Posts Tagged ‘online’
Tuesday, December 10th, 2013
Photo credit; Walknboston on Flickr
The New Zealand government aims to assist Kiwi tech companies grow and compete in the global market by investing more than NZ$3 million over the next three years to take advantage of the opportunity created by the global boom in demand for digital technologies, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce said recently.
“The digital economy contributed over NZ$2 billion in export earnings last year, and exports of computer and information services have grown at over 10 percent per annum between 2002 and 2012. Almost 75 percent of revenue from the New Zealand’s top 100 tech companies comes from international markets,” Joyce said in a statement.
“More than 62,000 people are already employed in our wider ICT sector and our investment will help create significant additional export revenues over the next four years.”
The Digital Technology High Impact Program would target support to firms working in the areas of software as a service (SAAS), web services, software development, gaming development, post production, animation and mobile technology.
Joyce also announced new repayable government grants of up to NZ$450,000Â per company would be invested in start-up technology companies.
To read more about this story, click here.
Tags: business, New Zealand, New Zealand government, online
Posted in computer, E-mail & the internet, gaming, Going Digital, New Zealand, new zealand business, New Zealand government, software programmer | No Comments »
Saturday, December 7th, 2013
Out of the 40 New Zealand businesses featured in the annual Deloitte technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific index, Queenstown-based online discount booking company Bookme was ranked highest at 18th.
Photo credit; Elliott Brown on Flickr
The index, announced in Hong Kong Dec. 5, ranks the top 500 tech businesses according to their revenue growth over the past three years.
Bookme, a booking engine for tourism activities and attractions, had a growth of 1359.4%.
The company, which was founded in 2010 by James Alder and Nick Reekie, was previously named rising star regional winner for Otago-lower South Island in the Deloitte Fast 50.
Sixteen of the 40 Kiwi businesses on the list were in the top 100, which was up from seven last year. Only China had more companies in the top 100 with 29.
Deloitte Private partner Stephen Nicholas said it was clear that New Zealand businesses, which made up more than 15% of all companies in the top 100, had moved into the ”upper echelon” of fast-growing technology firms in the highly competitive Asia-Pacific region.
”These results clearly show that despite the relatively small New Zealand market, hard-working innovative Kiwi firms have been able to outperform companies from many larger countries,” Nicholas said.
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: Bookme, business, Deloitte technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific Index, New Zealand, online
Posted in E-mail & the internet, New Zealand, new zealand business, Success story | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 26th, 2013
Photo credit; Karl Baron on Flickr
MYOB’s latest Business Monitor Report has found that businesses with a website are more likely to increase revenue and hire full-time staff in the year ahead. It also found the number of New Zealand firms going online is rising, albeit slowly.
In its survey of about 1,000 New Zealand small and medium enterprises, the accounting software firm found 38% of businesses with a website saw revenue increase in the year to August 2013, compared to only 26% of businesses without a website.
Half of businesses with a website said they expected to see their revenue increase in the year ahead, compared to 37% of those without.
And confidence was even higher among businesses with both a website and social media site with 63% expected revenue growth in the coming year.
MYOB’s James Scollay said businesses with an online presence were also more likely to take on new workers.
While 16% of small and medium enterprises with a website were planning to increase their full-time staff this year, only 6% without one had the same intentions.
However, Scollay also said he is seeing a “digital divide” emerging in the New Zealand economy.
“Businesses with an online presence reach more people and become more engaged with their customers. They also earn more, have more work in the pipeline, and are more likely to be hiring staff,” Scollay said.
The overall proportion of SMEs with a website was still concerning – less than 50% – but Scollay said he was encouraged to see it increasing.
To read more about this story, click here.
Tags: business, Business Monitor Report, James Scollay, MYOB, New Zealand, online, Small and Medium Enterprise, SME
Posted in E-mail & the internet, New Zealand, new zealand business, Online Sales, online shopping, onlines store, social media, tablet | No Comments »
Thursday, November 21st, 2013
Photo credit - Alan Cleaver on Flickr
The internet continues to make it possible to do things for yourself and purchasing life insurance is one of those things.
And now, New Zealand-owned life insurance company, Fidelity Life, is celebrating a first for the life insurance industry with the launch of InsureYou – an innovative new service delivering a one stop online insurance shop.
Fidelity Life Chief Executive Milton Jennings says that direct-to-consumer online insurance sites have grown substantially in recent years and InsureYou now offers the next evolution in online insurance purchasing for New Zealanders.
“The online/direct insurance market is the fastest growing insurance market globally. Experience shows that many New Zealanders like the security of having professional advice to call on when purchasing insurance – that’s where InsureYou delivers,” says Mr Jennings.
“Compared to other nations, New Zealanders are typically underinsured. People opt out of the online purchasing process because it can be isolated without having the backup of personal advice. It’s at the times of claims during serious illness or major trauma events that people see the value in having a personal adviser. InsureYou delivers on both fronts – online convenience backed up by personal support.
“For clients themselves, InsureYou will change the way they think about insurance – no paper, no signature and no hassle, and the ability to engage an adviser if required.”
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: business, insurance, InsureYou, New Zealand, online
Posted in computer, consumers, E-mail & the internet, Going Digital, New Zealand, new zealand business, Online Sales, online shopping, shopping | No Comments »
Thursday, November 14th, 2013
Photo credit; David Pacey on Flickr
With Kickstarter set to launch in New Zealand this month, crowdfunding has taken off in the island nation. But a law change next year will allow for the start of a new type of crowdfunding, and New Zealand’s Snowball Effect aims to take advantage.
Unlike crowdfunding platforms like the aforementioned Kickstarter and New Zealand’s PledgeMe, which merely allow people to make a contribution to a project, Snowball Effect will actually allow contributors to gain a stake in a business they contribute to, much like owning stock.
