The digital world is growing, with numerous opportunities for different brands and businesses to take advantage of greater connectivity and new technologies.
The near ubiquity of the internet in modern life has led to advantages for customers and retailers alike, with online shopping only becoming more common. Even those who prefer to go to a store in person still do their research online to work out where to go to find the kinds of things they want - who among us hasn't checked the online catalogue of a clothing store before we go, for example?
With this increased digitization has come an opportunity for digital companies to make their mark. Whether they provide services to consumers or to other businesses, these growing firms will be making in waves in Australia in 2018.
SEO Shark
Well known SEO Shark as the largest agency in Sydney offering services to all size businesses. The growth in digital commerce also provides an opportunity for smaller retailers to compete with the larger brands, as their websites can be accessed from anywhere, at any time. The only problem is in making sure that they have a fair chance for people to see that they exist - and that is where SEO Shark comes in.
SEO Shark manages digital marketing campaigns for their clients, based on search engine optimization, pay per click advertising, website optimization and social media management. They do this to make smaller businesses more visible on Google, which in turn increases the number of visits to their site and their total sales.
SEO Shark has grown from a small office in Sydney to a nation-wide business, with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. As it continues to achieve positive returns for its clients, expect SEO Shark to grow even more, and to be working behind the scenes for a number of the websites that you visit in 2018.
Hireup
With disability care receiving increased funding and attention in Australia as the NDIS rolls out, companies that help to make life easier for those with disabilities have a lot of growth potential. Hireup is a healthcare program designed to help people with disabilities find support workers who best suit them. It has taken advantage of the NDIS roll-out across Australia to partner with the NDIA to allow disabled people to manage their supports.
The company is for profit, but hiring support staff through Hireup is often covered by the NDIS or other insurance. With the growth in spending on disability care and resultant increased number of jobs in the sector, Hireup has the potential to grow significantly and become a major player in the healthcare industry.
Zero Latency
Virtual reality has been something of a holy grail for video game developers for some time now, but it is very difficult to get the details right so that it is more enjoyable than playing on a console. Zero Latency believes that they have solved this issue.
The company has not tried to adapt existing games for use at home in virtual reality, largely because everyone's home space is different and room to move could be an issue. What they have done is build their own playing space in warehouses and developed headsets that allow players to move around and explore a virtual world. The gaming is more similar to laser tag than traditional video gaming, with the advantage of full immersion into the virtual reality.
From their initial start in Melbourne, Zero Latency has expanded around the world. You can expect to hear about their company and technology a lot more in the next few years.
Code Camp
Knowing how to develop websites and apps is already a valuable skill, and it will only become more important as our lives become more and more digitized. That's why Code Camp, a holiday camp that teaches kids how to code their own apps, is becoming very successful.
Code Camp's main business is as a school holiday activity for kids aged 5-13, although they also run after school programs, teacher training programs and offer to come into schools to teach coding. The combination of giving kids a fun holiday activity and teaching them a valuable skill means that Code Camp will likely become more popular, and you will hear more about them in the next year.
