High Profile For New Zealand Ict At Cebit/Aiia

High Profile For New Zealand Ict At Cebit/Aiia

Auckland, April 29, 2003 - New Zealand technology companies will join Government support agencies in a broad display of Kiwi expertise at next month’s CeBIT/AIIA trade show in Australia - exhibiting side-by-side with such ICT giants as Microsoft, Sony and Vodafone.

Seven New Zealand companies have formed a Trade New Zealand export network to participate in Australia’s largest and most important ICT exhibition, CeBIT/AIIA, to be held at the Sydney Exhibition and Convention Centre from May 6 to 8.

Exhibiting on a New Zealand-branded stand will be Navman (GPS solutions and Supreme Exporter of the Year in 2002), PayGlobal (people management software) and Christchurch company Jade Software Corporation (enterprise software). In addition Comacc (payroll software), 4iT (accounting/point of sale software), Wired Internet Group (web site content management software) and Above Board Computer Consulting (time/cost and invoicing software) will exhibit at AIIA for one day each.

The CeBIT Australia annual exhibition is being held in conjunction with the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) Software Showcase for the second consecutive year, and is expected to attract up to 22,000 international visitors seeking the latest in Australasia’s ICT solutions and innovations. More than 400 exhibitors from Australasia and overseas will showcase their technologies at CeBIT.

Trade New Zealand will promote its export web site MarketNewZealand.com (http:// http://www.marketnewzealand.com) and investment promotion agency Investment New Zealand will also exhibit on the New Zealand stand.

Trade New Zealand export network manager Dianne Hart says CeBIT/AIIA 2003 enables New Zealand companies from opposite ends of the spectrum to exhibit on one level platform.

“From smaller companies searching for their first foothold in the Australian market, to global corporate ICT companies with an established Australian customer base, the companies exhibiting represent the breadth of the ICT sector in New Zealand,” Ms Hart says.

Trade New Zealand’s Sydney-based Trade Commissioner, Catherine Dunkerley adds: “The high calibre of New Zealand companies exhibiting at CeBIT/AIIA this year is overwhelming. Companies such as Navman and Jade are already achieving success in global markets, and this is a large contributing factor to New Zealand’s growing international reputation as a source of high-quality technology solutions.”

Trade New Zealand will host a networking breakfast on May 7 for CeBIT/AIIA participants, attendees and key contacts in Australia. The event will focus on the theme of ‘Collaborating to Compete’ and will be hosted in conjunction with The Office of Western Sydney, Austrade and the Software Engineering Association of Australia.

Trade New Zealand's Kiwis In IT network, a group set up by Trade New Zealand Sydney for New Zealanders working in the Australian ICT industry, will also be closely involved in the event to further develop their business networks in the market.

Australia has one of the fastest growing and most innovative ICT industries in the Asia-Pacific region, recording sustained growth of almost 12% over the past five years. The AIIA reports that the Australian ICT industry earns a total income of A$70 billion per year, accounting for about 10% of gross domestic product. The industry spends some $A1.38 billion on research and development each year, and exports about $A3.3 billion annually.

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