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Last night I stood in front of 40 business owners in Wairau Valley; people running real businesses, employing real people, serving real customers. We ran a live survey. The answers were uncomfortable.
This was in partnership with Business North Harbour, the industry group serving businesses across our region. These weren't strangers on the internet; they were owners and operators with skin in the game.
I asked whether they'd had a genuine AI moment in the last 90 days; something that actually changed how they work. 52% said no, or weren't sure what I meant. Only 7 out of 29 called it a game-changer.
I asked how they felt about where their business is on AI right now. 78% were stuck, just getting started, or not feeling it at all. Two people said they were flying.
I asked what word described theirAI journey. The most common answer was learning. Then cautious, slow, limited, tentative, terrified, and zero.
Then the one that stopped me cold. If you had 10 spare hours this week to spend on AI, what would you do? 64% said they honestly wouldn't know where to start.
Not "I'd need a plan." Not "I'd need help." Just: no.
Last question. Would you know if your best competitor was 12 months ahead of you on AI? 75% said probably not. They wouldn't even know they were losing.
EY just released one of the largest AI sentiment surveys ever run; 18,152 people across 23 countries.
Globally, 84% had used AI in the past six months. In the markets EY calls "pioneers"; India, China, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the UAE; autonomous AI usage is sitting at 24%. These are places we used to think of as catching up.
Notice who isn't on that list. Australia. The UK. New Zealand.
We consistently rank among the slowerAI adopters in the developed world. Not at the bottom, but not where a country that punches above its weight in innovation, agriculture, sport and culture should be. Countries with a fraction of our infrastructure are running past us because they saw the opportunity and moved.
Here's the contradiction.
When I asked the same room what they'd focus on if theirAI blockers vanished tomorrow, 54% said strategy and 50% said sales and marketing. They know what they want; they can picture the upside.
But 40% said the number one thing holding them back was simply not knowing what's possible. Not budget. Not expertise. Not the team.
They don't know what they don't know. That isn't a technology problem; it's a leadership problem. And it's solvable.
Every generation has had its moment. The one that adopted computers when most people called it a fad. The one that built a website before competitors knew what a domain name was. The one that got their first staff member onto email.
In every case, there was a group that moved early and a group that waited. The ones who moved didn't necessarily have more money or more time; they had more conviction that the thing was real, and more willingness to figure it out before it was obvious.
We're in that moment now. The window isn't open indefinitely.
The EY data shows trust concerns are real; 66% worry about AI being hacked, 73% can't tell real from AI-generated content. Legitimate concerns. But trust concerns have never stopped a technology from reshaping an industry; they just slow down the people who let those concerns become excuses.
Before you can move, you need an honest baseline. OurAI FluencyAssessment takes a few minutes and shows you where your business sits on the readiness curve, and the moves that will actually shift the dial.
Not knowing where to start was the most common blocker we heard last night. OurAI Workshop is built for that exact problem. No theory slides; just practical, applied AI for the work your team actually does. We've run close to 100 of these across Auckland and New Zealand.
Or if you'd rather just have a conversation first, grab 30 minutes with me.
The businesses that will define the next decade are making decisions in the next six months. They're the ones moving before it's obvious.
The question isn't whetherAI will change your industry. It already is.
The question is whether you'll shape what that looks like, or inherit someone else's version of it.
Callum Galloway is Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at iT360, an Auckland-based managed IT and AI services company. iT360 works with businesses across New Zealand to make technology a genuine advantage; not just a line item
Waterware's technical team had a problem hiding in plain sight: decades of product knowledge locked inside the heads of a few key people. If those people were unavailable; or worse, permanently gone; the business had no reliable way to access what they knew. Discover how iT360 helped Waterware build Gandalf, an internal AI chatbot trained on their own knowledge base, turning institutional expertise into an accessible resource for the entire team.
