The world is changing. New Zealand is changing. In the modern age, it has become more and more important to embrace digital technology. While New Zealand has faced a few challenges in moving toward a more digital-focused economy, it has overcome pretty much every obstacle along the way. In fact, in the tech sector, New Zealand is a world leader and this is, in part, down to the huge amount of cash and effort the government has put into ensuring that New Zealand can grow.
Let’s explain. However, do bear in mind that this is only a very quick overview – we can’t possibly cover everything about the evolution of New Zealand’s digital age, just the highlights!
The major issue that faced New Zealand
In the past, New Zealand had a major issue embracing the digital age – internet connections. Just like Australia, New Zealand is pretty isolated from other major countries, particularly those that it would normally do business with. Being on the other side of the world from Europe and the US meant that New Zealand didn’t have a fantastic internet connection. It was snail-paced, at best.
The New Zealand government knew this and invested heavily in the introduction of fiber technology in the country. Internet speeds within New Zealand are now among the fastest in the world.
It was this investment that has allowed the country to truly embrace digital change. While there are still some issues with connections to other countries (mostly due to slowness), anything within New Zealand should be nice and zippy.
Ease of access to digital tools in the classroom
Embracing a big change at a country level starts with the education of the population, and this is where New Zealand has started to thrive. For the country to succeed in the digital age going forward, they needed to ensure that the children are gaining the tools that they need.
In a rather expensive but worthwhile move, the New Zealand government has worked to ensure that classrooms have been kitted out with the tech that allows the students to improve their skills.
The significant investment in New Zealand has cultivated a population that is driving the advancement of digital technology. For instance, the early investments made in digital technology education have led to one of the highest growth rates for new tech businesses in the world. In fact, over the past year, the number of new tech businesses in New Zealand securing
investments has surged by an impressive 44%. This has resulted in a wealth of original games available in New Zealand, fueling the rapid growth of the gaming industry, as individuals graduate with the skills needed to excel in creating online games.
Improvement to laws that allow digital change
New Zealand has never been a country to shy away from changing its laws to benefit the population as well as the economy. There have been some pretty major changes to the laws that have made international news over the years. However, a lot of things happen that are not necessarily reported on outside of the country but have had a major impact on tech growth in NZ.
One of the biggest changes has been the laws related to online gambling. Online gambling has been a major driver of tech innovation over the years, and for a while, it was tough to start an online gambling company. New Zealand decided to change its laws and the country now has a major influx of online casinos, with the industry experiencing significant growth.
Other areas have also benefitted from New Zealand’s forward-thinking approach to digital tech. For example, legislation makes it easier for banks, the government, and other IT areas to collaborate. The laws have also been designed to increase competition in the tech sector, ensuring that as many companies as possible can benefit.
Changes to major industries
Pretty much all the major industries in New Zealand are embracing digital change in some way. The food and drink industry is embracing agricultural technology, the banking system is becoming more closely linked with faster payments, and more and more New Zealand websites are appearing that are taking on the world. We are still in the early stages of the digital age boom in New Zealand, so we are very excited to see where things head. Some people are calling this New Zealand’s golden age of digital, similar to the golden age of Hollywood in the 1950s, which paved the way for the blockbusters of the future.
This is just a very brief introduction to the world of New Zealand’s digital age. It is very much a growth area, but it is something that the government, people, and businesses of New Zealand have embraced. We won’t be surprised if New Zealand becomes a major digital player in the future.