TELSTRA has unveiled a $600 million, five-year investment to help Australian small businesses move to new digital communications, promising significant cost savings for businesses and more streamlined technology.

Telstra CEO David Thodey joined Federal Small Business Minister Nick Sherry to launch Digital Business, a new way for businesses to make the switch to integrated communications, combining features such as fast, business-grade fixed broadband, IP telephony, mobility, cloud computing and remote working solutions.

“Digital Business will mean Australia’s small businesses will, for the first time, have easy access to an extensive, integrated range of communications tools, saving them time and money,” Mr Thodey said.

“We’re offering some of the world’s most sophisticated call features and complete integration between fixed and mobile, allowing small business people to work in a way that has up until now only been possible by people working in large corporations.”

Mr Thodey said Telstra would upgrade its network technology to help businesses make the switch to digital, with new research commissioned by Telstra finding growth in the sector was being held back by outdated technology.

The research by Global analysts, IDC, found small businesses could save more than $3000 per year just by adopting key components of the Telstra Digital Business package.

Digital Business provides a unified communications experience, combining high-speed fixed broadband and reliable broadband telephony, working seamlessly with remote working solutions, mobile telephones and cloud software.