Rod Drury: Fibre connecting NZ to global tech leaders

The regions are now enjoying blazingly fast broadband. Photo / 123RF

Opinion

• Rod Drury is chief executive of cloud-based accounting software firm Xero

I couldn't bring myself to watch the yachting in Bermuda. I left San Francisco in 2013 when we were 7-1 up and thought we had it in the bag. Then, like many of the other four million New Zealanders, I watched the rest of the regatta with coffee in bed, jumping out from under the covers to lean with the team when the boat almost capsized, and then suffering inconsolable disappointment when we lost.

Also, I don't have a Sky subscription which made it much easier this time round in Bermuda to just check at 6:30am if we had won or lost. Thank goodness Grant Dalton and the team had the tenacity to keep trying against the doubters. Bermuda will forever be one of our great sport and business stories, a key part of our history of out-thinking better-funded competitors.

I'm bloody excited about Auckland America's Cup in 2021 because while New Zealand is already awesome, in four years we could be in an even better place.

No other country cares about the America's Cup the way that we do, but that doesn't really matter because enough people will come down and make a massive difference to New Zealand. They'll have a great time and they'll want to spend more time here working with New Zealanders.

Outside New Zealand, the world is becoming a more tribal, more uncertain place. People in the US live in fear they might lose their healthcare. If a kid gets sick many parents will face the prospect of bankruptcy - that is no way to live.

The UK will be confused for a few years as it untangles itself from Europe. In Australia their ultrafast broadband project is delayed significantly with many businesses and people being left behind by a lack of infrastructure while the world goes global with technology.

We always have more work to do around providing housing in New Zealand and helping those in need. But there are signs much of the country is in great shape for the new connected world. In the regions we now have ultra-fast broadband, and by fast I mean blazing.

New connections are virtually gigabyte sized, 10 times what the original fibre connections were a few years ago. We have companies that are scaling in this new global environment, there is Amazon, Netflix, Uber, home food delivery, 4G mobile, and we're starting to see electric cars and power systems to fuel them. Via the internet we have access to the world, there is a great lifestyle on offer here, world-class food and wine, in a country small enough where people still really care about each other.

Technology leaders around the world see what's going on. Since 2001 many have been buying property in New Zealand as a bolthole, a safety hedge. Over the 15 years since they have seen us become more globally sophisticated, and have started to do business here alongside New Zealand companies.

This has accelerated over the past five years - the amount of time top technologists from around the world now spend in New Zealand would surprise many of us. This makes the America's Cup in 2021 a galvanising event with many, many opportunities.

While successful people using New Zealand as a lifestyle playground challenges our New Zealand value of equality - which will fuel talkback radio for years - the desirability of New Zealand gives us an advantage to create opportunities that will benefit all. Their investment and presence opens up networks that many of us use today to build our businesses and create jobs.

All of us looked enviously at those who had their life and businesses sorted to the point that they could be in Bermuda supporting our team. Regular New Zealand business owners now have a global event coming in 2021 where we can host the people of the world.

If Grant and the team get the rules right we could see Australia get behind a challenge, resulting in our closest neighbours looking east at us across the Tasman.

It's time for us to collectively and individually set our 2021 goals. Can you get your business to a state that you can step away and spend time on the water with our team? What deals can you do that bring your clients and business partners down here to take part in the experience? Will you be hosting your friends and family on your new boat? Where do you want to be in 2021? It's our time New Zealand. America's Cup 2021, let's go for it.