$23 billion says high-tech is smart business in New Zealand

$23 billion says high-tech is smart business in New Zealand – Media release

19 March 2013

High-tech goods and services from New Zealand’s information and communication technology (ICT) sector are worth almost $23 billion, Statistics New Zealand said today. While this marks a $3 billion increase over just two years, one of the underlying stories is that more and more goods these days count as ‘information and communication technology’.

Today, high-tech goods include much more than just computers and smartphones, and perhaps the most subtle changes can be found in the home. Many common devices are now intelligent machines: washing machines and driers, Blu-ray players and TVs, even our toasters and kettles are now driven by smart technology.

“The challenge is to keep pace with how quickly the definitions and perceptions of these technologies change,” said ICT manager Hamish Hill. “Each time we’ve run this survey, we’ve had to include more businesses from increasingly diverse industries. We're seeing new smart products and online services being offered all the time.”

This said, the traditional areas of ICT continue to grow. New Zealand businesses received $5.8 billion in computer and phone sales in the 2012 year; $800 million more than two years ago. Sales of Internet connections also rose sharply, up 44 percent to $1.3 billion.

“Some of this may appear contrary to expectations, since the cost of many of these high-tech goods have gone down over the same period. The fact is, more people are buying these items and getting connected. They have become a necessary part of life,” Mr Hill said.

These results indicate total sales by New Zealand businesses, and include household and business purchases. They come from the Information and Communication Technology Supply Survey: 2012, which also includes information on exports and industry breakdowns. More detail on both household and business consumers will be available in April in the Business Operations Survey: 2012, and the Household Use of Information and Communication Technology: 2012.

ENDS

For more information about these statistics:
• Visit Information and Communication Technology Supply Survey: 2012
•
• Open the attached files
http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1303/ICTSupplySurvey12.pdf

http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1303/ictss2012tables.xls

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