The Business of Tech

It's the fifth year for 2degrees' Shaping Business report that covers the state of business across New Zealand. Once again, we're bringing you a deep dive into the report with a panel of eminent business figures. This year, the panel includes 2degrees' chief executive Mark Callander, Deloitte partner Anna Fitzgibbon and Auckland Business Chambers chief executive Simon Bridges. They cover business...

There are a lot of great things about NZ; our relatively small population is one of them. But if we want to be a major player in the global software industry, we need to be where the people are: the US. That's according to Nick Lissette, founder and chief executive of NZX-listed Blackpearl Group, who features this week in an interview about thinking big and bringing the export dollars home. Plus,...

News of the news media has been pretty grim throughout 2024, with cutbacks and closures dominating the headlines. To many, this is a sign that the writing is on the wall for an industry that's been struggling since the heady paper-based days of the 1990s. But Xavier English says those people are just looking in the wrong places. English joins us to talk about five Kiwi companies he says are redefi...

As budget anxiety spreads across the nation, we're spending this week looking back at the good news in the tech industry in the last couple of weeks. We're joined by David Downs - NZ's own tech industry cheerleader, relentless optimist and genetically modified organism - to discuss the NZ Hi-Tech Awards, NZ Story's See Tomorrow First initiative, and the potential for NZ as a base for CAR T-cell ca...

The ministry of foreign affairs and trade (Mfat) mishandled millions of dollars in an attempt to shift its IT systems to the cloud and roll out Microsoft Office. BusinessDesk's Dileepa Fonseka, who broke the story, walks us through what he learned in his reporting. Then, there's huge potential for digital twins in Aotearoa New Zealand but our approach has been siloed and slow. We learn what it wil...

Mark Callander, CEO of our flagship sponsor 2degrees and Kiwi telco stalwart, joins us to talk all things telco. He shares where 2degrees is up to in the Great Brand Merge, rolling out satellite to mobile connectivity, integrating AI into its business, challenging the electricity market, and more. We also talk about the generative AI madness announced by Google and OpenAI this month. Reading list...

After spending time in Ireland, Simon Walker was amazed at how Ireland, especially Dublin, had pulled itself out of the doldrums of the 80s to become a world-class tech hub. The CEO and founder of tech-focused marketing company Proposition brought those thoughts back to Aotearoa with him and, although there are many differences between us, he saw enough similarities that we could learn a thing or...

While the number of women in tech is increasing, senior technical roles are still too often locked away behind a glass ceiling. On her way to becoming a senior platform engineer, Meena Satishkumar faced an array of challenges that almost drove her off the path she wanted to follow. In response, she founded Tech Beyond Gender, an advocacy organisation that recently published research with some conc...

What is the purpose of the Callaghan Innovation? In the wake of the mandate to reduce headcount by about 7%, this was the question that Stefan Korn had to answer. To answer it, he returned to the organisation's founding documents, looked at similar organisations overseas, and considered the unique position of Aotearoa New Zealand. In this episode, Dr Korn discusses his vision of Callaghan's future...

Aotearoa New Zealand's startup and VC scene has a bit of a problem with some investors taking too much equity for their money, leaving founders with little incentive to put in the effort it takes to grow their businesses. On top of that, using equity to attract talent is near-impossible when it just lands that talent with a big tax bill the day they start. Rob Vickery, founder and managing partner...

Apple’s efforts to redefine the world of augmented reality with its Vision Pro have been slowly creeping across the globe. In February, the device landed in the hands of the developers at Kiwi virtual reality games studio Beyond who developed Runaways, one of the first ever games for the ‘spatial computer’. Speaking with Beyond co-founders Jessica Manins and Anton Mitchell, Peter digs into what it...

Being AI CEO David McDonald explains the huge aspirations for the newly-listed company and why listing on the New Zealand Exchange was a key step in those plans. McDonald and his assembled team have a history of AI success underpinning the promise of future glory. The company's share price rocketed since listing, sparking a lot of attention and some criticism. Is it tall poppy syndrome? Or just fa...

