What happens in Vegas shouldn’t stay in Vegas: AI lessons for Kiwi SMEs from SuiteWorld 2026
I went to Las Vegas for SuiteWorld and AI World expecting big bets on AI. Behind the bright lights, the smartest ones turned out to be the least flashy.
I went to Las Vegas for SuiteWorld and AI World expecting big bets on AI. Behind the bright lights, the smartest ones turned out to be the least flashy.
A year after its Las Vegas debut, NetSuite’s biggest update in almost three decades is reaching Kiwi businesses. The more interesting question is who it might reach next.
Equity-free funding, global mentors and a US$10,000 prize are on the table – but the deadline is closing fast.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has argued that artificial intelligence presents New Zealand with more opportunities than threats. However, coming into the election, business leaders aren’t on the same page.
With India’s market growing fast, a two-day Auckland summit next month asks what it takes for Kiwi businesses to get a foothold.
Every party now has a pitch for small business. So why do so many of the people who work for themselves feel like they’re talking to an empty room?
Looking for new suppliers? Sri Lanka Expo 2027 is bringing 750+ exporters and 2,000 international buyers together in Colombo this January.
Spare capacity sitting idle? It could be paying for your next marketing campaign while your cash stays where you need it.
The uncertainty isn’t going anywhere. ScotPac’s Lindsay Fisher says the businesses that grow are the ones that stop waiting for it to.
In under two years, Dani Archer went from no clients to eight schools. Now the Tauranga sole trader has taken out the top prize at The David Awards 2026.
Growing past a handful of staff brings more customers, more systems and more revenue. New research suggests it also makes a business a bigger cyber target.
Many tradies and salon owners already spend money on marketing. The harder question is which of that spend actually brings in paying customers, and Thryv says its new platform can answer it.
Franz Josef’s West Coast Wildlife Centre has been named the West Coast’s top business for 2026, winning the Development West Coast Supreme Award at the Leading Light Business Excellence Awards.
Kiwibank’s General Manager of Business Banking Rod Morris tells NZBusiness, Kiwibank has stepped up to change the game for early-stage business founders with its new funding pathway, built to unlock opportunity and foster sustainable business growth.
Finalists are in, and with entries up nearly 50 percent on two years ago, The David Awards judges have never had a harder job.
Eric Clark, CEO of Manhattan Associates, believes complexity is becoming a permanent part of the operating environment. Clark discusses why that can create opportunity, what other industries can learn from retail, and how technology and AI can help businesses manage it.
Two years after leaving corporate life, Josh Burgisser built Burgs Digital into a full-stack marketing agency. He talks to David Nothling-Demmer about the attention economy, why video isn’t optional for small businesses showing up online, and convincing his own father to become a client.
Kiwi innovation meets smart marketing. Telescopicgoal is transforming the way football is played and trained around the world, all with a clever, adjustable aluminium goal and a creative, targeted approach to reaching customers.
More than 60 exhibitors, 75 speakers, leading franchise brands and 1,600 attendees are expected at Due Drop Events Centre this September.
Where are they now? Brolly Sheets Founder Diane Hurford on 20 years of bed-wetting, bandanas and building a business that stuck.
Some of New Zealand’s most influential science, business and policy figures will gather in Auckland next week to grapple with a question that has dogged the country for decades: How does New Zealand turn its ideas into lasting prosperity?
Leading a multi-national company takes guts, hard work and determination but without good governance, structure, and processes there is risk for shareholders – no matter how hard you work.
New Zealand’s leaders are shrinking their own ambitions in isolation. Revved Co-founder Rochelle Moffitt wants to put them in a room together instead.
Taupō’s The Cozy Corner isn’t just a café, it’s a community hub where inclusivity, wellness, and sustainability meet. With a menu that caters to every dietary need, a great team culture, and a commitment to values-driven business, owner Camilla Baker has built an eco-friendly café that sets the standard for hospitality with heart.
New Zealand small businesses are facing one of the biggest shifts in customer discovery since the rise of Google Search, as AI-powered tools change how consumers find, compare and choose who to hire.
More than 80 percent of people don’t independently verify AI-generated information. As AI becomes the first place customers go for answers, that trust is creating a new challenge for New Zealand businesses.
We’re told the economy and the environment are locked in a trade-off. Autex’s Jonathan Mountfort says that’s a false choice, and shows how circular thinking is already building a healthier version of both.
New Zealand research into scientist-entrepreneurs has identified an “IP paradox”: Intellectual property is seen as essential to start-up success, yet often experienced as a costly, complex barrier. Here’s what the findings mean for founders, investors and the wider SME community.