Good Seed Trust is a non-profit dedicated to helping build strong families. It runs a number of programmes including early childhood centres, the award-winning OSCAR holiday programmes and before and after school care, youth and family coaching and Fathers and Kids and SuperGrans events. It touches the lives of more than 200 families across Auckland.
Watch the video of Grace Ikiua, CEO of Good Seed Trust, as she shares the challenges they face and how migrating to the cloud helped them become more productive.
Farro is a boutique supermarket chain that started in 2006. Farro’s goal is to make your grocery shopping an experience, not a chore. They aim to provide their customers with a retail experience that ignites the senses. From a team of 10 and 1 store, they now have over 350 full-time staff in 6 different locations covering most of Auckland.
Wine Logistics is a family-owned New Zealand business that provides storage and logistics solutions to the on- premise hospitality trade and liquor retail outlets. The business was started as a direct result of lackluster services of existing logistics and freight services entities. With a simple goal to provide excellence in service, Michele, owner and Managing Director seized upon this gap in the market and today has a thriving business.
Michele Spring, Managing Director of Wine Logistics, knew the importance of quality service. Being in the hospitality industry, she knew that reliability and consistency were paramount to success. As the company grows, the IT systems running behind the scenes need to evolve as well.
Metal Image, a family-owned and operated metal printing company, is growing at steady pace in the last few years. What started in a cramped bathroom in 1974, Metal Image has now become one of New Zealand’s leading metal printing specialists.
Andrew Robbie, Managing Director of Metal Image, foresees entering new markets as the catalyst for rapid growth in the next few years. But this can’t happen without making changes to their IT infrastructure.
Last night I stood in front of 40 business owners in Wairau Valley; people running real businesses, employing real people, serving real customers. We ran a live survey. The answers were uncomfortable.
This was in partnership with Business North Harbour, the industry group serving businesses across our region. These weren't strangers on the internet; they were owners and operators with skin in the game.
I asked whether they'd had a genuine AI moment in the last 90 days; something that actually changed how they work. 52% said no, or weren't sure what I meant. Only 7 out of 29 called it a game-changer.
I asked how they felt about where their business is on AI right now. 78% were stuck, just getting started, or not feeling it at all. Two people said they were flying.
I asked what word described theirAI journey. The most common answer was learning. Then cautious, slow, limited, tentative, terrified, and zero.
Then the one that stopped me cold. If you had 10 spare hours this week to spend on AI, what would you do? 64% said they honestly wouldn't know where to start.
Not "I'd need a plan." Not "I'd need help." Just: no.
Last question. Would you know if your best competitor was 12 months ahead of you on AI? 75% said probably not. They wouldn't even know they were losing.
EY just released one of the largest AI sentiment surveys ever run; 18,152 people across 23 countries.
Globally, 84% had used AI in the past six months. In the markets EY calls "pioneers"; India, China, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the UAE; autonomous AI usage is sitting at 24%. These are places we used to think of as catching up.
Notice who isn't on that list. Australia. The UK. New Zealand.
We consistently rank among the slowerAI adopters in the developed world. Not at the bottom, but not where a country that punches above its weight in innovation, agriculture, sport and culture should be. Countries with a fraction of our infrastructure are running past us because they saw the opportunity and moved.
Here's the contradiction.
When I asked the same room what they'd focus on if theirAI blockers vanished tomorrow, 54% said strategy and 50% said sales and marketing. They know what they want; they can picture the upside.
But 40% said the number one thing holding them back was simply not knowing what's possible. Not budget. Not expertise. Not the team.
They don't know what they don't know. That isn't a technology problem; it's a leadership problem. And it's solvable.
Every generation has had its moment. The one that adopted computers when most people called it a fad. The one that built a website before competitors knew what a domain name was. The one that got their first staff member onto email.
In every case, there was a group that moved early and a group that waited. The ones who moved didn't necessarily have more money or more time; they had more conviction that the thing was real, and more willingness to figure it out before it was obvious.
