Tech in the Bay - LIFTOUT June 2021

June 2021 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 9
Tech.IN THE
BAY
LIFTOUT
BBN’S GUIDE TO TECHNOLOGY AND
INNOVATION IN THE BAY OF PLENTY
IN THIS ISSUE
ENVICO:
NZ drone company
flying high
SWIPEDON:
Responding quickly to
market changes
LAWVU:
Software firm puts
legal teams first
ARRON
EDWARDS:
Explore your tech
future
TECH TALK
– with TS –
Agritech funding
TAKES BIG STEP FORWARD
By RICHARD RENNIE
Bay of Plenty agritech startups stand to be
among many of the firms to benefit from the
first milestone to be achieved from the sector’s
Industry Transformation Plan (ITP) announced
last year.
One of the plan’s key goals was to develop a
venture capital fund targeting agritech startups
wanting to advance to a commercial stage. The
agritech ITP was the first of several planned by
government, due to also include tourism, forestry
and food sectors.
Brendan O’Connell, Agritech NZ chief executive
announced to Bay of Plenty agritech firms late in
April the launch of the Finistere Aotearoa Fund as
a $42 million source of capital. The fund comes
with the backing of the NZ Growth Capital
Partners and San Diego-based Finistere Ventures.
Critics of New Zealand’s agritech sector, which
generates $1.2 billion of export income a year,
have cited a lack of pathway to commercialising
startups as a major roadblock to the sector’s
growth.
AGRITECH IS BIG IN NZ
New Zealand is often compared to Israel, with
a similar population, but an agritech sector
generating ten times the amount of export
earnings. But O’Connell says the funding
market for agritech in New Zealand has matured
significantly in recent years, with the full
spectrum of funds now available from angel
investors sparking startups, growth phase and
commercial pathway funding.
Tauranga is increasingly being recognised as a
hub for angel investment funding with Enterprise
Angels for example providing funding for 60
early stage startups to the value of $24 million
since launching 10 years ago.
“Companies like (BoP based) Robotics Plus need
to be celebrated for the ambitions they have got,
and the funding support they have managed to
get,” said O’Connell.
Robotics Plus secured US$10 million of funding
in 2018 from Japanese robotics giant Yamaha
to help further develop its orchard automation
equipment. “It is a very different business model
to what we have seen before in New Zealand,
with the exception of Xero.”
Fund sources now included well-backed
operators such as Pacific Channel, which has
placed in excess of NZ$50 million of early-stage
funding into 27 New Zealand startups through
50 capital raises.
Pioneer Capital has invested in 23 businesses
with funding aimed at businesses already
managed by capable operators wanting to
expand into larger international markets, typically
between the $10 million-$50 million range.
“Where there used to be holes there are not
holes now.”
Increasingly then the challenge was to, like a
dating process, match the right investors up with
the right agritech startups.
INVALUABLE ACCELERATOR
PROGRAMME
O’Connell says this is where the Sprout Agritech
was invaluable with its Accelerator programme.
This aimed to expose startup personnel to
business models that had worked, applying key
lessons to their own businesses to make them
“match fit” for a scrutinising investor.
Refining the pitch, having the business plan
challenged and working closely with mentors
helped ensure neither party wasted each other’s
time in determining their suitability.
Overall O’Connell is optimistic about New
Zealand’s status as an agritech hub, having moved
into ninth place globally recently for startup
potential, and recognised as a regional leader.
One other outcome of the industry ITP that local
tech firms had pinned some hopes on was the
development of a robotics academy in Tauranga,
leveraging off work done by University of
Waikato and Robotics Plus.
But O’Connell – who took over the job a year
ago – says this had been revised when it was
realised the expertise sat not only in the Bay
of Plenty, but around the country, and it would
prove more effective to develop a better
network from the resources already in place
nationally.

10 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS June 2021
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June 2021 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 11
Envico is flying high
NZ DRONE COMPANY ATTRACTING INTEREST WORLDWIDE
By DAVID PORTER
Sam Vye and Cameron Baker set up Bay of
Plenty company Envico Technologies two and a
half years ago to develop tech for conservation.