What does it take to be a modern, competitive internet provider in 2024? One NZ CEO Jason Paris has been focused on exactly that question for the last few years as he has transitioned Vodafone NZ into One NZ. Now, one year since the official launch of the rebrand, Paris joins us to provide some insight into how the gears are turning inside one of Aotearoa's biggest technology companies. Plus, more...

Finally, it's a fintech episode! With the Commerce Commission releasing a draft report that outlines all the ways our banking sector is uncompetitive, now is the perfect time to talk disruption in the world of financial services. First, Dosh CEO and co-founder Shane Marsh weighs in on the state of the NZ financial services sector with a view on how we got to this point of staleness and lack of com...

Kiwi futurist Ben Reid joins the ( award nominated! ) podcast for a second time to talk about his new book, Fast Forward Aotearoa, which unpacks the path to a future of technological success and positivity for NZ. Peter speaks to Ben Reid about what systemic changes need to be made to ensure the best outcomes for all Kiwis. Plus, we talk about Chorus' investment in datacentres, Uber's big Aussie s...

What exactly is sovereign AI and why would we want it? Machine learning and artificial intelligence expert Kiarie Ndegwa has been in the trenches with the tech for a decade, including working on Te Hiku Media's bilingual te reo Māori/NZ English transcription tool. Ndegwa shares his unique perspective on what it means to truly own AI and data and dips into the technical details to debunk the claims...

Amazon and Microsoft have thrown around some big numbers about how their impending NZ-based datacentres will benefit the economy. But is it really that simple? Will Amazon and MIcrosoft's NZ public cloud regions be ready in 2024 as promised? Where do our local cloud companies fit in? All of these questions and more are discussed on our episode today as we're joined by Don Christie, NZ IT industry...

Ben and Peter talk to Spark CEO Jolie Hodson and NZIER principal economist Christina Leung about the recent research into how adopting more advanced digital tech can boost industry output by up to $26 billion, and increase GDP by 2.08% annually. The pair unpack the report to explain what will it take among Kiwi businesses to realise these gains. BusinessDesk senior journalist Cécile Meier also joi...

Canadian journalist, host of the Tech Won't Save Us podcast, and former Wellington resident Paris Marx joins us to discuss the role that technology and the billionaires that control it play in mitigating the impact of climate change. Plus, the role Aotearoa New Zealand can play in ensuring that emissions mitigation tech is effective at more than just turning a profit. Plus, we talk about the cellp...

Since 1998, there has been a global moratorium on charging tariffs for digital services but that may soon come to an end, depending on what happens at the World Trade Organisation conference later this month. Ben talks to BusinessDesk senior correspondent Dileepa Fonseka about his research into the matter, and what it might mean for Kiwi software companies looking to go global. Plus, Peter and Ben...

After years of bringing together cloud products, adding a little engineering and business strategy magic, and then implementing and managing bespoke cloud services, Dave Howden is out to do the same thing with AI. While an AI consulting and services business may not sounds as flashy as an exciting new platform, it's the kind of company that makes up the backbone of a major technological transition...

Already in 2024 we are seeing big tech companies like SAP point at AI as a reason to slash headcount, and it's likely we will see more of that to come. This week, technologist and educator Frances Valintine joins to talk about how to stay relevant in the age of AI, and what responsibilities businesses bear to their employees when it comes to learning. Ben and Peter also share their thoughts on the...

Tech reporter and commentator Rob O'Neill says he likes to "get down among the weeds" and in our first episode for the year, he does exactly that. We speak to Rob, senior writer for Reseller News, about what he's seeing in his reporting on the IT industry in NZ, and his view of the future for all of the work that's been done on the now-dead water reform and Te Pūkenga IT transformation projects. P...

In March of last year, Judith Collins was but a senior member of parliament for the opposition. Today, she is a senior member of the government, with more ministerial positions than any other member of the National Party government. Collins spent a significant amount of her time in opposition learning about NZs tech sector, and wooing its members. It was in March when Peter Griffin spoke to her to...

Jackson Henry is an Australian ethical or white hat hacker who we spoke to last year. We only featured him briefly in episode 29 because he was guesting on a lot of shows, but our interview with him was a little different. He spoke a little more widely about his career path and how he went from cheating at video games to being a part of the white hat team that breached the United Nations He also d...