As New Zealand businesses face mounting productivity pressure, new research from 2degrees shows AI is already delivering measurable gains for SMEs. From streamlining operations to unlocking new growth opportunities, the challenge now is turning early experimentation into lasting business impact.
Acron Plastics, a New Zealand thermoforming manufacturer, had been running as a fully paper-based business before adopting MRPeasy. We sat down with Business & Sales Manager Mark Wong to see how the company uses the system to structure orders, manage purchasing and inventory, and reduce the risk of missed jobs.
Data-led sustainability company, Generate Zero, is on a mission to help empower businesses on their journey towards a more sustainable future. The platform founded by the team at Data Insight, leverages the power of data, analytics, and AI to help businesses reduce their carbon footprint. Carmen Vicelich (pictured above), Generate Zero founder and award-winning data and tech entrepreneur, says this occasion marks an important step forward for sustainability in Aotearoa. “Our mission is to use emerging technology to empower businesses to reduce their carbon footprint. Generate Zero is our answer to the increasing demand for accurate ESG reporting and solutions through leveraging data,” says Vicelich. “We know emissions reporting is a lengthy and difficult process, but our solution helps remove
An easy interface for property searchers such as real estate agents, created by Auckland property data company Relab, has captured a quarter of New Zealand’s real estate agent market. Last year, real estate agents accessing the centrally accessible property data through Relab’s platform, the first of its kind in New Zealand, increased sales by 30 percent. CEO Knight Hou (pictured), who starting working on Relab with co-founder and CFO Leon Hong in 2016, created the platform from scratch to “enable, empower and inspire” real estate agents as they analyse and assess the potential of any property opportunity quickly. “There was no holistic way of capturing all that information into one place,” Hou said. “There was no unique way to identify
Josh Bahlman has advice for staying on top of the cyber threat business landscape, and talks you through a cyber security maturity and resilience plan for SMEs. As the world becomes more digitally connected and cyber attacks are becoming more sophisticated, the importance of cyber security maturity and resilience cannot be overstated. We’re talking about protecting your business from those pesky hackers who are just waiting to steal your data, mess with your systems, and potentially cause a lot of trouble. Similar to having a fortress around your business, except instead of moats and drawbridges, you’re using firewalls and anti-virus software. Now, we know what you’re thinking. “I’m just a small business, what do I need to worry about?” Well,
Kordia regional cyber security business manager Peter Bailey explains why we can’t accept large-scale data breaches as inevitable. In a data-driven world, our personal information is everything. When we hand over our credentials and ID to businesses, we are trusting them. We need to have the assurance that they have measures in place to keep our data safe. Latitude Finance, the parent company of Gem and Genoapay, recently suffered a major cyber breach which saw 14 million customers impacted across both sides of the Tasman. Personal data was stolen, including drivers’ licences, dates of birth, passport numbers, photos and more. Latitude has confirmed it will not be paying a ransom to retrieve the data – it is yet to be
Richard Conway explains how AI technology can streamline your workflow and boost creativity. I believe we are at a pivotal moment in history. In November 2022, OpenAI, funded by Microsoft among others, launched ChatGPT. The uptake was immediate, and adoption was profound. As of January 2023, there were more than 13 million daily visitors and more than 100 million users. Technology like this (and Google’s equivalent, Bard) is set to disrupt many industries, including digital marketing. Generative AI (artificial intelligence) can create a blog post based on defined parameters in seconds; the technology can debug code, write a poem, and even create a business plan – and we are only just scratching the surface. Many companies have already started leveraging
D-Link has launched its DSR-250V2 Unified Services VPN Router for small to medium businesses. Boasting advanced features such as WAN failover, load balancing and an integrated firewall, the DSR-250V2 is a reliable, secure and flexible way to manage any network. With its full featured VPN offering various encryption methodologies, secure communications between mobile or remote employees, as well as branch to branch offices, can be easily configured. A key feature requested by many SMB’s, the DSR-250V2 boasts a built-in Captive Portal which enables employees or guest users to be easily authenticated and authorised by accessing customised landing pages, such as when guests arrive at a hotel, or when customers want to access the Internet whilst at their local coffee shop.
Upcoming event
Thursday 11 June 2026 | 5:00pm – 7:00pm
📍 The Icehouse, Textile Centre, Level 4, 117 Saint Georges Bay Road, Auckland
AI is everywhere – but what technology is actually delivering real value for SMEs right now? Join NZBusiness for a panel discussion unpacking all things business tech and AI.
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