Digital Boost Alliance celebrates key milestone in Christchurch with Ministers

TheDigital Boost Alliancecelebrated reaching one of its key milestones in Christchurch on Monday, with a prototype hardware stack to support small businesses to become digitally enabled.

Minister of Small Business and Digital Economy and Communications, Hon Ginny Andersen, attended to show her support for the initiative and the government’s ongoing commitment to small businesses. Minister Duncan Webb, MP for Christchurch Central, also attended the workshop.

Small business owners were the focus of the event, and a workshop was held to work with them to further test the first prototype and to provide feedback. The hardware stack aims to eliminate the challenges that business owners face when trying to find the right hardware for their business, saving them time and money. 

The prototype was developed by a working group of the Alliance, including The Warehouse Group, Spark and Ricoh, through a series of workshops over the past few months. The purpose is to help small businesses access fit-for-purpose IT gear and tools (within time and budget and with confidence) so their business can increase productivity and innovation. An example of a ‘stack’ of hardware for a small business may be a laptop, router, phone and screen.

The initiative is one of the first priorities on the Alliance’s five-year road map, relating to one of the key strategic objectives ‘growing digital capabilities’, which aligns with one of the key themes in the Digital Strategy for Aotearoa, Mahi Ake (growth).

Jonathan Waecker, Chief Customer Officer at The Warehouse Group and Chair of the Digital Boost Alliance Governance Board says: “At The Warehouse Group we are all about helping Kiwis live better every day, and that includes all the hard-working small business owners across New Zealand. As we developed this prototype our research showed us that many small business owners often do not have the right information and support to make informed hardware choices. This highlighted a clear need for a solution that is affordable, good value, and one that empowers business owners to select hardware that suits them.​

Along with Spark and Ricoh, we have developed a solution that solves problems for customers and provides the guidance SME business owners need to make hardware investments.​ We’ve been really pleased with the feedback from small business owners so far and are excited to continue supporting them through our work with the Digital Boost Alliance.”

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Greg Clark, SME and Consumer Director at Spark says: “At Spark, we are passionate about helping all New Zealanders win big in a digital world. Our nationwide network of Spark Business Hubs are there to support local businesses to help them grow. Alongside a national network of IT partners, we are able to provide both the connectivity and the IT solutions needed to support hardworking business owners.

"We are proud to be a part of the development of the Digital Boost hardware stack, and we look forward to helping businesses all over Aotearoa embrace the benefits of technology. When it comes to good equipment, it's so important to have the connectivity required to get the most out of it, and at Spark, we can offer that.”

For further comment or interview, please contact: 

Jonathan Waecker

Chair, Digital Boost Alliance Governance Board

Phone: +6421581380

Email: [email protected]

About the Digital Boost Alliance

The Digital Boost Alliance programme sits next to theDigital Boost programme and is a service for all businesses, communities and individuals. Both programmes complement each other and have the same focus: To raise Aotearoa’s digital capability. 

The Alliance is a collaborative effort between the government and private sector organisations focused on motivating and inspiring small businesses, individuals, and communities across New Zealand to lift their use of digital technologies. 

Collectively, we leverage our reach and influence to help improve digital skills, technology adoption and digital commerce for the benefit of Kiwi businesses, individuals and communities. https://digitalboostalliance.nz/