Snowball Effect is set to launch in April of 2014, the same time the law change will come into effect. The law will make it legal to offer equity for capital through crowdfunding.
When the system is live, a company would be able to approach Snowball Effect and raise capital through the platform from members of the public, who in return take a stake in the business.
Led by directors Richard Allen and Simeon Burnett, Snowball Effect is touted as a system would reduce the cost and complexity of raising capital and would let New Zealanders easily invest in small businesses.
“What this is about is opening up and liberating and democratising the whole investment process,” Burnett says.
“One thing which has really come through strongly in the work that we’ve done is Kiwis love the idea of being able to back New Zealand businesses. They’re hugely passionate about that. So this is opening up an opportunity for New Zealanders to absolutely get in there and support businesses they like the look of.”
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: business, crowd sourcing, crowdfunding, Kickstarter, New Zealand, online, Snowball Effect
Posted in E-mail & the internet, New Zealand, new zealand business, New Zealand government, social networking, Success story | 1 Comment »
Thursday, November 7th, 2013
Photo credit; Jennifer Morrow on Flickr
Outdoor clothing and equipment retailer Kathmandu has launched a new mobile website, which it says will be more convenient for customers browsing its online store on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers.
“The mobile site makes navigating and searching for information far more convenient, with less tapping, clicking and scrolling when using mobile devices,” Kathmandu said.
And the company says it’s in the process of developing additional online initiatives such as international shipping, mobile apps and services such as “click and collect”, where customers can buy a product online, then pick it up from a store.
The retailer said last month that online sales had grown by 55% in the year to July 31 and contributed 4% of total revenue.
That would equate to around $15.4 million of Kathmandu’s $384 million total sales figure in its last financial year.
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: business, Kathmandu, mobile, New Zealand, online
Posted in computer, E-mail & the internet, Going Digital, New Zealand, new zealand business, online shopping, onlines store, smartphone, smartphones, tablet, tablets | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 6th, 2013
Photo credit; Nick Kean on Flickr
The Kiwiest of domain names is getting ready to take flight in December and it’s the Kiwiest because it is literally .kiwi.
Christchurch-born Tim Johnson, head of Dot Kiwi, first had the idea for the domain name about two-and-a-half years ago.
When .kiwi launches – hopefully in December – it will be the first top level domain outside of .co.nz to get approval from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers with a truly Kiwi feel.
“Running a new domain name is a really big responsibility, we had to meet a lot of criteria,” Johnson says.
For about $39 businesses and individuals will be able to claim email addresses and websites with .kiwi instead of .co.nz.
A percentage of Dot Kiwi’s revenue from the sale of .kiwi domains will be donated to the Dot Kiwi Christchurch Trust.
Johnson, a marketing executive, said Dot Kiwi was born from a desire to set up a company that would have the longevity to pump funds into the local community.
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: .Kiwi, business, Dot Kiwi, New Zealand, online, Tim Johnson
Posted in computer, E-mail & the internet, email, emails, New Zealand, new zealand business, New Zealand government, Online Sales, onlines store, Success story | No Comments »
Friday, November 1st, 2013
Photo credit; Images of Money on Flickr
Xero, a New Zealand-based online accounting software company focused on small business, is opening a Denver-area office as part of a U.S. expansion.
The local office, in the Denver Tech Center, will be Xero’s fourth in the U.S.
The Wellington, New Zealand-based company recently moved its U.S. headquarters to a new space in San Francisco and has offices in Los Angeles and New York, in addition to the United Kingdom and Australia. Xero has 210,000 paying customers in 100 countries.
Tags: accounting, business, New Zealand, online, Xero
Posted in New Zealand, new zealand business, Success story | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 30th, 2013
Photo credit; Nick Kean on Flickr
Successful New Zealand online advertising firm Gopher aims to make online advertising easy for small businesses, making it accessible both in concept and price. It does this by offering a wide range of digital advertising products and packages.
Co-founded by John Campbell, Gopher has central hubs in Auckland and Jakarta, which service New Zealand, Australia and South East Asia. It also has key partners in other countries like Singapore, where it regularly sends staff.
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: Auckland, business, Gopher, New Zealand, online
Posted in E-mail & the internet, New Zealand, new zealand business, Online Sales, Success story | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 16th, 2013
Photo credit; Ronaldo Ferreira on Flickr
Former teacher David Cameron started his online tutorial service, LearnCoach, off small, offering math and physics tutoring to New Zealand students. But when he shifted his focus to teaching English in China via online videos, that’s when his business really took off.
“In the six weeks it was active we had more than 3,000 students and teachers signed up for our learning resources and were delivering over 40,000 learning tutorials per day,” said Cameron, who was teaching secondary school in Dunedin when he launched the business in 2012.
Cameron secured funding through AMP’s Regional Scholarship programme and was then accepted into a three-month business accelerator programme called The Lightning Lab where he received $18,000 in seed funding, an office space, and mentoring that prompted him to refocus the business on China.
“They really encouraged us to move faster. We thought ‘how can we create a more scalable business that can help more people in a way that’s more profitable,” he said.
“It just got to a stage where we thought China was the bigger market.”
Lightening Lab culminated in a “demo day” at Te Papa in May where Cameron pitched the new idea to 150 investors and ended up attracting $750,000 in capital.
Cameron, 25, has since relaunched the business as LearnKo, offering English language lessons to people living in China.
The business’ new home is in Wellington where he has six full-time staff and another 30 part-time staff situated around New Zealand.
The next step for the business is to launch its own video service where students can meet one-on-one with their tutors.
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: business, LearnKo, New Zealand, online, Wellington
Posted in E-mail & the internet, New Zealand, new zealand business, Success story | No Comments »
