NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • All Blacks
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business / Business Reports

Mood of the Boardroom: Technology — a godsend under Covid

Fran O'Sullivan
By Fran O'Sullivan
Head of Business·NZ Herald·
6 Oct, 2021 03:59 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌

Subscriber benefit

The ability to gift paywall-free articles is a subscriber only benefit. See more offers by clicking the button below.

Already a subscriber?  Sign in here
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Robots are not mechanical people; that's so 80s. Photo / Supplied
Robots are not mechanical people; that's so 80s. Photo / Supplied

Robots are not mechanical people; that's so 80s. Photo / Supplied

Zoom or Team meetings have become the byword for managing teams working from home and doing business during Covid-19 lockdowns.

Even "drinks" after work to keep staff morale up at week's end.

This is just the sharp end of a technological shift that was already underway before the pandemic began.

The Herald's CEOs survey asked business leaders to rank the importance of various technologies to them in the light of the lengthy pandemic.

Particularly, to assist businesses continue to ensure productivity gains; not just in the face of the pandemic but the resultant very tight labour conditions.

Keep up to date with the day's biggest stories

Sign up to our daily curated newsletter for the day's top stories straight to your inbox.
Please email me competitions, offers and other updates. You can stop these at any time.
By signing up for this newsletter, you agree to NZME’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The reliance on mobile computing and Cloud computing has also stepped up. Fletcher Construction CEO Peter Reidy says they will be pushing into digital construction methods with their clients and key stakeholders to improve field productivity and drive project delivery efficiency.

"As a technology company we see first-hand, every day, how transformative digital technology can be," explains Spark CEO Jolie Hodson. "We use a range of modern technologies at Spark from — 5G to IoT, cloud computing and AI — and we continue to digitise and automate our own services over time. We support businesses big and small on their own digitisation journeys and help them to achieve significant productivity improvements from doing so. This is only going to get more important as we recover from Covid-19, which has accelerated the shift from physical to digital, and as we need to find smarter ways to work to address climate change.

Digital trade is in fact booming along with other e-commerce trends.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Access Economics has produced figures showing when borders shut in early 2020 as Covid-19 hit, 5-8 years of projected digital transformation was crammed into the first eight weeks of lockdown as people worked from home. "The digital transformation driven by Covid was painful at the time," says a property management head. "But it has had a silver lining.

"The change readiness of both the team and customers could never have been replicated under any other circumstance. Our team and our investors' showed an extraordinary willingness to embrace ways of working I could not otherwise have launched in a year of solid talking.

Discover more

Business Reports

Mood of the Boardroom: A Covid caveat for business

06 Oct 03:59 PM
Business Reports

Border restrictions are 'a mixed blessing', say businesses

13 Oct 07:57 PM
Business Reports

Mood of the Boardroom: Growing pains with labour shortages

06 Oct 03:59 PM
Business Reports

Mood of the Boardroom: 'We're sending prospective business elsewhere'

06 Oct 03:59 PM

"Never waste a good crisis, no matter how many grey hairs it gives you. The key now is to maintain at least some of that openness to change and collaboration, while giving people some semblance of stability."

Tower CEO Blair Turnbull says his firm is increasingly leveraging all of the technologies. "Covid has been a catalyst for some, e.g. Teams, but the balance were largely a natural progression of technology and business evolving."

Others said digital transformation was a core strategy with advisory firms relying on it to improve their business outcomes.

Mainfreight boss Don Braid says the global logistics company is currently introducing automation via advanced robotics into warehouses in Australia, the US and Europe.

"Cloud computing is a given." adds Skellerup Holdings David Mair. "Advanced robotics is usually a dream — there is a process standardisation mechanisation; automation and only then robotics.

"Ultimately robotics is the deep learning software applied across a number of mechanical automation arms.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We are looking for the answer to something by buying robots. They are not mechanical people; that's so 80s"

Subscriber benefit

The ability to gift paywall-free articles is a subscriber only benefit. See more offers by clicking the button below.

Already a subscriber?  Sign in here
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Business Reports

Business|business reports

Major supermarket apologises for humiliating woman with false shoplifting claim

24 Jun 04:36 AM
New Zealand

Dargaville water crisis: Businesses face losses and residents raise health concerns

31 May 12:09 AM
New Zealand|crime

'She is not going to prison': Woman avoids jail after cousin's fatal mattress fall from car roof

26 May 07:00 AM

Kaibosh gets a clean-energy boost in the fight against food waste

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
Lawson sixth, beats Verstappen and Hadjar in Austrian qualifying
Formula 1

Lawson sixth, beats Verstappen and Hadjar in Austrian qualifying

28 Jun 03:21 PM
Family beg for news of missing teen who vanished from Akl mall
New Zealand

Family beg for news of missing teen who vanished from Akl mall

28 Jun 10:52 AM
 Lions v Force live updates
Rugby

Lions v Force live updates

28 Jun 09:30 AM
'Explosive-laden vehicle': 16 soldiers killed, dozens injured in Pakistan suicide attack
World

'Explosive-laden vehicle': 16 soldiers killed, dozens injured in Pakistan suicide attack

28 Jun 09:27 AM
Are you the lucky winner? Two bag $500,000 in Lotto draw
New Zealand

Are you the lucky winner? Two bag $500,000 in Lotto draw

28 Jun 09:00 AM

Latest from Business Reports

Major supermarket apologises for humiliating woman with false shoplifting claim

Major supermarket apologises for humiliating woman with false shoplifting claim

24 Jun 04:36 AM

The supermarket said its staff caused her public embarrassment and distress.

Dargaville water crisis: Businesses face losses and residents raise health concerns

Dargaville water crisis: Businesses face losses and residents raise health concerns

31 May 12:09 AM
'She is not going to prison': Woman avoids jail after cousin's fatal mattress fall from car roof

'She is not going to prison': Woman avoids jail after cousin's fatal mattress fall from car roof

26 May 07:00 AM
Premium
Liam Dann: After Orr – is it time for a Reserve Bank reset?

Liam Dann: After Orr – is it time for a Reserve Bank reset?

13 May 05:02 PM
Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style
sponsored

Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search