Do you feel disrupted? Ten tech trends that defined 2021

Before we flop onto a beach towel to recover from another exhausting year living in the shadow of Covid, it's worth reflecting on a remarkable year in the world of technology.

‘Hope is not lost’ – 2021 saw governments start to take cybersecurity seriously

Microsoft’s Digital Defence Report for 2021 is a sobering read. Over its 134 pages, it catalogues the sophisticated playbook of a global network of cybercriminals. 

Meshing together – Microsoft’s plans for the Metaverse take shape

ANALYSIS: With its pedigree in augmented reality with HoloLens and strength in workplace collaboration tools, Microsoft is well placed to lay claim to its own slice of the Metaverse.

Grow sales and cut costs by moving your phone system to the cloud

Loyal customers have been the key for many businesses over the last 18 months, as we seek to adapt and grow through one of the most challenging times in memory for businesses.

AI is growing up – four key trends transforming its use in business

Artificial intelligence has come a long way in the last few years, making meaningful contributions to automating mundane and time-consuming tasks and generating insights for data-driven decision making.

APEC countries make sluggish progress on digital trade and regulations

With APEC member countries representing 2.8 billion citizens and accounting for nearly 75% of New Zealand exports, the multilateral institution is an important club for us to belong to.

Aotearoa Keyboard and more features now available with Windows 11 general release

As of 5 October availability of Windows 11 begins through a free upgrade on eligible Windows 10 PCs and on new PCs pre-installed with Windows 11.

What Amazon’s $7.5 billion investment means for NZ’s cloud computing market

It’s a rare event to see a multinational tech company announce a multibillion-dollar investment in New Zealand.

The hybrid dilemma – navigating Delta and the great work reshuffle

When you are the biggest software company in the world, employing 180,000 employees and touting a product line-up of hybrid working tools, the pandemic is a perfect opportunity to eat your own dog food.

No password? No problem – Microsoft moves to remove consumer passwords

When it comes to protecting your digital identity, passwords are hardly the best method of authentication. They’re easy to forget, they’re easy to lose, and oftentimes you can even find them floating around on the internet if you’re not careful.

Fortinet’s plan to train one million cybersecurity workers

Cybersecurity specialist Fortinet has pledged to train one million people in five years in a bid to help meet a global cybersecurity skills gap.

From hacking attack to acclaimed health IT overhaul

Two years on from a hacking attack that forced its systems offline, healthcare provider Tū Ora has entirely reshaped its IT infrastructure with a cloud and security-first approach.

Government IT, financial services the highlights in post-pandemic IT spending

When it came to the digital transformation required for society and the economy to function through the Covid-19 pandemic, we went ‘hard and early’ in our part of the world, to borrow the Prime Minister’s phrase.

Legacy tech is dragging down our mid-sized businesses – Forrester

We’ve heard it so many times over the course of the last 18 months - the pandemic has sparked a wave of digital transformation in businesses, the likes of which we’ve never seen before.

Technology can help us tackle the seemingly insurmountable climate challenge – here’s how

It should serve as the global wake-up call we need, a meticulously researched report from the world’s top climate scientists that suggests the world is driving towards a cliff with our foot planted firmly on the accelerator.

First look: Windows 365 – Microsoft’s PC in the cloud is user-friendly but pricey

I’ll say it right upfront, Windows 365 is exactly what I’ve been seeking, for a long time.

Big Tech just got much bigger – what to learn from their record profits

Mobile Mentor wins Microsoft Partner Award for its Zero-touch provisioning

Mobile Mentor beat out dozens of entries from around the world to win the end-point management category at last week’s Microsoft Partner Awards.

Microsoft’s Cloud PC and other big news from Inspire 2021 – what it all means for partners

Microsoft always likes to have something big and exciting to wow its partners and it was no different at Inspire 2021 as the software giant revealed an intriguing twist on its flagship operating system, Windows.

Open banking is coming – what it means for data-driven businesses

A move by the Government to mandate a Consumer Data Right could make switching providers easier and spur innovation in delivering data-driven services.

Make data work for you in the ‘age of insight’ – HPE Discover 2021

The pandemic, more than anything else in recent years, has confirmed that data can inform better decision making, often with life-saving results.

Windows 11 revealed – 5 things you need to know about the new operating system

ANALYSIS: With Windows 11, Microsoft is aiming for a sleeker, less-intrusive operating system that throws the door open to mobile app developers seeking access to the world’s most popular operating system.

How companies are future-proofing their enterprise networks in 2021

Companies are looking beyond best-effort internet connectivity to public clouds to improve network performance, reliability, and security.

Ransomware attacks are causing real damage – how to avoid the worst-case scenario

No one should give in to criminals’ ransomware demands. Investing upfront in security and employee education to avoid facing that awful dilemma will serve you well.

What businesses can learn from the Fastly CDN outage

On Tuesday evening, for a period of time, no one could access the New York Times site, nor the BBC, Trade Me, Radio New Zealand, Pinterest, nor Reddit and even the UK government website had gone down. For nearly an hour, the internet was a much quieter place.

App modernisation: Everyone is doing it but how do you do it well?

Every organisation has its own unique story of digital transformation undertaken in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic.

How to rely less on sales unicorns and get more rigour into your sales processes

Techweek 21: While traditional marketing channels are reopening, Kiwi tech companies’ over-reliance on star salespeople needs to give way to a more systematic approach.

Why you need a scalable enterprise network in 2021

As businesses continue to globalise, embrace remote operations, and increase their use of multicloud, adoption of Network as a Service (NaaS) solutions is increasing.

It’s not all about the public cloud – Chorus eyes up market for edge computing services

The Courtenay Place telephone exchange in central Wellington is like a living museum charting the history of telecommunications in our country.

IBM banks on hybrid cloud and AI to get it back into growth mode

IBM’s Think 2021 virtual event this week was dominated by talk of artificial intelligence as a key tool of digital transformation and the company’s efforts to position itself as the lead player in hybrid cloud offerings.