28TECHNOLOGY IS DRIVING PIVOTABILITY FOR ‘LIFELINE UTILITIES’Technology has become essential to keep organisationsrunning as they tackle lockdowns, social distancing, changingwork behaviours and more. As a result, technology ideas andinnovations that potentially would have taken months or yearsto implement in the past have bolted to the forefront of actionpractically overnight.Steve Vamos says that from Xero’s aggregated and anonymiseddata of more than 300,000 small business it became apparentthat those using more software applications prior to thepandemic were able to pivot much faster to offer online servicesand were far more resilient.“With small businesses being disproportionately affectedby the pandemic, Xero was fortunate to be able to provideguidance, insight and support where needed. Our teams ralliedaround our customers, quickly mobilising 24/7 customerassistance, and detailed localised content on how to accessgovernment support; creating new online education on topicslike access to loans and working remotely.”Customer support became the number one focus for manyservice orientated organisations, he adds.“Small business makes a very significant contribution to GDP,jobs and recovery through this recession. At Xero, we have aresponsibility to do what we can to help them, so we providednew features for managing business performance and cash flow.”Xero product teams therefore reprioritised work to focus onlaunching new solutions that helped partners respond quicklyto the changes related to accessing wage subsidies, leaveentitlements, payroll requirements, in the countries where Xerooperates.Justine Smyth, Chair of Spark New Zealand says that this sortof activity was on the front burner in her organisation as well.“Spark is a lifeline utility, which means it needs to operate andprovide essential services in crisis situations, which includesall COVID-19 alert levels. This is a responsibility the boardand management take very seriously, and we have a lot ofexperience responding to rapidly evolving situations.”She adds that one of the things she is most proud of this yearis how quickly the company moved to support customers byremoving broadband data caps to help people working andlearning from home, and to put in place financial hardshipsupport measures.“For our larger enterprise customers, we supported them torapidly transition to secure, remote working – in some casesstanding up call centres or undertaking digital transformationprojects that would normally take many months in a numberof weeks.”From a primary industry perspective, global demand forNew Zealand dairy over the last 18 months has held strong,and the industry remains incredibly important to NewZealand’s economy. That said, says Peter McBride, it can’ttake its foot off the accelerator. He says that to meet changingconsumer consumer expectations, the industry needs to focuson technology and innovation.“The ability to quickly adapt to market changes is criticalto managing a crisis like COVID-19 that has multiple wavesof outbreaks, in different markets. and at different times. Ourscale, people and systems has meant we can respond by alteringour product mix, on an almost daily basis, and put our farmers’milk into the products and places where it is most valued.“For example, people weren’t able to eat out of home during thevarious lockdowns, so demand initially shifted from foodserviceproducts into the type of consumer products you buy from thesupermarket.“The shift to technology-based shopping was well underwaypre-Covid, especially in Asia, but we’ve seen an accelerationof that trend in response to the crisis and we need to respondto that.”MORE THAN EVER, IT’S STILL ABOUT PEOPLEHow do you lead when you’re not in the office helping to buildculture and wellbeing, instead dealing with a stressful andcontinually changing environment?Steve Vamos comments that success in any industry– especially ones that move as fast as the tech sector –demands leaders remain open to what others are saying andexperiencing.“You have to stay connected, and you have to care aboutothers. If I’ve learned anything over my 40 years in the techindustry, it’s that the more technology is introduced andadopted, the more the human element matters.“For us, it all starts with trust, and building an environmentwhere every individual knows they have a voice, that they aresafe, and that they have the freedom to express their ideas.”
29“If I’ve learned anything over my 40 yearsin the tech industry, it’s that the moretechnology is introduced and adopted,the more the human element matters.”Steve Vamos, Xero
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