After some world firsts with drone technology
and becoming well known for “big drones” both
domestically and internationally, the partners
have also recently started Syos Aerospace.
“The vision is to become a world-leading drone
manufacturer, specialising on heavy-lift utility
drones,” said Vye. “By 2024 we aim to have a
production facility in the Bay producing 200
units per annum, exporting 95 percent to target
regions, tapping into a projected $45 billion
market.”
MANUFACTURING BUSINESS
PLANNED FOR BAY
Vye said the company decided to set up a
manufacturing business in the Bay to develop
the drone platform, and to become a certified
aircraft manufacturer.
According to Vye, the response to the company’s
products has been huge. “It will most likely be
more of an international market, but there will
be some domestic sales,” Vye told Bay of Plenty
Business News.
As noted, the company is expecting around 95
per cent of its sales from abroad – markets such
as the US and Europe and Asia.
The company plans a Series A investment round
at the end of 2021 to facilitate this growth.
According to the company’s mission statement,
the aim is to develop pioneering technology
solutions for environmental sustainability.
“Our purpose is to identify and develop
suitable solutions that can overcome our
present problems that negatively impact our
environment. Whether that problem is detecting
invasive species, effective invasives control or
deforestation. We are focused on practical and
viable solutions for every problem we set out to
solve.”
“There definitely is high interest in New Zealand,
but we don’t really have competition in the class
we’re in, anywhere in the world,” said Vye.
He pointed out that any company that starts off
in New Zealand most likely they will be doing
more overseas than domestically simply because
of the sheer size of the available markets
overseas.
“The response has been huge,” he said. “The
attraction has been because we’ve developed
a product that is highly practical and not just
based on aesthetics or just to get the investors
interested. We’ve actually developed a product
we would like to use ourselves.” “We don’t really
have competition in the class we’re in anywhere
in the world,” he said.
Vye said that one of the requirements of the
Drone prototype unveiled.
Photo/supplied.
drone was that it could be delivered to sites
anywhere in the world or around New Zealand
– either on the back of a trailer or in a shipping
container – without any disassembly being
required, most places worldwide. This reduced
transportation costs, he said.
Bay company
survives pandemic
THANKS TO GLOBAL SUPPORT
By DAVID PORTER
SwipedOn Pocket – employee companion app
For Bay of Plenty company SwipedOn, as for
many others, dealing with Covid-19 hasn’t been
easy. And as an ex Ship’s Captain on container
ships, cruise ships and superyachts, Hadleigh
Ford isn’t your standard tech entrepreneur. The
idea for SwipedOn came when he noticed that
they still used a standard paper visitor book to
register guests on his ships, and the realisation
that a digital solution would offer their guests a
vastly better experience.
SwipedOn is a company that has gone from
a tech startup to a global-leading visitor
management system, with clients that
include Bayer, Disney, FedEx, 3M, Krispy Kreme,
Gate Gourmet, Bosch and Skyscanner.
SwipedOn is a cloud-based iPad application that
replaces paper visitor books with an elegant and
simple tech solution. Founded by Ford in 2016,
the company experienced rapid growth within its
first two years of operation.
GROWTH COMPANY HERITAGE
In 2018, SwipedOn won the Callaghan
Innovation Growth Grant, was nominated as
finalists in the NZ Hi-Tech Awards for start-up
of the year, and was sold to British based
Smartspace Software PLC. 2020 saw another
year of growth for SwipedOn and the company
diversified and expanded on their product
offering in response to the Covid-19 pandemic,
to include solutions for workplace screenings
and contact tracing among other functionalities.
SwipedOn is unique in that over 80 percent of
their business is international and their biggest
markets are the UK, USA and Australia. “The
past year or so of Covid-19 has been wild from
my perspective,” Ford told Bay of Plenty Business
News.
“We had a global audience so perhaps saw the
impact faster than most in New Zealand. Our
customers were either closing up or working
from home. Or they had issues using a touch
screen device because of the potential risk
of cross contamination. So our fundamental
business model was in question in question at
the same time that many global economies were
falling over. So yes, that was quite a torrid time.”