We're in that moment now. The window isn't open indefinitely.
The EY data shows trust concerns are real; 66% worry about AI being hacked, 73% can't tell real from AI-generated content. Legitimate concerns. But trust concerns have never stopped a technology from reshaping an industry; they just slow down the people who let those concerns become excuses.
Before you can move, you need an honest baseline. OurAI FluencyAssessment takes a few minutes and shows you where your business sits on the readiness curve, and the moves that will actually shift the dial.
Not knowing where to start was the most common blocker we heard last night. OurAI Workshop is built for that exact problem. No theory slides; just practical, applied AI for the work your team actually does. We've run close to 100 of these across Auckland and New Zealand.
Or if you'd rather just have a conversation first, grab 30 minutes with me.
The businesses that will define the next decade are making decisions in the next six months. They're the ones moving before it's obvious.
The question isn't whetherAI will change your industry. It already is.
The question is whether you'll shape what that looks like, or inherit someone else's version of it.
Callum Galloway is Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at iT360, an Auckland-based managed IT and AI services company. iT360 works with businesses across New Zealand to make technology a genuine advantage; not just a line item
Leaders think their AI rollouts are working. The data says otherwise. Here's what we're seeing on the ground in New Zealand, and what to do about it.
A year ago, AI proficiency meant something pretty simple; can your people use ChatGPT without leaking client data, and can they write a prompt that doesn't embarrass anyone? Most NZ businesses have done a decent job getting to that bar. People know what AI is. They know how to summarise a meeting. They've stopped pasting sensitive data into free tools.
That was 2025. The bar has moved.
In 2026, proficiency means something much harder; your people using AI every week on real work that actually moves the business. Not reformatting emails. Not summarising documents they were going to skim anyway. Actual leverage; hours saved, quality lifted, decisions made faster.
And we're just not seeing it. Not at the scale the hype suggests.
97% of the workforce are either not using AI at all; or using it for tasks so basic they save almost no time. The gap between "I use ChatGPT" and "AI is changing how I work" is enormous.
Those numbers come from a survey of 5,000 knowledge workers across the US, UK and Canada, published by Section in January 2026. We've run close to 100 AI workshops across Auckland over the last two years with Spark, Business North Harbour, the Waitakere Business Hub and dozens of individual clients; and honestly, the NZ picture is the same. Possibly worse at the smaller end of town.
Here's what we think every NZ business leader needs to understand heading into the rest of this year.
ChatGPT has 900 million monthly users. More than half of Americans say they use AI. More than half of the knowledge workers in the Section study use it at least weekly. If those were our metrics, we'd all be declaring victory.
But when you look at what people actually do with it:
A quarter of the workforce say they save zero time with AI. Another 44% save less than four hours a week. That's not transformation. That's a very expensive search engine.
If you're measuring your AI rollout by logins, licence count, or "are people using it," your dashboard is lying to you.
Every workshop we run, the same pattern shows up. We spend maybe 20 minutes on prompting basics. Then someone puts their hand up and asks the real question; "okay, but what should I actually use it for in my job?"
That's the gap. The Section data confirms it: 85% of knowledge workers have no work-related AI use case, or only beginner-level ones. 26% don't have a work-related use case at all.
The top ten reported AI use cases globally are pretty sobering:
The number one use case on the planet is "replacing Google." The tenth is task and process automation; actually valuable workflow integration; at 1.6%.
That lines up exactly with what we see locally. People have been given an LLM and told to "have a play." What they need is a use case library for their role; the five or ten specific tasks in their week where AI genuinely saves hours, with clear examples showing how.
This is the finding that should make every CEO pause.
When Section asked C-suite executives and individual contributors the same questions about their company's AI rollout, the gap was extraordinary:
Forty-six percentage points is not a communication problem. It's two different realities. The CEO thinks the strategy is clear and tooling is in place. The people doing the work think neither is true.
