New Zealand (NZ) stories

Employment Hero brings its managed employment model to the UK, promising SMEs lower compliance burdens as HeroForce handles payroll, tax and statutory duties.

Keepit survey finds organisations overconfident about AI disaster recovery, with just 32% testing plans monthly and many lacking clear governance.

Xero rolls out AI-powered business health scorecards as 4.6 million subscribers gain deeper KPI tracking, cash flow forecasts and sharing tools.

Cohesity deepens Google Cloud partnership with new AI and cyber recovery features as it lands 2026 Partner of the Year honour.

Defence contractors urged to pair generative AI with deterministic software as regulated bids face compliance, audit and security risks.

Microsoft steps up New Zealand AI push with 200,000 more people to be trained as chief technology officer Sarah Carney says the real challenge is winning trust.

Gamma backs service providers' global push with APAC launch and 24/7 support as partners seek scale, compliance and new revenue.

Xero unveils AI-native finance platform and JAX assistant to cut admin for small firms, with accountants and bookkeepers also in line for gains.

Auror says retailers have linked more than one million repeat offenders, with U.S. chains driving most of the cross-store crime matches.

TrendAI and Anthropic join forces to embed Claude in Vision One, targeting AI vulnerability research and automated cyber defences.

Actionstep and iManage team up to give midsize law firms a single workflow for matters, documents, governance and security.

Workday's higher education software wins a second Gartner Leader nod as it rolls out student records tools to universities in Australia and New Zealand.

AI-driven bots and machine accounts are exposing long-running identity security gaps across Australian and New Zealand organisations, experts warn.

Xero's Anthropic tie-up deepens finance software AI split as groups weigh integrated platforms against agent tools that work across multiple systems.

Blackpepper turns to Fastly's Next-Gen WAF as online retail traffic surges and attack threats rise across its AWS-driven eCommerce sites.

Kiwis lean on travel agents as Middle East tensions drive reroutes, cancellations and surging demand for expert advice.

Cambridge startup BlueProof shortlisted for UK StartUp Awards after 3D event platform trial draws thousands at New Zealand festival.

Spotify lets Premium users in New Zealand reshape recommendations as Taste Profile beta aims to make homepage picks more transparent and responsive.

M&S says Auror platform is helping cut store violence, with nine in 10 colleagues feeling safer as police use sharper data to target repeat offenders.

Veolia appoints Richard Kirkman to lead Northern Europe and the UK as the environmental group reshapes its top team for GreenUp growth.