Hi there,

We have a plan! After 18 months’ work, the first Industry Transformation Plan targets an industry at the nexus of two very important sectors. The Agritech ITP (not to be confused with the IT industry body) marries together our traditional strength in food and fibre production with its related technologies and aims to take better advantage of rapidly emerging opportunities in global markets.

With workstreams covering globalisation, commercialisation, investment, data interoperability, skills development and regulations, the plan aims to boost NZ agritech to become a global force, and help fire up NZ’s economy.

The plan calls for NZ to diversify beyond our traditional pastoral agritech offerings – something the inaugural TIN NZ Agritech Insights Report suggests is already well underway – and stimulate the next wave of agritech companies delivering solutions into the much larger arable, horticulture and sectors beyond.

In other news this week:

Fonterra signals all-in with Microsoft's Azure
SME’s reimagine their tech – and work – futures
V-learning finds success
Tech investment moves to emerging technologies
Can quarantine bungles be prevented with better tech? (any tech)

Enjoy the read,

Heather Wright
Editor
editor@istart.co.nz

AGRITECH

New Zealand ups the horsepower behind agritech

Ag + tech = multi-billion dollar opportunity…

Take New Zealand’s largest sector and combine it with the sector believed to now be the country’s second largest, and you’ve got a multibillion dollar global opportunity.

These technologies which sound pretty abstract, get real quite quickly in the farming, agriculture or horticulture sectors.

[Read more]

CLOUD HOSTING

Fonterra anchors NZ Azure

Analytics needs drive data to the cloud…

Fonterra has signed on as the first major user of Microsoft’s planned New Zealand Azure data centre region in a deal the vendor is portraying as a big win.

The platform aims to bring together all parts of Fonterra and build a culture around data.

[Read more]

POST COVID

MYOB survey shows SMEs future-proofing

Businesses on both sides of the Tasman are preparing for the rough road ahead…

The latest MYOB Tech Report finds local businesses facing big challenges – but eager to meet them head-on.

It’s just about rising to the challenge of the moment.

[Read more]

VIRTUAL REALITY

VR training comes to the office

It’s a useful tool for hazard training, but what about the corporate jungle?…

It’s often the entertainment applications that get the headlines, but it’s the business use-cases for VR and its slightly less immersive cousin AR, where the real excitement is.

“V-learners were 3.75 times more emotionally connected to the content than classroom learners and 2.3 times more connected than e-learners.”

[Read more]

TECH INVESTMENT

A/NZ turns to tech to accelerate out of Covid slump

Planting the seeds to fast-track digital growth…

Local businesses are doing their own version of ‘flattening the curve’ – with new research showing more than 70 percent are using technology to accelerate their way out of the recessionary slump.

“When we see companies cutting budgets, they’re cutting budgets around legacy technology”

[Read more]

BORDER QUARANTINE

Border bunglings need better tech

Does tech have a role in managing isolation?…

A new report suggests quick deployment of digital technologies, including for contact tracing and quarantine, will lead to long-term wins in the battle against Covid.

“In the race to contain the spread, countries that have quickly deployed digital technologies have remained front-runners.”

[Read more]

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