However, Swiped On responded, putting its
team together for a brainstorming session to
explore alternative ways of operating.
MOVING CONTACTLESS
As the pandemic got underway they shifted
the entire app from iPad to contactless in a
matter of weeks, introduced visitor screening
questions and provided training in using the app
for contact tracing. Ford’s visitor management
system eventually saw huge growth due to a
global demand for visitor screening and contact
tracing.
Developed during the height of the pandemic
in response to real-time needs, SwipedOn’s new
products include: contactless workplace sign-in,
visitor and employee screening questions, a
dedicated employee sign-in app, contact tracing
and SwipedOn Desks – a new feature for shared
workspaces.
Contactless sign-in
● Contactless sign-in allows visitors to
smoothly and safely sign in and out of the
workplace using their own mobile, eliminating
the need to touch a communal device.
SwipedOn Desks
Hadleigh Ford, SwipedOn founder.
Photo/supplied
● SwipedOn Desks helps utilise shared
spaces effectively, optimising operational costs,
and offering greater control over workplace
health and safety policies. The new feature
allows administrators to manage hot desks,
agile or activity-based working environments,
keep track of office occupancy, and even set
resources as unavailable to help ensure effective
social distancing.
● SwipedOn Pocket is an employee
companion app that helps facilitate a risk-free
workplace via a contactless sign-in experience
for staff using their Android or iOS smartphones.
The app includes screening questions
and employee movements are logged - giving
a full oversight of who is in the building at any
one time.
SwipedOn Proximity
● SwipedOn Proximity offers verified
on-site sign-in for employees by alerting users
through the pocket app that they are within
a predetermined radius of the workplace,
prompting them to sign in.
Visitor and employee screening questions
● Businesses can easily screen
employees and visitors by asking them custom
yes/no questions to determine if they are a
safety risk to the workplace.
Contact tracing button
● The ability to contact trace has always
been possible with SwipedOn, but it used to
be a manual process. In the recent product
update, contact tracing has been transformed
into an automated process. It now has the
capability to alert users who could have had
contact with an individual who is later deemed
high risk.
Ford said new owner Smartspace Software PLC
had been consistently supportive and SwipedOn
was able to push into new market segments.
It also helped, he said, that SwipedOn had
developed quite a “tail wind” that helped it to
rally support from old and new customers.
“We’ve had quite a significant customer base
we’d managed to build products for, to help us
ensure growth with the business,” said Ford.
“Our buyers have been extremely supportive.”

12 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS May 2021
Xero explores leadership training options with Jason,
Leah and the team of SMYD Chartered Accounts.
Getting the most
OUT OF YOUR PEOPLE AND YOUR BUSINESS
By CRAIG HUDSON
I was recently asked, how do you balance looking
after your people with the need to deliver
commercial value? Simple – these two things are
not mutually exclusive. You can be successful in
business without compromising your ability to
be human.
I go by the adage, “where focus goes, energy
flows”. If you can focus on the building blocks of
success, such as developing your people, instead
of success alone, then success will follow. I
believe people are the most valuable resource in
a business and should be the core of everything
we do.
The Xero leadership team went down to Waihi
recently for a planning session, and there I met
with Jason and Leah from SMYD Chartered
Accountants, who were a finalist in the Small
Partner of the Year category in the 2020 Xero
Awards. We had a kōrero about wellbeing and
the impact of this on business.
When he and his wife Leah started their
accounting practice, they had one major focus in
mind – a better lifestyle and ultimate wellbeing
for themselves and their family. Now that they
have expanded to a larger team, they have kept
employee wellbeing top of mind – allowing
staff to work flexible hours, and remotely from
home -–meaning they can all put their family
and lifestyle commitments first, and work around
those.
Jason said by putting their people first, they have
built an extremely loyal, motivated and engaged
team who really care about their clients. And in
turn, they’ve seen exponential business growth.
In fact, they’ve never needed to advertise
SMYD’s services because word-of-mouth is so
powerful for them. And I believe that comes
down to focusing on the fact that people and
Craig Hudson, Managing Director New
Zealand and Pacific Islands, Xero
their wellbeing are at the heart of their business.
