The Auckland Business Chamber’s Big Tech Survey has found that one of the most important tasks for small and medium businesses in 2023 is to stay ahead of the tech curve and make greater use of digital tools, says CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber, Simon Bridges.

“Unsurprisingly, the majority of businesses, 84%, saw the need to make a greater investment in digital tools this year to work smarter and unleash their business potential. Continually unlocking this productivity will be critical to not only helping businesses keep pace with the roller-coaster few years our country has faced, but also to building resilience and diversity, particularly in the face of disaster.”

The Big Tech Survey also revealed that 88% of businesses are using online communication tools, 81% of businesses are on social media, and 67% are using cloud accounting services.

Over 60% of businesses said they had invested more in technology in 2022 than the previous year, and 69% expected to spend more in 2023. 74% of businesses anticipated a greater need for digital tools in the next two years.

“The significant efforts by businesses of all sizes and sectors to focus on digital acceleration is a promising start to realising technology’s potential as a growth engine,” says Simon.

“Technology is not only essential to running a business – as a driver of growth, it will help the economy shift into a new gear and lift the living standards of all New Zealanders.

“But the fact that only 35% of businesses had a website with payment facilities and nearly half cited affordability as the key barrier to preventing technology uptake shows there’s more work for us to do to help empower small and medium business owners to invest in productivity-boosting technology.

ENDS

source:  Auckland Business Chamber