Datacom’s annual hackathon focuses on technology with heart

MEDIA RELEASE

Harnessing emotion to drive innovation – Datacom’s annual hackathon focuses on technology with heart

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND, 23 August 2018: Datacom’s annual hackathon – Datacomp – will this year see participants humanise technology through the theme of “EmotionalX”. As part of the weekend event on 24-26 August, hundreds of participants from across Australasia will converge on Datacom’s Auckland office to design a piece of technology that forges genuine human connections between people and business.

The hackathon has grown to become one of the largest in New Zealand and participants include Datacom staff, customers, volunteers and design students. Ideas will be developed into prototypes over a fast and frenetic 48 hours and presented in a Dragon’s Den-style judging event at the end of the weekend.

A number of ideas have already been submitted including a platform to explore the 32,000 women who signed the Women’s Suffrage Petition 125 years ago; car-shopping advice without the hard-sell angst; and how to make consultation on environmental matters a more engaging and positive experience for Kiwis.

“No matter how high-tech we get, we’re all still human beings, and the way we feel shapes our actions, colours our thinking and plays a vital role in how we approach our everyday lives. This year’s Datacomp is all about finding real-life solutions to the everyday problems our customers and society face. Connecting people and technology to solve challenges and create opportunities is fundamental to what we do at Datacom,” says Greg Davidson, Group CEO.

“Emotionally connected customers result in longer lasting and more valuable business engagements, so it‘s little wonder that companies are choosing to actively bring emotions and feelings into their workplace. Our goal with Datacomp has always been to encourage our people to think differently and find ways to make everyone’s lives better, not just solve a technical problem.”

Successful designs from previous years include a payroll app – Charitable - that makes it easy for employees to donate to a chosen charity every payday, and a smart tool to reduce workplace accidents in real-time by monitoring and flagging unsafe worker behaviour.

Datacomp is also valuable as a recruitment tool for Datacom, which provides training for its staff to help them present and develop their ideas each year.

“The beauty of Datacomp is that it brings so many diverse people and ideas together in the one place, to create something that is both innovative and inspirational,” Davidson says.

“As this year’s theme shows, technology is not just a one-dimensional tool, and we’re not just looking for programmers or technical experts, but people who genuinely want to help make our world better. Innovative thinking and a deep understanding of what drives people are what give technology solutions substance.”

“We’re also delighted to again welcome our partners Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud to Datacomp,” Davidson says. “Their expert support and advice throughout the weekend is invaluable to the participants.”

-ENDS-

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