It feels like the build-up to a season of blockbuster movie releases. A number of emerging technologies are on the precipice of going mainstream, or have stealthily crossed the chasm. Just like a good teaser campaign for a movie release, we’re not quite sure how it's going to play out, but it's going to be epic.

Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence, to name a few, are hot topics for mainstream media, business owners, and boards of directors as we all figure out how to prepare for the coming years. This was evident at the NZSA's final event for 2017. The dinner was a sellout, with Greg Cross from Soul Machines providing us with a fascinating insight into the direction for human/computing interaction. The technology is impressive, and observations about the impact AI is having globally inspired a wide ranging discussion.

As software focused businesses, are we ready? As well as considering emerging technologies, we're constantly racing to take advantage of platform advances, new development methodologies, and business models that throw the old rulebooks out the window. There are plenty of challenges and opportunities for NZSA members to tackle in 2018!

This is a time to recognise the effort and support provided by many people to make 2017 a success for the NZSA. I’d like to thank all the guest speakers that have shared their stories and experiences. Your insights have been invaluable to our members and guests. Thank you also the Executive Committee members who volunteer their time to keep the NZSA operating and growing.The NZSA has had a great year, and it wouldn't have been possible without all the effort that goes on behind the scenes.

Best wishes to everyone for 2018!

Roger Ford
President, NZSA

February: Phil Pietersen, Co-founder, ClearPoint. Tuesday 13 February.

A reminder that our networking dinners are held on the second Tuesday of every month from February through to December. We look forward to seeing you there!

Recent Events

December: Greg Cross, Soul Machines, AI in the 21st century

Leading Kiwi AI innovator, Greg Cross of Soul Machines, gave a fascinating demonstration of his digital assistant, Rachel, and an exploration of the future of Artificial Intelligence. AI is starting to have a dramatic impact on service, giving everyone the chance to experience a personalised service that has previously only been enjoyed by the very wealthy. The key message was that as human beings, we interact face-to-face, both intellectually and emotionally. Soul Machines is at the forefront of building digital humans to bridge the face-to-face gap between humans and computers. It was truly eye openning to see and hear about the work being done around the world. In particular how quickly those who are embracing AI are moving ahead of those organisations that are more conservative. A great evening to end the year.

Thank you to all our members who brought guests along to our events throughout the year:

Rod Hall, John Jones, Andrew Kirk, Gavin Lennox, Hadleigh Averill, Rebecca Caroe, Edwin Lim, Anchali Anandanayagam, Rollo Gillespie, Mark Talbot, Patrick Quesnel, Arjan Noordhoek, Pip Gilbert, Roger Ford, Dion Boothby, John Randles, Glen Campbell, Bruce Copeland, Averill Dickson, Jo Patterson, Rob Silver, Graeme Muller and Steve Corbett.

Congratulations to NZSA members listed as ‘Masters of Growth’ the 2017 Deloitte Fast 50 Awards – a new award category which recognises established New Zealand business which continue to maintain a credible growth rate over a sustained period of time. Congratulations to Invenco (placed at number 3) and ClearPoint (19).

Callaghan Innovation - Top tech companies contribute a record $10b to New Zealand economy - New Zealand’s leading hi-tech companies achieved a combined annual revenue of $10 billion this year as announced in the annual Technology Investment Network’s TIN Report. Read more

PowerbyProxi snapped up by Apple
Apple recently bought the NZ based wireless charging technology company for an undisclosed sum of money. Auckland entrepreneur Fady Mishriki set up PowerbyProxi in 2007, as a spin-out from Auckland University, with the goal of helping people charge everyday devices such as mobile phones without having to plug them in. Mishriki said: ‘he and his team were thrilled to join Apple. "There is tremendous alignment with our values, and we are excited to continue our growth in Auckland and contribute to the great innovation in wireless charging coming out of New Zealand." .’ Read more

AJ Park acquired by ASX-listed IPH
Intellectual property law firm AJ Park was recently acquired by ASX-listed IPH Ltd for $66 million. AJ Park is set to become the first NZ law firm to join a publicly listed IP firm. IPH is an ASX listed holding company for a number of intellectual property and associated companies offering services and products throughout the Asia-Pacific region. AJ Park is the first New Zealand patent attorney firm to be acquired as a result of legislation which took effect from February 2017, which removed restrictions on ownership structures for patent attorney firms. Read more

Linewize sold to Family Zone
Linewize has been acquired by ASX-listed Family Zone following their successful partnership agreement announced earlier this year. The Linewize team is working with Family Zone to deliver world-leading cyber safety solutions to parents and schools worldwide. Read more

MBIE is encouraging diversity in tech
In October MBIE launched ‘Return to IT’, a pilot programme encouraging women to return to the tech sector. Based in Wellington, Return to IT assists women who have a digital technology background to return to work in the sector after taking a career break of between two and five years. The initiative, which is a partnership between MBIE and the Ministry for Women aims to show employers there is a wealth of untapped talent out there that with a small amount of training and support could assist with the skills shortages faced by the sector. According to the 2013 census, women make up just less than one quarter (23 per cent) of those employed in IT occupations.

GridAKL - Auckland’s innovation hub has expanded
GridAKL is becoming a force to be reckoned with and is growing from one building in Auckland’s CBD to three. GridAKL has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a prototype with four resident businesses in 2015. The new buildings opened in September, joining the BizDojo-managed John Lysaght building and creating a bigger GridAKL ecosystem and making its overall footprint 12,000 square metres. The Madden Street and Mason Brothers buildings will house small and medium-sized businesses, as well as larger companies in a co-working environment that has pods, shared desks, private studios and large corporate floors. Read more

Welcome to these individual members who joined the NZSA since our last newsletter - Sara Zhang, Gagan Virmani, Nigel Beach, and Sergey Seriakov. And to new company member ClearPoint who design, build and run technology solutions for established enterprises and rising start-ups across the Asia Pacific region.