Looking after your people’s wellbeing should be
a priority for small business leaders. If you’re not
convinced, let me give you the business case.
Research commissioned by Xero and conducted
by the New Zealand Institute of Economic
Research (NZIER) shows that for every dollar
invested in organisational wellbeing, employers
can get up to $12 back.
This return comes from avoiding the negative
impacts of poor wellbeing, by creating a positive
culture in the workplace that supports the
physical and mental health of staff. It doesn’t
need to take a lot of time or money. It can be as
simple as having one-on-one conversations with
your team to get to know them better.
Taking an interest in their lives – and sharing
more about your own – will help build a more
open and trusted environment where people feel
comfortable sharing things with you.
ADVERTORIAL
SwipedOn
Launches New
Tech Products
FOR THE FLEXIBLE WORKPLACE
Smart Desk
Management
Effortlessly manage your workplace environment
Easily locate and book desks on-the-go
Book/reserve desks in advance
Control office capacity
View occupancy and history
Locate key contacts such as fire warden or first aider
Stress free desk allocations
Customised to fit your needs
Request your free SwipedOn Desks demo today
www.swipedon.com/desks
Tauranga-based Software-as-a-Service
(SaaS) company SwipedOn, went from tech
startup to offering a world-leading visitor
management system with major multinational
clients within five years.
With the initial intent to replace the paper
visitor book, enhance data privacy and create
a streamlined workplace, Covid-19 delivered
a true test of their ability to ensure the
product would continue to evolve amidst a
rapidly-changing global environment.
Now, SwipedOn is helping over 7000
businesses in more than 70 countries return
to work safely with features which help with
Covid safe compliance and so much more.
SwipedOn’s latest Development, SwipedOn
Desks is proving to be a useful tool for
businesses across the world as they begin to
reopen their doors post-pandemic.
SwipedOn Desks offers a smart and simple
approach to workplace management.
Businesses which are interested in keeping
employees safe at work through social
distancing, or those who are operating a
hybrid workplace, will love the agility of the
cloud-based platform.
SwipedOn Desks offers any sized business
the ability to manage their shared desk
spaces from a central application; helping to
utilise shared spaces effectively, optimising
your operational costs, while giving you
greater control over implementing your
workplace health and safety policies.
It’s the perfect fit for workplaces in need
of a solution to control office capacity,
view occupancy and history and operate a
hybrid workplace effectively. Office zones
or individual desks can be booked out to
accommodate the rotation of teams and
individual employees alike.
Desks can be booked easily by an admin
or by employees on-the-go on their
smartphones. For effective social distancing,
desks can be flagged as unavailable by the
admin to prevent these from being booked.

June 2021 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 13
Tauranga software firm
PUTS LEGAL TEAMS FIRST
By RICHARD RENNIE
Tauranga legal software company LawVu has
been quietly building its client base, capacity
and staff numbers in its central city offices as it
looks well over the horizon for more business
opportunities.
Founded by Sam Kidd and long-time local
resident Tim Boyne, LawVu is a suite of software
services aimed at increasing the productivity of
in-house legal teams in large corporate entities
and multinationals. The company was recently
nudged into the national limelight with the
announcement in early May that it has done a
deal with a large, but as yet un-named social
media company.
Telstra as a client in Australia, a company
with the largest in-house legal counsel in the
Southern Hemisphere. Funding to expand has
come from local investor Craig Wearne who
liked the idea from the get-go.
LawVu recently secured $2.5 million of funding
through a convertible notes offering, run by
Australian venture capital company AirTree
Ventures, supported by NZ Growth Capital
Partners.
“Generally funding has not been too great an
issue, we have always been able to convince
investors about the value of what we are
offering firms, and really it has been more of a
case of waiting for the market to catch up to the
idea,” said Boyne.
LawVu was born in 2015 when Tim Boyne took
his 10 years’ experience working in the IT team
for local legal firm Sharp Tudhope and joined
with Kidd who had experience in a project
management software startup.
“My experience at the law firm was that at
the end of every month pulling together all
the reports for the big company clients,” SAID
Boyne. “It was incredibly painful on our side, and
had to be repeated by the client. I thought there
had to be an easier way to keep track of things.”