When we sit down with NZ business owners, this is almost always where the conversation starts. Leaders have signed up for Copilot or ChatGPT licences, written a policy, maybe run a lunch-and-learn; and ticked AI off the list. Meanwhile the team is using it occasionally, sheepishly, with no real sense of what "good" looks like.
Here's the uncomfortable bit. The Section study showed that employees who'd received formal AI training from their company scored an average of 40 out of 100 on proficiency. Training helps; trained employees are 1.5x more proficient than untrained ones. But it still leaves them a long way short of actually being productive with AI.
The reason is pretty straightforward. Most AI training is still teaching the 2025 curriculum; what is AI, how does it work, how to write a prompt, don't paste confidential data. That's necessary. It's not sufficient.
The next layer, which almost nobody is teaching well yet, is:
This is where the real productivity comes from. It's also where most NZ businesses haven't started.
The Section data is US-centric and skewed toward 1,000-plus person enterprises. The NZ reality is different in some important ways; and in some ways the same:
What's different: We're smaller and more agile. A 30-person NZ business can genuinely move faster than a 3,000-person US enterprise. There's less politics, shorter decision chains, and the owner is usually close enough to the work to see where the opportunities are.
What's the same: Most teams are still stuck at the "summarise a meeting" level. Most policies are vague or copy-pasted off the internet. Most managers aren't modelling daily AI use. Most use cases are single-prompt tasks rather than proper workflow integrations.
What's worse: We generally don't have dedicated AI transformation teams, training budgets, or in-house prompt engineers. For the mid-market NZ business with 20 to 200 staff, AI enablement sits on top of an already-full plate; usually the GM, the owner, or whoever's loudest about technology.
The good news; because NZ businesses are smaller, a genuine AI practice is actually achievable. You don't need a transformation office. You need a handful of solid use cases per role, a few real automations running in the background, and someone making sure it's all actually being used.
Six things to do before the end of Q2
If you're a business leader reading this and thinking "yeah, that's us"; here's where we'd start.
The companies getting real value out of AI in 2026 won't be the ones with the biggest licences or the slickest policy document. They'll be the ones that took the boring, unglamorous work seriously; figuring out exactly where AI belongs in each role, building workflows that actually run, training people beyond the basics, and measuring the outcome rather than the activity.
That's not a technology problem. It's a leadership one.
And it's genuinely achievable for any NZ business willing to treat this as a real programme rather than a side project.
iT360 runs a free AI Readiness session for NZ businesses; a 60-minute working conversation where we benchmark where your team is against what we're seeing across the market, identify the three or four highest-value use cases in your operation, and map out what a 90-day programme could look like.
Get in touch at it360.co.nz or email us at contact@it360.co.nz
About the author. Callum Galloway is Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at iT360. He leads iT360's AI & Automation division and has delivered close to 100 AI workshops across Auckland in partnership with Spark, Business North Harbour, the Waitakere Business Hub and the North Harbour Business Association.
Source data. Global benchmarking figures in this article are drawn from Section's AI Proficiency Report, January 2026, surveying 5,000 knowledge workers at 1,000+ employee companies across the US, UK and Canada. NZ observations are from iT360's AI workshop programme and client engagements.
In today’s fast-paced business world, mobile devices have become essential tools for employees, providing them the flexibility to work from virtually anywhere. As companies increasingly rely on smartphones, tablets, and laptops, managing these devices has become crucial to maintain security, productivity, and regulatory compliance. Mobile Device Management (MDM) offers a comprehensive approach to secure, monitor, and manage mobile devices within an organization.
Mobile Device Management is a technology solution that enables IT administrators to secure, monitor, and manage mobile devices within an organization. An Mobile Device Management solution provides tools to enforce security policies, distribute apps, and ensure that company data remains secure, even on devices used remotely. With the rise of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies—where employees use personal devices for work—Mobile Device Management is especially critical to ensure security and compliance.
