According to a new report from analyst firm IDC, amid the threat of “another recession” the cautious optimism will continue in New Zealand and that the IT services market in the country will still grow by 3.8% to reach NZ$3.08 billion this year.

While many of New Zealand’s CIOs are reviewing all their IT spending, IDC predicts that many will continue to spend on strategic areas of investment, particularly on mobile devices, virtualisation and security, lifting the opportunity for service providers (SPs) in 2012.

“2012 looks set to be another economically uncertain year, but nonetheless organisations and SPs alike will need to seek opportunities that not only make business sense but also capture the innovative element that will make organisations stand out in the competitive ecosystem,” Rasika Versleijen-Pradhan, senior IT services analyst, New Zealand IT services market, said.

“Ultimately it will require SPs to rethink their aspirations and capabilities in the market, forcing some organisations to move out of their comfort zones.

“As the demand for technologies such as cloud computing, analytics, mobility and the rate of convergence accelerates, IDC expects to see a more fragmented ecosystem develop, resulting in the restructuring of business models for some SPs,” Versleijen-Pradhan added.

Other key predictions by IDC for the New Zealand market this year include:

• Cloud Will Move from a Cost Management to Innovation Driver Role: The role of cloud to help manage costs will shift towards one that will encompass cloud as a means to driving innovation within an organisation.

• Business Analytics Will Ride a New Wave, Sending “Big Data” Further in Motion: Big Data analytics will become critical in verticals that are challenged by the huge amounts of data sets and the widespread use of collaborative and mobile technologies.

• The Government Will Reduce and Reallocate IT Budgets: The government has stated that its initial focus will be on common capability, networks and infrastructure and the sharing of business systems resulting in greater shifts in IT spending allocations in 2012.

• The Services Ecosystem Will See the Formation of More Service Aggregators: This will be driven by customers who lack resources and will look for service aggregators as the external managers to their organisation.

• Market Pressures Will Reshape and Restructure Existing Outsourcing Contracts: The outsourcing market remains competitive, and existing customers continue to challenge their incumbent SPs to match the services and benefits offered by competitors, sometimes insisting on renegotiating an existing contract.

• Service Providers Will be Forced to Create Disruptive Business Units: If traditional SPs are to really compete in the cloud space they will need to make some radical changes to their business model. Subsequently this will, lead to the creation of a disruptive business unit.

• The Channel will Make Bigger Strides in Delivering Higher-Value add Services: IDC predicts that in 2012, the services component of partner businesses will be led by managed and cloud-oriented services as opposed to legacy maintenance and support services.

• Datacentre Services Will Experience High Growth: IDC’s Asia-Pacific Continuum survey in 2011, revealed that 40% of organisations surveyed plan to utilise third party datacentres by the end of 2012.

• Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Will Maintain its Priority Level: IDC believes that business continuity will remain a key component of the executive agenda, regardless of the next upheaval.

Source:http://www.itwire.com/it-industry-news/market/52705-nz-getting-on-with-it-but-caution-prevails-report

No multinational information technology firms have so far committed to renting commercial space at Bhutan’s first IT park, operated by joint venture Thimphu TechPark (TTP).

Business processes outsourcing (BPO) company Genpact, which was supposed to have moved in this year, has also recently deferred its entry to 2013.

“We were in discussions with Genpact but they have recently informed MoIC (the information and communications ministry) that they have deferred their decision to come in this year,” said TTP’s Bhutan Innovation & Technology Centre (BITC) consultant, Anjali Gulati. “They might consider it for 2013,” she said.

Anjali Gulati added that discussions with other potential companies like WIPRO and WorldBridge, a BPO, are ongoing. She said that for 2012, only local companies would be taking up space at TTP, both commercial and in the BITC.

The park’s BITC is scheduled to be completed and operational by the end of March the centre’s chief operating officer, Tshering Cigay Dorji, said.

The BITC’s objective is to promote the private sector and Bhutanese entrepreneurs by providing an environment designed to allow businesses to be mentored, networked, and grow to the point they can move out and operate.

Currently, the BITC is still being fitted out but MoUs have already been signed with 10 local companies. A further three are due to be signed within this week, Anjali Gulati said. She said that the companies’ business proposals are being reviewed and a selection process is underway. Companies with business proposals that provide high potential such as in growth and job creation, among others, will be selected.

Once operating in the BITC, the ‘tenants’ will be able to access the centre’s various services and facilities. They will also be able to avail mentoring from international organisations and individual experts. BITC recently launched it overseas expert program. The program’s objective is to facilitate training and teaching of the Bhutanese business community by bringing in foreign expertise to share their knowledge and experience for a period between 3-6 months.

Anjali Gulati said that BITC has about three foreign individuals already interested in the program.

DHI’s BEGIN (business entrepreneurship growth and innovation) program, slated to begin in March, will also be run in tandem with BITC, said Anjali Gulati. The BEGIN program seeks to provide mainstream entrepreneurship by providing comprehensive training, sustained mentoring, and financing to individuals with strong entrepreneurial traits and sound business ideas. Anjali Gulati said that the BEGIN program will be available to BITC incubatees.

BITC incubatees will have to pay rent to TTP, but Anjali Gulati said that the rent would be subsidised and as a result cheaper than market rates.

Bhutan’s first IT park was inaugurated three months ago in November. TTP is a joint venture between Assetz Property Group of Singapore and DHI. The park was built at a cost of about Nu 250M.

Source:http://www.kuenselonline.com/2011/?p=26699