ecentre helps Kiwi firms ride latest tech wave

massey-university

Wed Nov 13 2013 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

ecentre helps Kiwi firms ride latest tech wave

Wednesday, 13 November 2013, 11:28 am
Press Release: Massey University

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

To mark Global Entrepreneurship Week Massey University’s onsite business incubator the ecentre will run a cloud computing workshop on Thursday November 21.

Chief executive Steve Corbett says the ecentre chose to focus on cloud-based services because the sector represents one of the most important job creation events in New Zealand’s recent history.

“This shift to cloud-based systems is a hugely important one for New Zealand,” he says. “For the first time, we are in a position to participate in a global technology wave.

“Our geographic location is no longer subject to the ‘tyranny of distance’ and our investments in infrastructure could, and should, provide a payback to New Zealand many times over.”

The ‘Taking You into the Cloud’ workshop is designed for entrepreneurs looking to start a cloud-based business or to migrate an existing business to the cloud. Speakers include Mega Ltd’s Vikram Kumar, Associate Professor David Parsons from Massey’s School of Engineering and Advanced Technology and Deloitte tax partner Darren Johnson.

The event will close with a panel discussion featuring three of New Zealand’s most successful cloud-based companies – Entrepreneur of the Year Rod Drury from Xero, Vend HQ’s Vaughan Rowsell, and Gareth Berry from Unleashed Software.

“These three companies will give insights into how this technology has allowed firms to scale their solutions and provide their services across borders. Going global is a real option for Kiwi companies now – for many it is the only option,” Mr Corbett says.

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“For companies like Xero, VendHQ and Unleashed Software, the business strategy has fundamentally been a land grab. They have had to challenge established firms in overseas markets for customers and market share ¬– and they have had to do this quickly to justify their future funding rounds.”

Xero has been a great role model in demonstrating the relationship between growth in customer numbers to shareholder value and ability to raise new capital, Mr Corbett says. But it is still a major challenge for New Zealand companies to attract funding.

“There has been a complete disconnect between the way the New Zealand investment community has assessed cloud-based software companies and how global investors have priced them,” he says.

“The result has forced more and more Kiwi companies to seek funding offshore, where investors have a greater appreciation of what a large addressable market means to a company valuation in its early development phase.”

Mr Corbett hopes the ecentre’s workshop and other cloud-focused activities will contribute to the discussion about how best to develop New Zealand’s home-grown technology sector.

“New Zealand must ensure that industry, educational institutions and the government are aligned in the development and education of our future workforce because we are going to need a lot of them,” he says.

“I doubt we will see another opportunity this large for some decades. This wave will generate the formation of some very large global online companies – and we need to make sure that at least some of them have significant New Zealand ownership.”

Event details:
Date: Thursday November 21, 2013
Time: 2.00pm-7.30pm
Venue: Atrium Building, Gate 1, Massey University Albany Campus
Cost: $50

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