‘GO TO’ PRODUCTIVITY TOOL
Partnering with Kidd and being able to apply
his experience from his project management
software saw them develop what is becoming
the “go to” productivity tool for in-house
counsel.
The pair’s big break came when they landed
Boyne said the legal counsel sector has been
largely unchanged over the past 20 years
and has missed out on many of the digital
productivity tools other sectors have benefitted
from.
“For example, 15 percent of lawyers are tracking
contractual obligations and deadlines on PostIt
notes. Feedback we get is that having LawVu
has helped significantly reduce wasted time
for mundane tasks like document searching,
meaning teams can focus on more higher value
projects and activities.
“One city council saved 40 percent on their
expenditure on outside counsel spend, while
another firm’s team of lawyers saved an hour a
day each by not having to search for documents
in the usual way.”
The company has found Australia a good starting
point as an overseas market, with firms generally
being larger and two to three years ahead of
their New Zealand equivalents in adopting new
technology. But New Zealand clients include not
only the big players of Zespri and Fonterra, but
also LIC, Sky and Harcourts.
REVENUE TRIPLED
Last year despite Covid’s disruptions the
company tripled its revenue and will be looking
to further capital fund raising later this year
in the US$10 million range as it continues to
expand its Tauranga office base from its current
30 staff.
Boyne says if he had one wish for Tauranga city,
it would be to see more of a hub develop around
Tim Boyne: co-founder of Taurangabased
legal software company LawVu.
a cluster of tech-focused firms, helping reduce
the region’s reliance upon its physical resources.
“You need good companies to attract good
people, particularly as more and more people
have spouses, who may also wish to work here
coming with them.”
Now with 70 staff spread around Tauranga
and the world in offices in the US, Ireland and
Australia, Boyne said there was no constraint
being based here, and no plans to leave the city.
Australia is currently the company’s largest
market, but the US beckons and the company
is intent on becoming the “go to” option for
in-house legal teams around the world. “We are
all about landing and expanding at this stage.”
ADVERTORIAL
2DEGREES
NETWORK
COMES OF AGE
• $1b total investment in mobile and broadband offering
• Ericsson announced as 5G partner for 2degrees bring world-class expertise
• 5G network build to launch in late 2021
One billion dollars. That’s how much 2degrees
has invested in its network since the telco
opened its doors in 2009. And with the recent
announcement of Ericsson as its 5G partner,
2degrees will offer even more to Kiwis from
late 2021.
2degrees Chief Technology Officer Martin
Sharrock says many Kiwis will be surprised to
learn how far the network has come, with most
still having fond (though out of date) memories
of 2degrees as a start-up.
“Most Kiwis are unaware how much we’ve
grown. We have our sights set on delivering
New Zealand’s best 5G network, on top of the
$1b we’ve already invested in our nationwide
mobile and broadband offering.
“We started replacing the core of our network
in 2020 and we can now accelerate the build
out of 5G with planned upgrades to existing
sites. Ericsson is a global leader in mobile
communications technology, and they will help
us to bring New Zealanders a world-class 5G
network,” says Mr Sharrock.
“We’re excited about 5G and we’re aiming
to have our first sites live in Auckland and
Wellington during 2021. The network will
expand to the other main centres, with plans
for 700 sites.”
In addition to enabling the 5G network
build, partnering with Ericsson will allow
2degrees to double its current 4G capacity
and provide an event better customer
experience, backup up by 100% Kiwi-based
customer care.
“To be able to evolve our network to 5G, we’ll
also be getting in and replacing the heart
of our network so every one of our mobile
customers will benefit,” he said.
Sharrock was keen to point out other
improvements to the 2degrees 3G / 4G
network and said a myth he is keen to bust is
that old fashioned idea that 2degrees still uses
a competitor network to top up its services,
which is no longer the case.
“Our new infrastructure agreement was signed
last year and roll out of that is just wrapping
up. It signals the end of the idea of roaming
and will ensure all our customers will receive
‘the full 2degrees experience’, especially in
rural areas or on regional roads.”
