News, views and reviews from NZ’s tech sector No Images? Click here Dear , After much anticipation, doomsaying and gnashing of teeth, Amazon’s Australian launch ended up going off with more of a fizz than a bang. Perhaps it’s that poor early showing that’s behind the company’s otherwise baffling decision to bar Australian customers from shopping via the e-commerce giant’s US site. Ostensibly, the company says that new tax laws (announced two years go) put global shopping for Aussies in the too-hard basket, something that doesn't add up for several reasons. While Kiwi shoppers are immune, there’s a fairly big ‘for now’ rider on that. The decision is surely one that Amazon AU makes at its own peril. With Chinese giant Alibaba increasingly eyeing non-Chinese markets, and no shortage of other alternatives, Amazon’s Australian arm may be setting itself up for a hard lesson in just what happens when your competitor is willing to offer perfectly reasonable functionality – and pricing – that you could, but won’t. Also this week:
And that’s it for another chilly and wet Kiwi week. Happy reading and keep warm. Jonathan Cotton Amazon pokes the KoalaAmazon takes exception to Aussie tax changes, are Kiwis next?... Amazon has announced that, as of July, it’ll no longer ship goods from its US site (or other non-Australian Amazon sites) to Australian consumers. “Amazon appear to have failed to consider the fact that they are not the only online retailer out there.” Kogan to enter the NZ mobile marketWill the Aussie e-commerce disruptor deliver cheaper mobile? Australian telco and consumer electronics retailer, Kogan.com announced they’re launching a mobile offering in the New Zealand market via a partnership with Vodafone New Zealand. “Skinny won't be beaten on price, Spark won't be beaten on value.” Top 4 takeaways from the Mary Meeker internet reportIt’s Silicon Valley’s favourite slide deck, but at a whopping 294 slides, Mary Meeker’s 2018 Trend Report is well and truly death by Powerpoint. But despair not: we’ve separated the wheat from the chaff on your behalf... This year’s report shows Amazon taking over the world, internal comm platforms improving efficiency and a bunch of other things. “Tech-driven trends are changing so rapidly that it’s rare when one side fully understands the other.” Touch and grow: Visa claims sales growthData analysis points to payment method helping increase sales for merchants… Cashless payment technologies have been widely embraced on both sides of the Tasman. “Contactless provides merchants with a the ability to provide a better customer experience, improved competitive advantage and greater operational efficiency.” Finalists announced for Microsoft NZ Partner AwardsThis year’s awards are more focused than usual, with the number of categories cut down from 26 to just eleven... Finalists for the 11th annual Microsoft New Zealand Partner Awards have now been announced in each of the 11 categories. “We may have streamlined the awards to make it easier to enter this year, but the judges will have a tougher decision than ever.” FinancialForce expands partner ecosystem with Appirio dealERP cloud vendor FinancialForce has announced a new sales and implementation partnership with Indianapolis-based CX company Appirio... It’s an agreement that’s been a long time coming and somewhat formalises the long relationship between the two companies. “The partnership should help FinancialForce in its acquisition aim for professional services organisations.” This week's sponsor: Latest articles by this vendor: - Data served fresh at Nosh Upcoming events: > CIO Summit 2018 | June 13-14 | Auckland iStart is proudly supported by these leading Latest Buyer's Guides ERP Buyer's Guide | CRM Buyer's Guide | HR/HCM Buyer's Guide | BI Buyer's Guide Privacy statement: We have sent this weekly eNewsletter to you at your e-mail address: [email address suppressed]. iStart will never share your e-mail address, but you may from time to time receive other event invitations or partner communications from us. You can opt out of these by managing your subscription preferences, where you can also update your e-mail address and other details. Find out more about iStart | Advertise with iStart | Subscribe
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