Monthly Archives: May 2007

May 31, 2007 Posted in Business, New Zealand, Society 1 Comment

Why do we always resort to hyperbole in New Zealand????

By Ben Kepes

Of course I am talking about the (unarguably tragic) death of Folole Muliaga. The hyperbole surrounding this situation is amazing, with Mercury energy and it’s contractor being called murderers and calls for knee jerk changes to avoid situations like this in the future. DPF has, as usual, a great analysis

May 30, 2007 Posted in Branding, Business, Economic Development, New business, New Zealand, Society, Strategy, Waipara Leave a comment

I’ll drink to that….

By Ben Kepes

Last night I got to wear three hats. The first was as a board member of Enterprise North Canterbury, the second was as chair of the Waipara District Residents Association, while the third was as a landowner and resident of the Waipara Valley. I was attending an Alpine Pacific Triangle

May 28, 2007 Posted in Business, Economic Development, My businesses, New business, New Zealand, Society 1 Comment

It’s hard but it’s worth it…

By Ben Kepes

Great post over here by Dan about his early stage reflection on the pros and cons of the change to self employment. It is a recommended read for anyone considering the shift from being an employee – too often we either see all the benefits or all of the pitfalls.

May 25, 2007 Posted in Business, Economic Development, IT, New business, New Zealand Leave a comment

Xero won!!!!!!!

By Ben Kepes

Xero has won the Technium challenge in Wales! I’ve been somewhat critical about the entire Xero IPO deal but this win is fantastic – well done Rod and team!!!!

May 25, 2007 Posted in New Zealand, Society 2 Comments

Xenophobia alive, well and sponsored by Brian Tamaki

By Ben Kepes

Bishop Brian Tamaki, head of the New Zealand Fascist Party Destiny Church has now come out swinging, saying that New Zealand is a Christian country and as such immigrants of other faiths should not be permitted to practice their faith in schools or perform certain actions that they are permitted

May 25, 2007 Posted in Business, Economic Development, Efficiency, Governance, IT, Manufacturing, New business, New Zealand, Society, Strategy Leave a comment

Another challenge for NZ businesses……

By Ben Kepes

Succession planning… The ANZ bank has identified something which, with a bit of thought was probably obvious anyway. The current generation of SME owners are disproportionately represented by baby boomers. Given the slump in proportionate numbers of successive generations, this creates a bit of a problem when it comes to

May 24, 2007 Posted in New Zealand, Society Leave a comment

This brings a sentimental tear to my eye…

By Ben Kepes

And makes me feel very old. Who remembers 25 or so years ago when TV went offline at 10 or 11pm? And just before it did the goodnight kiwi was played. It seems so long ago – things were so innocent back then. Sometimes it seems that progress…. well in

May 23, 2007 Posted in Society Leave a comment

John Key… statesmanlike?

By Ben Kepes

The next election is going to be a cracker. John Key has been playing some fantastic strategic cards. His comments today about not committing to keeping KiwiSaver are a text book “it’s too far from election day to show my hand now so I’ll be non-committal” maneuver. It is interesting

May 21, 2007 Posted in Business, Economic Development, Governance, Society, Strategy Leave a comment

Another commentator pushing my line…

By Ben Kepes

It’s refreshing when one discovers commonality. In her opinion piece in yesterday’s Sunday Star Times, CEO of the New Zealand Institute of Directors Nicky Crauford calls for SME’s to embrace the formation of independant Boards of Directors to build their own capability and vision. She states that “we need to

May 21, 2007 Posted in Business, Economic Development, Governance, New business, Strategy 2 Comments

Xero’s European headquarters?????

By Ben Kepes

I see (well actually read) that Xero is competing in a competition to win a place in a technology park in Wales. Now I don’t want to sound sour but wasn’t it just last week that we were getting all excited that a tech start up would be scaling worldwide

Ben Kepes is a technology evangelist, an investor, a commentator and a business adviser. Ben covers the convergence of technology, mobile, ubiquity and agility, all enabled by the Cloud. His areas of interest extend to enterprise software, software integration, financial/accounting software, platforms and infrastructure as well as articulating technology simply for everyday users.