New Zealand urged to boost digital strategy & address tech gaps

The Technology Users Association of New Zealand has published its Digital Priorities 2025 report, outlining current challenges and opportunities in the country's digital sector.

The report details calls by digital leaders for increased government involvement and partnership with industry to address a range of digital issues, with a focus on strategic action to enhance economic output and productivity. There is an emphasis on the need to balance regulatory frameworks to allow private sector growth alongside more impactful government participation.

Now in its fifth year, the report incorporates findings from interviews with 36 Chief Information Officers and Chief Technology Officers from a variety of organisations across New Zealand. It identifies six immediate priorities necessary for maintaining the country's digital competitiveness and ensuring technological inclusivity.

Craig Young, Chief Executive Officer of the Technology Users Association of New Zealand (TUANZ), commented on the importance of the findings: "This year's report paints a clear picture of the pressing issues facing Aotearoa New Zealand's digital future. We are at a critical juncture where we must address escalating cybersecurity threats, bridge the widening tech talent gap, and ensure digital inclusion for all New Zealanders."

Young added: "It's also vital that we accelerate technology adoption and harness data effectively while navigating Gen AI. We need the Government to step up in the right places, and we acknowledge this requires support from industry to drive meaningful change together."

The report notes that while New Zealand demonstrates strength in areas such as e-commerce legislation and online banking, it currently lags behind international benchmarks for technology infrastructure and adoption. Technology leaders expressed concern that the country is at risk of falling further behind, giving New Zealand an average score of 6 out of 10 for the uptake of new technologies.

Cybersecurity risks ranked highest among the priorities for immediate action. Kieran Byrne, Chief Technology Officer at One New Zealand, said: "While One NZ has an expert internal team, and a specialist partner in DEFEND supporting our collective customers, like most CTOs and CIOs cybersecurity is always top of mind in terms of risks that need to be managed. The threat landscape is evolving so quickly, and the industry needs to work closely with partners and government agencies to ensure telecommunications infrastructure remains highly resilient, and our economy and people remain protected from these cyber threats."

Other identified priorities include bridging the digital skills gap within the workforce, advancing digital inclusion efforts, accelerating technology adoption, harnessing data for improved decision-making, and carefully navigating the risks and opportunities associated with generative artificial intelligence.

The report further highlights New Zealand's lower global ranking in technological infrastructure as an area that requires additional investment and closer public sector collaboration. In particular, digitising government systems is seen as key for enhancing public service delivery and supporting broader digital transformation.

Liz Gosling, Co-Chair of TechLeaders, outlined the collective vision: "Our collective ambition is for Aotearoa New Zealand to be a world-leading, trusted and successful digital nation. To achieve this, we must address the issues raised in this report with urgency. We need to bridge the digital divide, invest in our people, and foster a culture of innovation."

The report's recommendations include prioritising security by design, enhancing collaboration on cybersecurity, investing in local talent and STEM education, improving technology infrastructure, making technology more affordable, promoting digital literacy, and implementing governance and standards for responsible use of artificial intelligence. Other recommendations focus on establishing clear national policies for data use, incentivising technology adoption in small and medium enterprises, and advancing a unified national digital strategy.

Craig Young summarised: "Digital technologies are critical to New Zealand's success, we need to ensure that Aotearoa is well positioned to benefit and not be left behind due to slow or inefficient technology adoption. This includes the right sort of regulatory invention, and a focus on government support not necessarily legislative action."