Hi there,

New Zealand's productivity is woeful. It’s been an ongoing issue for the country – one that prompted the Government earlier this year to ask the Productivity Commission to launch a formal investigation and design policies to improve our business performance (slightly oddly, given that's what we spend $5 million annually on them doing anyway – perhaps that's part of the problem...).

Previous surveys suggested Kiwi companies were, on average, a full third less productive than their international counterparts, which themselves have been on a flatline.

Now, Microsoft is touting its wares as providing the means for businesses to measure productivity gains, with the launch of a host of new features in its Productivity Score tool.

If you're on 365 (and who isn't?), you and your staff are being measured – in such ways as understanding whether remote workers are on the tools, which tools they are using and how. The rattling of privacy cages has been avoided by Redmond resisting the temptation to provide real time visibility of individual employees work.

But while it may be true that you can’t improve what you can’t measure, it’s a fine line between aiding productivity and spying on staff. Whether the new features are a step too far for some, in a year which has already forced so much change on workers, remains to be seen. Meantime, you might want to cosy up to your administrator and have a nosy.

In other news this week:

Low code: If the LCAP fits, it'll probably cost a pretty penny
Koi Tū calls for knowledge economy and innovation focus
How do you really feel about a woebot for a therapist?
Australian report highlights open banking opportunities

And in today's client insight, we take a look at how a strong partnership with its integration provider has been instrumental in Fulton Hogan streamlining and optimising its system integration efforts.

Enjoy the read,

Heather Wright
Editor
editor@istart.co.nz

PRODUCTIVITY

Reversing the global productivity slump

Productivity has declined, but Microsoft may have a solution…

When Covid struck, the global economy was already coming off of a decade-long productivity slump: Productivity growth had peaked in 2007, but since then the GFC, productivity growth had remained stagnant.

Is the Productivity Score a microscope for the whip crackers, but a bête noire for the minions?

[Read more]

DEVOPS

Making low-code work for your business

No cost savings, but there’s a productivity payoff instead…

Low code might be hot right now, but it’s also filled with pitfalls for the uninitiated – starting with the misconception that low code equates to cost savings.

“You’re not going to get cost savings here.”

[Read more]

ECONOMY

Covid gets the think tanks thinking

New strategies, significant change in direction needed for NZ economy…

NZ needs to refresh many aspects of its economic strategy, including giving greater focus to innovation and the knowledge economy according to a new report from Koi Tū: Centre for Informed Futures.

“While there has been lip-service from all political parties, the necessary policy settings and commitments to make it a reality remain lacking.”

[Read more]

Competing with the cloud natives webinar

ROBO THERAPY

Your robot therapist will see you now

But can we really trust those bots with our deepest darkest secrets?…

Mental health has been a hot topic for a while now, with increased pressure on companies to look out for staff wellbeing, both physical and mental.

“AI-enabled mental health devices could also contain biases that have the potential to exclude or harm in unintended ways.”

[Read more]

OPEN BANKING

Open banking appetite high, but benefits years away

Inaugural report lays out finance sectors plans…

There’s plenty of appetite for open banking, the Consumer Data Right and the new opportunities they bring, but don’t expect to be seeing big returns from the new regime in the near future.

“First movers will have a real competitive advantage and will put pressure on the rest of the industry to invest in catching up.”

[Read more]

CLIENT INSIGHT

Fulton Hogan builds solid integrations

Partnering for great infrastructure…

Fulton Hogan's partnership with Adaptiv has helped it modernise onto a new Dell Boomi platform and built a robust capability in system integration that is delivering the goods.

The close collaboration designed and provided a solution which met all the data network supplier’s requirements.

[Read more]

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