Hi there,

More often than not, survey results can be read multiple ways. Take for instance MYOB’s latest Future of Business report. It’s easy to be slightly despondent when you see that 22 percent of Kiwi small businesses surveyed don’t believe technology will have an impact on their industry (and you can probably add the 26 percent who ‘don’t know’ to that). Is New Zealand really a country of small business luddites?

Well, maybe not. Drill further into the research and there’s another view to be had.

Of course, there is also the issue of businesses being busy with the day to day, rather than investing in technology improvements to improve productivity. But that can wait until 2019…

In other news:

St John architects its own grand DX designs
Christchurch senses an IoT future
Aussies move closer to space while Kiwis await 3-2-1-NASA
IT at odds with business on value of data

With integration across internal, partners, suppliers and customers’ systems a key source of efficiency, middleware is in the limelight. If you've got an API New Year in your sights (sorry!), this white paper will help evaluate the benefits of a middleware solution in your business. It comes courtesy of Flow Software, and provides a framework to assess and justify your middleware investment.

Wishing everyone much merriness in your office Xmas celebrations. A word of warning – don't drink and post!

Enjoy,

Heather Wright
Editor
editor@istart.co.nz

Are Kiwi SMBs ‘tech-oblivious’?

MYOB takes Kiwi SMBs’ temperature and finds ambivalence about transformation, and skepticism about emerging technologies...

While futurists point towards revolutions in AI and other technologies, it’s hard to get the dander of the typical Kiwi businessperson up, as they prefer to get on with the task at hand.

“Only 14 percent expect automation and robotics to impact their industry.”

[Read more]

Five key takeaways from St John’s digital transformation

Transforming inside and out is much like an episode of Grand Designs...

If you want to get a feel for what digital transformation is like, watch a few episodes of Grand Designs.

“If you’re going to do this go big … You can’t do it in the back cupboard and expect transformation to happen.”

[Read more]

Can sensor tech turn Christchurch into the smart city of the future?

The $4b rebuild sees Christchurch emerge as New Zealand's busiest testbed for sensor tech...

It’s the classic phoenix-from-the-ashes story – Christchurch’s rebuild producing a better, ‘smarter’ city than before, and one that could serve as a template for other cities.

“We have more information than ever before, but it is still not enough.”

[Read more]

Australia and NZ space efforts move to next level

Another NZ satellite launch, and a new home for the Aussie Space Agency…

The countdown is on as Rocket Lab gears up for its third New Zealand orbital launch of the year – taking NASA satellites into space.

“This one’s for Pickering.”

[Read more]

Are you protecting the right data?

Not all data is equal. Is your company protecting your most valuable data?...

Protecting your most valuable data correctly

IT security teams are misjudging data value, leading to insufficient investment in the availability and protection of the most commercially valuable data.

“Data and its protection should be the concern of not only management level, but the business as a whole.”

[Read more]

Whitepaper: The business case for Middleware

A framework to assess and justify your middleware investment…

Middleware is a technology layer which embeds agility into any architecture, decoupling applications, de-risking change initiatives and easing integration challenges.

“Integration with the systems of your partners, suppliers and customers is increasingly a necessity.”

[Read more]

Business case for Middleware - Flow Software

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