Hi there,

When it comes to ultrafast broadband, New Zealand and Australia really are on different tracks. While we might still suffer the after-school slowdown (it's always the kids fault), we truly are streaks ahead of Australia and its NBN – mired in constant controversy and political grandstanding.

Now, the chasm looks set to grow further with both Chorus and Vodafone/Vocus gearing up for 10Gbps trials, which will put NZ in the top echelon – few countries are as close to providing broadband (even in consumer trials) at that kind of speed.

Gratuitous Aussie bashing and child welfare gains aside, is 10Gbps a likely scenario any time soon, and at what cost?

In other news:

Augmented analytics and NLP driving Gartner's latest BI magic
Kiwi e-tailers fight back against international challengers
Xero’s automation hub disrupts bookkeeper roles
Are Fido, Rover and Spot LinkedIn’s bias busters?
Open Banking: If they build it will we come?

And in this faster-data-at-all-costs world, you might want to join us next Wednesday, to make sure you take pause and build trust into your data first.

Enjoy the read,

Heather Wright
Editor
editor@istart.co.nz

Trans-Tasman broadband gap to become a chasm

10Gbps fibre diets on the way for Kiwis, but at what cost?…

Broadband is one of the few things Kiwis can feel smug about compared to our cousins across the ditch, struggling with an increasingly dysfunctional NBN.

“We can offer more innovative plans by removing the bottleneck.”

[Read more]

BI buyers seeking more magic says Gartner

Magic Quadrant predicts augmented analytics will be key driver...

Augmented analytics, which uses ML and natural language processing, will be a key driver for new purchases of analytics and BI platforms by 2020 Gartner says.

“Users will spend less time exploring data & more time acting on the most relevant insights with less bias."

[Read more]

Local retailers up their digital game

Thumbing noses in face of Amazon, Alibaba et al threat...

International e-tailers be damned, Kiwis e-tailers logged a 10 percent increase in sales for December – while spend on international site sales dropped one percent.

“For the first time, online spending on international sites was in the negative growth territory.”

[Read more]

Xero launches data capture solution in NZ

Automation to remove the mundane, but will business benefit?...

It’s a boon for small business, bookkeepers and accountants, says Xero, automating away the monthly drudgery of financial data entry.

“It gives our advisors and small businesses access to verified data in near real time, enabling them to make more informed decisions.”

[Read more]

LinkedIn goes to the dogs

Can doggie pics save us from hiring bias?...

For years we’ve been told it’s not a good idea to use a pic of your dog – or cat, rabbit, lizard or any other pet – for your LinkedIn profile photo.

“Even if you don’t like dogs, Profile of Dogs can still limit your bias since you’ll dislike everyone’s profile image equally.”

[Read more]

Open banking: A solution looking for a problem to solve

Will open banking wither and die quick smart? Phil Kernick argues the case...

It’s a hot topic across the financial services sector, but the jury is still out on just how much value open banking will deliver.

“‘Build it and they will come’ may work in many different areas, but the chances of it working when it comes to open banking are slim at best.”

[Read more]

This week's sponsor:

Latest articles by this vendor:

- Snow sports retailer chooses cool business software
- In store and online integration plain sailing for water sports retailer
- How First Software released manufacturer from custom software nightmare

[Read more about this vendor]

Upcoming events:

More events

iStart is proudly supported by these leading New Zealand software providers:

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

Please support independent journalism!

Here at iStart we are passionate about independent fact-based journalism.

If you feel the same way, and like what we do, then we welcome your support through crowdfunding platform PressPatron.