Ben Heather of The Press reports that technology was New Zealand’s third largest export industry last year, leaving behind both wine and meat exports.
New Zealand exported over $5 billion in technology last year, and technology firms also weathered the recession better than many other industries.
An excerpt: (read in full here)
Ernst and Young partner Ben Willems said tech firms had coped better than others during the recession because they were more comfortable with rapid change.
“They’re more able to cope with what the market is throwing at them all the time,” he said. “They were the first businesses to wise up (to the recession).”
Technology firms were among the first to cut costs and remodel their businesses in response to the recession, without making the mistake of cutting research and development, he said.
“If there was one lesson that technology companies learned from the dot-com bust, it was not to put your strategic plans on hold.”