That means that with almost 1800 sites, the
2degrees mobile network now covers 98.5% of
places Kiwi’s live and work.
The network was recently rated first for ‘most
responsive network’ and first equal for its
‘excellent consistent quality’ by Tutela.

14 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS June 2021
What makes a good IT
ADVERTORIAL
Managed Service Provider?
– AND WHY DO ORGANISATIONS NEED THEM?
When we think of technology, we often think
of the devices, applications and systems we use
daily, to simplify our lives and keep us connected
to the world. We view it as the means that drives
innovation, productivity and efficiency. And we
have become so accustomed to it being readily
available that the standard thought is simply “it
just needs to work”
The accelerated growth of technology has
provided a platform that profoundly impacts a
business’ daily operations. From automation and
productivity to communication and collaboration.
With advancements in tech, SME’s can level the
playing field with larger organisations. From most
aspects, technology is exciting. It opens doors,
streamlines processes and provides tools to scale
our business. It literally put’s the world at our
fingertips. And when we have the right hardware,
systems and software in place, our business can
be limitless.
But what happens when the tech we so heavily
rely on, doesn’t work? What if your business was
to lose access to all your data and systems today?
What is the cost to your business if you have
a total IT blackout for 8 hours, or a week? And
more notably, have you given thought to what the
severity of disruption and reputational damage to
your organisation would be in such an instance? If
2020 taught us anything, it’s that, a solid network
infrastructure and IT platform is pivotal to a
business’s success.
The everchanging landscape of IT and the
intensifying topic of cyber security requires a
careful and considered approach and up to date
knowledge of advancements, which is where the
advantage of having a Managed Service Provider
comes in to play. Your MSP should act as an
extension of your team, provide great value, and
help your organisation succeed. Choosing the
right MSP to partner with, helps shape the future
of your business, so it’s important to know what
to look for.
STRATUS BLUE – A ‘PERPETUAL
BETA’
Stratus Blue is a local MSP – we embrace the
mindset of “Perpetual Beta” a term that is used
to describe an organisation that operates with
a strong feedback loop between customer and
organisation. Our internal philosophy is based
on the idea, that to become the leaders in our
industry, we need to be continuously listening,
learning and adapting. So, we frequently ask
ourselves: “are we meeting that benchmark of a
great MSP?”
Like most service businesses, our “benchmark” is
set by the needs of our customers. Organisations
choose to partner with us because we provide a
customisable solution that meets their needs. We
understand that as a partner to our clients it is our
duty to provide them with experience, expertise,
the latest tech knowledge and resources that
allow for greater accuracy and reduced risks
and liabilities. We want our clients to be able to
focus on their core business - such as direction,
strategies, and growth while we ensure they have
the best practice IT framework in place.
Above all, we foster the care for our people.
Both internally and with each business we are
engaged with. We believe what sets us apart,
are the PEOPLE that make Stratus Blue, and
the culture of genuine care and connection for
the businesses we partner with. It has enabled
us to become a business that grows organically,
through referrals and reputation.
We are humbled at the support we get from many
notable organisations who put their trust in us,
it is their feedback and success that drives us to
strive for continuous improvement, and to never
stop asking ourselves “What makes a good MSP?”
YOU'RE TECHNOLOGY
SIMPLIFIED.
PROVIDING THE CORE TECHNOLOGIES TO HELP
YOUR BUSINESS GROW.
NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE
IT PROCUREMENT
MANAGED SERVICES
MANAGED CYBERSECURITY
CONSULTING & SUPPORT
Managed Services, Managed Better.
Addressing the 3 most pressing issues
business owners and leaders in the SME sector
are facing.
Sustaining revenues – in the face of unpredictable
changes.
Cyber Security and Risk Management
Understanding changes in human resources and
employment law – protecting you and your people
Giving businesses the freedom to be
remarkable.
Call 0800-2-277478
or 07-777 0010
www.stratusblue.co.nz
P R E S E N T E D B Y :

June 2021 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 15
THE IMPORTANCE OF A
Cyber Security Framework
Cyber Security. Those two words seem to be on
repeat. Everywhere we turn in the tech space,
this topic, albeit being discussed extensively, just
seems to get hotter.