AI is having its “peak hype” moment, but beneath the noise there is a very practical question most New Zealand business owners are asking: Will this actually help my business run better, or is it just another shiny tech distraction?
Most of the AI conversation right now is about what the technology will eventually do for everyone. Not much of it covers what you should actually start doing, this week, to make sure your business can use any of it. Let’s change that.
Wellington-based deep-tech startup Marama Labs has been selected to participate in the first-ever Startup Battlefield 200 cohort at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in Silicon Valley. The TechCrunch team chose a final class of 200 exemplary startups from thousands of applications worldwide to feature on the show floor in San Francisco on October 18-20. The global startup community event brings together 10,000 attendees, leagues of investors and hundreds of press and media outlets from across the globe. Marama Labs develops scientific instrumentation and cloud software for rapid and cheap chemical analysis of liquids such as wine, pharmaceuticals and wastewater. Its flagship CloudSpec platform enables spectroscopy to be performed directly on cloudy samples – for chemical analysis and data analytics to improve
The Government is introducing new measures with the aim of ensuring New Zealand’s small businesses get paid on time. A Business Payment Practices disclosure regime is being established to improve information and transparency around business-to-business payment practices across the economy, says Small Business Minister Stuart Nash. “Small businesses account for more than 97 percent of all businesses in New Zealand. Late and overdue payments have a negative impact, causing unnecessary stress and uncertainty, while extended payment terms can cause real harm – particularly when a supplier has no choice but to accept them on a ‘take it or leave it’ basis,” Nash says. Large firms (those with revenue over $33 million a year) will be required to publicly report on their own payment
Silicon Valley-based technology multinationals and their like, wherever they are headquartered, have been turning to Waikato technologists to solve their problems for years, writes David Hallett. Commercial sensitivity means only those technologists working at the bleeding edge of technology even know about these projects. They are sworn to secrecy. But ongoing relationships like these means the Waikato’s technology sector has continued to grow despite the COVID-19 pandemic and there are many opportunities in this region for those willing to make the move. The Cultivate Trust recently launched the Tech in the Tron campaign, a collective of private businesses, education providers, and public entities who are enthusiastic about growing the Waikato technology ecosystem, to encourage five hundred skilled workers and their
D-Link has launched its new EAGLE PRO AI M32 range, the company’s newest and fastest Wi-Fi 6 AI Mesh Systems with the option of a 2-pack (M32-2PK) or 3-pack (M32-3PK) system. Featuring the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology, the D-Link EAGLE PRO AI M32 solution provides the next generation of network speeds and capacity that are essential for modern day applications such as high-quality multi-player gaming, Virtual Reality and 4K Ultra High-definition video streaming. Users of the new D-Link M32 Mesh Systems can experience dual-band AX3200 802.11AX combined wireless speeds of up to 3.2Gbps, while 1024-QAM boosts throughput to devices by up to 25% and 160MHz contiguous channel width gives even more bandwidth to individual devices. In addition to better coverage, higher performance, and
Over the past decade, there’s been a social push across Aotearoa New Zealand towards normalising the everyday use of Te Reo Māori, and with good reason. It’s an integral part of our cultural heritage, our national history, and, right now, it is in real danger of being lost. Significant, focused measures must be undertaken to keep it alive. For businesses, this means going beyond ‘tokenism’ or ‘window dressing’ and embracing the use of Te Reo Māori in everyday activities, transactions with customers and interactions between staff. For years, we’ve been greeted on Te Araraurangi-Air New Zealand flights in both English and Te Reo Māori. In recent times, many other NZ-based businesses and government organisations, too, have begun incorporating Te Reo
Darren Smith explains how eInvoicing saves businesses time, improves billing accuracy, and boosts both efficiency and security. When most business owners think of invoicing – extra admin, paperwork, and additional use of the team’s time may be the first points to mind. Add to this the chance of human error, the increasing prevalence of email scams, and having to chase late payments, and invoicing can be a major headache. While the process can be time-consuming – with MYOB’s research showing that one-in-five SMEs spend six hours or more on invoicing – billing for services or goods delivered is ultimately what brings in the revenue that keeps local businesses running. According to MBIE, around 280 million business-to-business invoices are exchanged on
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The money’s out there, but getting it has rarely felt harder. Our October/November issue looks at who’s lending, what investors want and what rising rates mean for your next move. It also celebrates The David Awards 2026 winners, who backed themselves anyway.
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