Hi there,

Flying taxis, public scooters, autonomous vehicles and ride-sharing – there are plenty of technology initiatives vying to solve the congestion in gridlocked cities the world over.

Now city councils (hotbeds of technology innovation such as they are) are getting in on the act with on-demand public transport. Click on an app and have public transport swing by to pick you up and take you corner-to-corner, all driven by smart algorithms optimising mileage and ensuring efficiencies for both operators and passengers.

But even with the public purse open, the use case is proving problematic to deliver in the real world. With several councils abandoning trials of on-demand bus services is it an idea coming to the end of the road? Or is it something that just needs to get more on board?

In other news:

Transitioning your cloud from IaaS to PaaS
CAANZ says ‘ugly’ tax will run foul of international treaties
How independent is Facebook’s ‘independent’ oversight board?
A bank account in every port gets (way) easier

We also look at how A/NZ mobile phone accessory distributor Force Technology has transformed its e-commerce operations to drive greater efficiencies and gain new sales.

Enjoy the read,

Heather Wright
Editor
editor@istart.co.nz

TRANSPORTATION

The new face of public transport: On-demand and algorithm-driven

Algorithms are gonna get you there more easily…one day…

It’s a model most of us are familiar with thanks to the likes of Uber and Ola: Click an app and get picked up where you need, when you need.

“ODPB is expected to become more cost effective when the efficiency of algorithms improves and unmanned vehicles can be deployed.”

[Read more]

CLOUD ADOPTION

When IaaS becomes PaaS

A/NZ the same, but different when it comes to latest cloud adoption…

Demand for PaaS and IaaS is surging across A/NZ as companies look to extend their cloud footprint, with Aussie playing catchup to NZ.

Organisations want to become ‘cloud first’, and are starting to utilise PaaS as a way to embrace cloud-native application development processes.”

[Read more]

POLICY

Accountants dis DST as unworkable

Retaliation fear cools interest in ‘Facebook tax’…

Plans for a Kiwi digital services tax have been slammed by Chartered Accountants ANZ, who say the plan is flawed, puts NZ out of step with trading partners, including Australia, and places NZ at risk of retaliatory measures.

“It is not a good time to be an early adopter.”

[Read more]

Esker preparing your business for PDF and EDI invoicing

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook’s new ‘independent’ oversight board

Why is content moderation being driven by Facebook? (Where’s the UN, the G20?)…

Facebook announced last November plans to run consultations & establish an external, independent body responsible for deciding what content is appropriate.

“Our research suggests that no matter where we draw the lines for what is allowed, as a piece of content gets close to that line, people will engage with it more on average.”

[Read more]

FINTECH

Aussie forex disruptor one to watch

The Melbourne-founded fintech has big expansion plans following its US$1b valuation…

Dubbing itself “the new way to create bank accounts globally, access interbank exchange rates and send funds to more than 130 countries,” Airwallex is an Australian company currently doing everything right.

“The growing e-commerce industry needs a technology-focused payments network that is reliable, cost-effective and provides data transparency.”

[Read more]

BUSINESS INSIGHT

Sprinting into better e-commerce with engaged users

Force Technology digitally transforms with improved e-commerce capability…

Force technology e-commerce website uses Sharepoint

Force needed to update and improve its website user experience and offer improved e-commerce functionality for its B2B customers.

"Using improved notifications and extended layout functionality, we’ll experiment to see how we can increase orders and value.”

[Read more]

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