Hon Simon Bridges
Minister for Communications

31 March 2017 Media Statement

Digital sector and Government alliance launched

Communications Minister Simon Bridges has today welcomed the launch of a digital sector and government alliance to explore the economic and social benefits of the Internet of Things (IoT).

IoT is a concept that involves connecting devices to the internet, enabling them to ‘talk’ to each other and to people. For example, smartphones might prompt people to take a specific route to an event because it has access to their current location and calendar.

Speaking at The Grid, an innovation precinct in Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter, Minister Bridges said the Alliance would help harness the potential of IoT.

“IoT is a transformative technology, one that promises to boost productivity across all major sectors of the economy, assist in monitoring our health, make transport and logistics more efficient, help reduce energy consumption and tackle environmental issues,” Mr Bridges says.

“The Government has a key role to play in ensuring that New Zealand can take advantage of what IoT has to offer. The Alliance will provide a forum for enabling us to better understand the benefits and potential issues of IoT, such as privacy and cyber security.

“Initial research by the Alliance, which will provide an evidence base for future work, already suggests potential economic benefits to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars for the New Zealand economy through the deployment of IoT across a variety of sectors.”

The Alliance is one of several new initiatives included in the new Building a Digital Nation report, which Minister Bridges released at the Alliance launch event.

“The digital economy is a key focus of the Government’s Business Growth Agenda. This report sets out how the Government is partnering with New Zealand’s digital sector, with other sectors of the economy and the wider digital community, to enable New Zealand to become a leading digital nation.

“This is the first time the full programme of activity has been pulled together in one place, serving as a focal point for ongoing engagement with the digital community and for shaping and driving New Zealand’s digital transformation,”
Mr Bridges says.

The Building a Digital Nation report and further information is available here.

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