Hi there,

As countries around the world grapple with the economic maelstrom wrought by Covid-19 lockdowns, there’s growing concern that New Zealand risks missing the boat on a digital recovery that embraces the future of work.

One such opportunity comes with the reform of vocational education – a major project to overhaul vocational training to more closely meet industry needs. At least that’s the theory. But IT Professionals’ Paul Matthews says it’s all gone very wrong.

The Government professes a belief in digital, but fails to demonstrate any understanding of a sector that was rapidly closing in on the (pre-Covid) tourism industry in export earnings and infiltrates every business.

It is time that the Government listened more carefully to the sector and backed up its rhetoric with proper investment in IT education and skills development.

The shambles that is our contact tracing technology is but one small glimpse into lost opportunities.

In other news this week:

Are offshored support services returning home?
The sorry tale of contact tracing
AKL vs SYD: two very different approaches to city IT
SMEs spend up on work from home

Craft beer also gets a moment in the spotlight. Award-winning Deep Creek Brewing has emerged from a suburban Auckland garage to take on export markets with sophisticated supply chain traceability provided by an integrated ERP solution which is also delivering efficiency and flexibility.

Enjoy the read,

Heather Wright
Editor
editor@istart.co.nz

EDUCATION

Govt misses mark on digital recovery

Tech education reforms are headed for failure…

IT Professionals New Zealand’s Paul Matthews was optimistic about the vocational education reform when it first kicked off.

“They don’t have any focus towards the impact technology is having on the economy.”

[Read more]

OUTSOURCING

Offshored seats coming home

The tide is turning after lockdown hits top end of town…

There is a bright spot in the local tech sector employment market as top-end-of-town corporates begin repatriating up to 10 percent of their offshored roles.

“Several of our largest companies have had to urgently adjust their contact centre strategies.”

[Read more]

CONTACT TRACING APPS

The rise and rapid fall of Covid tracing apps

Is it really a fail for Covid tracing apps?…

They were hailed as a critical component to end Covid lockdowns, but high profile failures of several contact tracing apps are casting shade over digital contact tracing.

‘Apple won’t change the system.’

[Read more]

COUNCIL IT

Can under pressure councils afford to cut IT?

Two recent budget exercises – one from NSW and another from Auckland City Council – reveal vastly different approaches to the economic crisis…

In addition to the clear human cost, the ongoing coronavirus disaster has seen economies around the world thrown into chaos, with private profits and public revenues both plummeting.

Where cuts get made, makes all the difference.

[Read more]

TECH INVESTMENT

SME’s prioritise tech while Covid drives PC market growth

Small business, big tech plans…

While Covid-19 lockdowns may have wracked havoc on economies, when it comes to fast-tracking digitisation and digital transformation for SMEs, it turns out they can be big drivers.

“Investing in fundamental technologies was a key response during the pandemic.”

[Read more]

CLIENT INSIGHT

Raising the bar for craft beer

Crafting efficiency, traceability and flexibility...

Growing from home brewers to international exporters, Deep Creek Brewing Company chose Abel ERP to integrate their business systems and automate workflows.

“We changed from three different software systems to one integrated system and it was working perfectly within a month.”

[Read more]

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