While New Zealand possesses a wealth of strengths in ICT, they just can't seem to connect the dots and make it work to their national benefit. This is apparent in several areas, including:
• s ICT education and skills training• s Exports• s FDI Attraction• s Research and Development• s E-commerce
The interesting thing about New Zealand in relation to ICT is that they do possess several strengths, including:
• s a powerful telecommunications infrastrucure• s a stable economy and political climate• s government awareness of the importance of ICT• s several government policies from numerous ministries that would appear to benefit the ICT industry• s business capability• s human capability and networks
One of the problems pertains to New Zealand's inability to capitalize on their own resources. For example, why aren't they making better use of their powerful infrastructure and stable economy, not to mention other strengths, to attract more FDI? Another problem may be that while the Government is aware of the importance of ICT and has several ICT-related policies in place, is it possible that one hand isn't communicating with the other? Another point here is that it's possible that these policies are in place, but are not really being executed advantageously.
They do look good on paper but the reality just doesn't support the most remote possibility of New Zealand's quest to become a "world leader in IT". Identifying problem areas and making recommendations to overcome them are one thing. Taking action is another. And that's only the first step. In this scenario, New Zealand is still in a reactive mode rather than a proactive mode. The potential is there, now do something with it.