Last month saw the Waikato DBH fall victim to
a “war” it didn’t see coming. Theory is, an email
attachment was opened, and if so, one click,
was all it took bring five hospitals to their knees.
Employees were underpaid or not paid at all,
cancer patients were shifted to other regions,
procedures that required digital imaging were
rebooked and doctors were pushed to rely on
hard copy records and whiteboards to commence
treating patients.
The extent of damage and the cost to the
government and insurance companies are still to
be determined as experts weigh in, that the “war”
is far from over. As cyber security heroes work
tirelessly to put out the “fires” the looming fact is
that even once all workstations and software are
restored from backups and systems are up and
running, the risk of all patient information being
released online is still very real.
THE MONEY MOTIVE
Simply put, a large government organisation was
infiltrated by hackers with one motive. Money.
According to a recent cyberwarfare report, by
2025 cybercrime globally will cost businesses
USD$10.5 trillion annually. And if the theory of
human error, one small moment of misjudgement,
a single motion of a finger on a mouse, is what’s
to blame. It reinforces, that without a doubt,
alongside health and safety, cyber security and
awareness should be the top discussion points on
every businesses risk register.
At times this topic brings about the sense of
scaremongering, with businesses of all sizes still
embracing the approach of “she’ll be ‘right” or
“there’s no reason for us to be targeted”. In fact
the above comparison to a “war” might seem
excessive to some. But there are staggering stats
showing that over 50 percent of businesses
across all industries in NZ were successfully
targeted by a ransomware attack in the past
12 months, and one in five of those businesses
stated the attack caused serious disruptions to
their operations.
CYBER SECURITY SHOULD BE A
PRIORITY
It raises cause for alarm that when in discussions
with many business owners and decision makers
Cyber Security still does not rank as a priority.
We look at the importance of Health and Safety
in the workplace, it is pivotal to keep our people
safe, but if our business operations, funds and IP
isn’t safe, how do we ensure the continuation of
business as usual for those we employ or service?
Cyber Competency in a permanently digitally
connected world is becoming a skillset required
for leaders and employees of organisations and
it’s evident that Cyber Security is no longer an
IT duty, but that of the entire organisation, no
matter the size. Breaches can be achieved through
hardware, software, and of course the largest risk
TECH TALK
at hand, human error. As health and safety does,
cyber security too, requires a framework. One of
assessment, commitment, action and culture.
Taking into consideration what the critical areas
to protect are in your business, and what the
implications would be if you were to lose your
data assets or if your business operations were
to be down for any length of time, will help asses
what security measures you have in place and
where there are gaps. This enables you to act and
put a framework in place for security measures,
training and a security “playbook” to follow.
Committing to this Framework means creating
a culture of cyber security awareness, that
means demonstrating your commitment through
educating staff and ensuring that there is a healthy
sustainable security culture. When a security
culture is sustainable, it transforms security from
a one-time event into a lifecycle that generates
security returns forever.
The World Economic Forum Principles of
board governance of cyber risk suggests some
> BY TONY SNOW
Tony Snow is chief executive and co-founder of Stratus Blue.
He can be contacted at Tony@stratusblue.co.nz.
considerations for organisations to integrate and
support strategic and security goals:
• Appointing a role of a security officer, or more
commonly outsourcing it. This role carries the
responsibility to ensure a comprehensive plan
(playbook/blueprint) exists for data governance
• Inspiring a cyber security culture
• Reviewing cyber security function,
performance and accountability
• Set the expectation that cyber risk is an
important part of business longevity and
continuity
Regular reviews of your framework and cyber
management plans should be conducted as
technology and the sophistication of attacks
everchanging. Regular and adhoc internal and
third-party audits should also be performed on
the effectiveness of cyber risk management and
recovery plans. How is your plan looking and has
it been tested?
TECH BRIEF
LEVERAGING DIGITAL TOOLS
A master of many tools, Alicia Beach has
maximised her Instagram as the platform to sell
her paintings. Although this could easily be a
successful full time job, two months ago Beech
launched Aura Digital to help other creatives
and small businesses also achieve their goals
and create income with what they do.