When selecting an Mobile Device Management solution, it’s essential to consider the following core features:
Here are a few strategies for implementing MDM effectively within your organization:
At iT360, we understand the unique challenges businesses face in managing mobile devices while maintaining security, compliance, and productivity. Our team of IT experts works closely with you to implement a robust MDM solution customized to fit your organization’s needs. From device enrollment and policy enforcement to continuous monitoring and support, we’re here to make sure your mobile device management is seamless and effective.
Don’t let unsecured mobile devices put your business at risk. Embrace the benefits of a robust Mobile Device Management solution with iT360. Our team is ready to help you design a tailored MDM strategy that ensures security, productivity, and peace of mind.
Contact us to schedule a consultation and learn how we can help protect and streamline your mobile device management.
For more on this, check here.
As cyber threats evolve in complexity and scale, staying informed is critical to safeguarding your organization. The Quarter Four Cyber Security Insights 2024 report by CERT NZ provides a comprehensive analysis of the current threat landscape, emphasizing urgent trends, financial impacts, and actionable steps for businesses. Below, we unpack the report’s key findings and explore how organizations can fortify their defenses.
Number of incidents
A total of 1,358 incidents were recorded in Q4, with 1,258 handled through the NCSC’s general triage process. This represents a 34% decrease from the 1,905 incidents reported in Q3.
Over 1,350 incidents were reported to CERT NZ in Q4, reflecting a 15% quarterly rise. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) were disproportionately targeted due to perceived vulnerabilities in their security frameworks.
1. Incident Category Breakdown
Phishing & Credential Harvesting (54% decrease)
Cybercriminals impersonate trusted entities (e.g., banks, government agencies, or colleagues) to trick individuals into revealing sensitive login credentials.
Despite a 54% decline in incidents compared to Q3, phishing remains a top threat due to its effectiveness in exploiting human error.
Malware & Ransomware (45% increase)
Refers to malicious software designed to infiltrate, damage, or steal data. Ransomware, a subset of malware, encrypts systems or data until a ransom is paid.
Attacks surged by 45%, with ransomware targeting sectors like healthcare and logistics, where operational downtime has severe consequences.
Denial of Service (DoS) (400% increase)
Attackers overwhelm networks or systems with excessive traffic, rendering them inaccessible to legitimate users.
DoS incidents spiked by 400%, disrupting critical services such as e-commerce platforms and healthcare systems during peak demand periods.
Botnet Traffic (100% increase)
Networks of compromised devices (e.g., IoT gadgets, servers) controlled by attackers to launch large-scale cyberattacks or spam campaigns.
Botnet-related activity doubled (100% increase), often exploiting weak passwords in poorly secured devices.
Attack on a System
Direct, targeted breaches aimed at exploiting vulnerabilities in software, hardware, or protocols to disrupt operations or steal data.
Financial loss
32% of incidents handled through the general triage process reported financial loss. The total reported financial loss in Q4 was $6.8 million, a 24% increase from the $5.5 million reported in Q3. There were 17 incidents with losses exceeding $100,000, the highest number of high-loss incidents in a quarter. These incidents varied, including cyber attacks, cryptocurrency scams, investment scams, and romance scams. Many incidents began with scam phone calls leading to unauthorised money transfers. The cumulative financial loss over the last eight quarters is $44 million, with an average quarterly loss of $5.5 million.
Nationally Significant Incidents
CERT NZ identified 100 incidents with potential national importance, including attacks on critical infrastructure and healthcare systems. These incidents threatened public safety and economic stability, highlighting the interconnected nature of cyber risks.
