Computer Hardware and Software in New Zealand

New Zealand had 0.29% of all the computers worldwide in 1994, which translated into a per capita figure of 0.17. Australia had 0.22 computers per capita, and the U.S. had 0.32 computers per capita. ²⁵

There are about 804,000 PCs in New Zealand, and that number is projected to reach 1.65 million by the year 2000. ²⁶ Approximtely 22% of all New Zealand households have PCs. ²⁷ The country's computer users produce about 2,021 MIPS for every 1000 people, making the country the ninth most computer intense, according to the World Competitiveness Report. ²⁸

Below is a percentage breakdown of the PC shipments by industry sector:

Segment	% of Total
Home Consumer	35.4
Small/Medium Business	32.5
Corporations	13.2
Education	9.7
Government	9.2

Source: International Data Corporation New Zealand 1996

The New Zealand I.T. market (hardware, software, and services) has grown 22% from 1994, and is expected to reach almost NZ$4.5 billion (US$3.2 billion) by the year 2000. ²⁹

New Zealand I.T. Market

Category	1995 Revenue (in NZ Millions)	% Growth from 1994
Single User Hardware	417	29
Multi User Hardware	408	25
Peripherals	305	48
Communications Hardware	317	24
Software	305	12
Computer Services	986	16
Training	33	27

Source: IT Policy Unit, New Zealand Ministry of Commerce

There are few New Zealand hardware and software manufacturers, since much is imported. A few specialized microcomputer based products are produced and exported, including petrol pumps, electric fences, motor speed controls, microprocessor controlled appliances, and mobile radio systems. ³⁰ The dominant computer manufacturers in New Zealand are Apple, Fujitsu, IBM, and Acer.

American I.T. products are very important to the New Zealand market. They currently have close to 50% of the PC market and dominate the software market. Consumers, whether government, corporate, or home, frequently choose U.S. brands because they are perceived as having higher product and service quality, even though they have a price premium of 10% to 20% over many Asian PCs. Compaq is the market leader with 12.5% The market share of U.S. products is expected to remain to close to 50% for the next several years. ³¹

The software industry can be divided roughly into two groups of companies. The first group of about 30 larger firms accounted for 70% of industry revenue and 90% of exports in 1991. The second group of about 270 small firms accounted for the remaining 30% of revenues and 10% of exports in 1991. The large firms are generally allied with a major hardware producer or linked to a larger parent firm, whereas small firms are usually independents. ³²

The best know local software product is the LINC system sold by Unisys, which owns the rights to the LINC software. LINC is a fourth generation software development language that allows business problems to be stated in business terms and converted automatically to the technical vocabulary of the computer. LINC's parent company, Aoraki Corporation, has also established Cardinal Network to provide data processing services based on the LINC software. ³³

Another important software firm is AWA New Zealand, a subsidiary of AWA Australia. AWA produces agricultural applications in both packaged and customized forms, as well as applications for horticultural processing, meat processing, and produce packhouses. ³⁴

A third important software producer is Fact International, a producer of manufacturing applications. Fact offers a fully integrated manufacturing, distribution, and financial management system tailored to fit customer's needs. ³⁵

The U.S. dominates the commercial-off-the-shelf software market because there are few alternatives for mainstream applications in the market. As in the States, Microsoft dominates business functions such as word processing and spreadsheets because most PCs are sold with Microsoft operating systems and other Microsoft programs. Netscape Navigator dominates the Internet market. ³⁶