“Aura Digital’s mission is to inspire and
empower people to use digital tools, platforms
and apps to achieve their goals and create
opportunities for themselves,” she said. “I love
watching people thrive, especially when it’s as
easy as giving a few tips and tricks to get the
ball rolling.”
First connected with Venture Centre through
her role at Creative Bay of Plenty (where
she was marketing lead), Beech is excited
to continue partnering with their work in
equipping entrepreneurs on their journey.
As a Digital Marketing consultant, Beech
coaches people to leverage social media and
digital marketing with tools such as Canva,
Instagram and email marketing.
Painting, alone in her “bat cave”, without any
inhibitions is Alicia’s happy place. “It’s what I
need to be doing. But if it’s all I did, I would
probably lose touch with the outside world and
reality (laughs). Aura Digital means I get to pass
on what I’ve learnt.”
DIGITAL SAVVINESS
Beech’s savviness with digital tools – especially
Instagram – means she is consistently prebooked
out for her art. She shares that one of
Instagram’s biggest advantages is that it opens
you up to the world, widening your potential
customer base. No longer are you limited by
being a local business.
“Instagram allows my main market to be in
Australia. Just this morning I sold a painting to
someone in Perth.”

16 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS June 2021
Operational improvements
DELAYED BY COVID-19 IMPACTS
EXPLORE YOUR TECH FUTURE
> BY ARRON EDWARDS
Arron Edwards is CEO, Bravesight.com. He can be reached at
arron.edwards@bravesight.com or by phoning 07 928 8867.
Digital Transformation happens when a business
decides to improve its operations using
technology. The technology used could range
from ERP or back-office software to e-commerce
systems to speed up order entry and fulfilment.
Companies that back themselves started and
completed the initial work to improve their
businesses using technology. Since lockdown,
we’ve observed many companies are struggling,
not financially, but rather operationally due
to delayed shipments and shortages both in
stock and labour. This has meant these vital
transformation projects have been put on the
back burner for a while, even though they will
help with some of these issues.
This is behaviour we have seen for quite some
time. Business owners who run multiple projects
simultaneously, end up with delayed projects
because their priorities are split. Some companies
work with advisors, coaches or consultants to
help them prioritise the projects to make the most
significant improvement.
When IT projects are prioritised, these companies
have the largest growth. We’ve not seen it just
a few times; every client we’ve worked with that
have prioritised this Digital Transformation has
grown.
WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM
A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
PROJECT?
Additional capacity – There is an initial thought
that there will be cost savings, but this seldom
happens as the businesses realise they needed
the free up capacity of one or more key people,
so they get more business through their systems
rather than lay people off.
You’ll find new problems – Once a key constraint
is flowing better, companies will have a raft of
new problems come up. We’ve warned clients of
these before they arrive and help them resolve
these problems quickly.
You’ll wish you’d started sooner – Working on
the project requires a lot of hard work and more
hours tidying up data etc, then you’ll see the
return and want to get it done faster. This is a
comment we have heard many times.
WHAT STOPS COMPANIES FROM
TRANSFORMING THEIR BUSINESS?
Companies delay these kinds of projects because
they are close to retirement or selling their
business. This means they don’t realise the
maximum sell price for their business – just ask
any business broker. Mostly though, it’s fear.
Business owners have heard some horror stories
or had one themselves.
We always advise companies to find out
what a provider is like to work with and hear
that things don’t always go to plan. It’s the
hard work companies put in that make their
transformations a success; their partners are
there to support them in the areas they don’t
have expertise in.
WHERE SHOULD YOU START?
Work out what process or system is causing you
the biggest headache, then get some help to
determine if that is the problem. Many advisors
have experience across many industries, so see
common issues. Some issues might not be in the
place you think they are, so having a second pair
of eyes can help clarify the issue.
Decide you want to solve a problem, and work
out how much that problem is costing you. Often,
a problem is costing you much more than you can
easily quantify.
These problems are worth solving first. Then
you’ll find a string of related problems that can be
solved at the same time.
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