CERT NZ’s Phishing Disruption Service
Is a proactive initiative designed to identify and dismantle phishing campaigns targeting New Zealanders. The service works by detecting fraudulent websites impersonating legitimate organizations—such as banks, government agencies, or businesses—and collaborates with global hosting providers and domain registrars to remove these sites swiftly. In Q4 2024 alone, the service disrupted 320+ phishing campaigns, preventing countless data breaches and financial losses. Organizations and individuals can contribute by reporting suspicious emails or links to CERT NZ via phishing@cert.govt.nz, accelerating takedowns. This free service underscores CERT NZ’s commitment to collective defense, reducing phishing risks and enhancing national cyber security resilience.
Malware Free Networks (MFN)
Is a threat detection and disruption service that provides near real-time threat intelligence reflecting current malicious activity targeting New Zealand organizations. In Q4 2024, MFN disrupted 162,018,985 malicious threats and tasked 5,071 unique indicators.
At iT360 we are working to protect your business with all the latest tools and technology. If you want to discuss how we can help you Contact Us!
Read the Cert NZ article here…
For financial advisors, mortgage brokers, and other professionals in the financial services sector, cloud technology has revolutionized the way business is conducted. It offers unparalleled convenience, enabling efficient data storage, seamless collaboration, and remote access to vital information. However, alongside these benefits comes the critical challenge of ensuring data security and maintaining compliance with regulations such as New Zealand’s Privacy Act 2020 and Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws.
This article explores the benefits of cloud technology, the risks it presents, and practical steps financial professionals can take to strike the right balance between convenience and compliance.
Cloud-based solutions have transformed the financial services industry, offering several advantages:
Cloud platforms allow financial advisors to access client data from anywhere, enhancing mobility and flexibility. Team members can collaborate in real time, improving efficiency and client service.
Cloud solutions eliminate the need for expensive on-premise servers, cutting down hardware costs. Subscription-based models allow firms to pay only for the services they use, making it an affordable option for SMEs.
As your firm grows, cloud platforms can scale to meet your increasing data storage and operational needs, without requiring major infrastructure changes.
Cloud providers offer automated backups and disaster recovery solutions, ensuring your data is protected in the event of an outage or cyberattack.
While these benefits are significant, they must be weighed against the potential risks.
Despite its advantages, cloud technology presents certain challenges that financial professionals must address:
Cloud storage involves transferring sensitive financial data over the internet, which increases the risk of unauthorized access or leaks.
Financial firms must adhere to strict regulations regarding data storage and client confidentiality. Improper handling of cloud technology can result in non-compliance with laws such as the Privacy Act 2020 or AML/CFT requirements.
Cloud providers manage infrastructure security, but firms are responsible for securing their applications and ensuring employees follow best practices. This shared responsibility can lead to vulnerabilities if not managed effectively.
Relying on cloud vendors means entrusting sensitive data to external parties. Choosing the wrong provider could expose your firm to additional risks.
To leverage the benefits of cloud technology while safeguarding client data and adhering to regulations, financial professionals must implement the following strategies:
Select a provider that complies with New Zealand’s legal and regulatory requirements. Look for features such as:
MFA requires users to verify their identity through multiple factors, such as passwords and one-time codes. This adds an extra layer of security and reduces the risk of unauthorized access.
Regularly train your staff on topics such as:
Conduct regular audits to ensure your cloud systems align with NZ regulations. Key areas to assess include:
Have a clear plan in place for responding to data breaches, including steps for notifying clients, reporting incidents to regulators, and recovering affected systems.
Encrypt all sensitive data stored in the cloud and restrict access based on roles and responsibilities. This ensures only authorized personnel can view or modify client data.
Firms that effectively balance cloud convenience with security and compliance can gain a significant competitive edge. Clients are more likely to trust businesses that demonstrate a commitment to protecting their financial data. Additionally, cloud technology enables faster service delivery and enhanced collaboration, which improves client satisfaction.
Highlight your firm’s security measures in marketing materials or client communications to reinforce your reputation for professionalism and reliability.
At iT360, we’re committed to helping your business strengthen its cyber security measures through practical solutions and advanced technology.
If you’d like to explore how we can assist, Contact Us today to start the conversation!
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