on resilience. And finally, you see
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  this clear commitment in Australia to innovate
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  in manufacturing, in energy, and crucially, to
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  build the skills needed to support it all. It's
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  a really dynamic picture. Dynamic is the word.
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  Yeah. It feels like a landscape of huge change,
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  but also incredible opportunity. Which leads
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  to maybe a final thought. As AI keeps reshaping,
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  well, everything. Our daily lives, business,
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  even national security. How do we here in Australia
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  make sure we harness these powerful tools for
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  good? How do we manage the risks but still foster
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  a truly resilient, competitive digital future?
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  That's maybe the big question for all of us,
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  isn't it? It really is. Something to keep thinking
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  about. But hopefully this deep dive gave you
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  some useful insights to navigate it all. We certainly
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  hope so. If you do want to chat about your own
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  security or IT needs or just think through how
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  these trends impact your business, you can always
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  head over to www .kinsoft .com .au. That's www
• 16:14
  .kinsoft .com .au. Thanks so much for joining
• 16:17
  us for this deep dive on Tech Talks with Kinsoft.
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  Until next time. Keep learning, keep questioning,
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  and keep pushing forward.