News, views and reviews from NZ’s tech sector No Images? Click here Dear , It’s the age old dilemma – support innovation with taxpayer dollars? Or simply let the market do what it does best? Like most budgets, this year’s tries to do a little bit of both, and like most budgets, everyone’s a critic. One thing’s for sure: $1 billion over four years is a decent amount of coin. But given it’s going to be distributed by the IRD through tax breaks – and not via direct grants – let's hope that definitions around just what constitutes ‘research and development’ – and in particular software development – are robust enough to see some of that support getting to the tech sector, instead of bean counters simply reclassifying existing expenditure as R&D (Hint: they will, and it won’t). In other news:
For some practical advice on improving operations check out How to digitally transform business operations compliments of Esker. Find out how, by embracing digital, organisations can cut out inefficiencies with single platform workflows, increased visibility and better document accessibility. Enjoy! Jonathan Cotton R&D funding, 2018: Goodbye Callaghan, hello tax creditsWill the government's decision to abandon R&D grants kill NZ’s startup tech sector?... With $1b in tax credits designated for R&D, opinion is split about just what budget 2018 means for innovation in New Zealand. “The removal of Callaghan Innovation Growth Grants mean many research intensive businesses will actually get less support for Research and Development.” Data centres under water? Project Natick goes deepData centres are the unsung heroes of our age. Every time we use cloud apps or utter “OK Google” a data centre is doing all the legwork... The trouble is this – setting up and running data centres is an expensive and complex undertaking. “The first Natick data centre near Scotland’s Orkney Islands already contains 12 racks of 864 servers and 27.6 petabytes of storage.” 2018 CIO Awards winners revealedThe winners have been announced at a glittering gala dinner, recognising leadership, innovation and foresight in New Zealand ICT and business... Held at the ANZ Viaduct Events Centre in front of a record attendance of 950 senior IT professionals, the 2018 CIO Awards celebrated the best of the best in New Zealand technology. “The high standard of entries reflects the growing importance of ICT in the delivery of business and digital strategies.” Gartner: NZ middleware market grows strongly on APIsCloud applications driving uptake of integration management solutions… Recent Gartner research says the New Zealand application infrastructure and middleware market grew 7.7 percent in 2017. “Well-funded, pure-play iPaaS providers, open-source integration tool providers and low-cost integration tools are challenging the dominant position of traditional vendors.” IoT at the edge: 50b devices to connect by 2022Get ready to connect that fridge - and factory and farm - to the internet, because the IoT revolution is here... New data from Juniper Research predicts that the total number of connected IoT sensors and devices is set to leap 140 percent in the next four years. “It’s well understood that IoT solutions can create operational efficiencies, but we know the true impact extends well beyond that into our daily lives.” Whitepaper: How to digitally transform business operationsBy embracing digital transformation, organisations can cut out inefficiencies and create effective practices... In business operations, all processes are intertwined. A problem in one area creates a chain reaction that affects other processes – and manual processes make your company even more vulnerable to problems causing a domino effect. “Manual processes make your company more vulnerable to problems causing a domino effect.” This week's sponsor: Latest articles by this vendor: - Innovation drives fresh success for global leader Upcoming events: > Intelligent Towns, Networks and Assets | June 25-26 | 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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