For a country of just 5 million people, New Zealand has a long and proud history of punching well above its weight.

Rugby World Champions, Oscar Award winning actors and directors, and world-class scenery and hospitality are just a few of their claims to fame.

But for all of New Zealand’s pluckiness and humble success, up until recently, they haven’t been in the same conversation when it comes to start-up and tech investment compared to the likes of Australia, South-East Asia, and the United States’ West Coast. 

But that was yesterday.

Despite New Zealand’s geographic isolation, it’s fair to say they have well and truly established themselves on the global tech investment map.

The technology sector is now the third largest export industry in The Land of the Long White Cloud with over 120,000 employees and $8.6 billion in yearly exports. Impressively, that’s about 5% of the nation’s entire workforce.

It’s a fact not lost on Cloudwerx, and it’s precisely why we’ve made the decision to expand our operations by setting up a permanent base in New Zealand. 

Local knowledge is the best knowledge

We’re excited, to say the least, to join our trans-Tasman cousins at the vanguard of the tech revolution in the region.  

But we’re also not going in blindly — we’ve got a very well-versed local heading up operations in our newly established NZ HQ.

Rui Fonseca is a well-travelled tech lifer. With more than 15 years of global experience under his belt, the Angolan born Portuguese national’s CV reflects his impressive run into the job.

“I started my career in Portugal, followed by five years in Dubai with IBM, then three years in the UK, and finally I made the move to New Zealand when an opportunity to build a practice around my speciality presented itself back in 2017,” says Rui.

It’s a good thing Rui’s joining us as a Revenue Cloud guru and Delivery Lead given the growing appetite for operations to bring their sales and finance functions together in a world that’s rapidly adapting to the new e-commerce landscape. 

“While we’re obviously not the first tech company to set foot in this country, I believe the time is right to capitalise on a more autonomous market over here. New Zealand is depending less on Australia and Asia and leaning into the existing infrastructure and resources that’s driving the boom here right now.”

A bespoke operation

That’s the essence of it right there — New Zealand isn’t so much an extension of Cloudwerx’s Australian operations, it’s its own thing entirely. 

Thanks to the healthy state its tech sector already finds itself in, plus the strong presence of partners like Salesforce well-established in the island nation, it’s a move we’re excited about and have been planning for a long time.

While our core values around people, process and technology always remain constant, we’re ready to apply that same philosophy to a market that has its own idiosyncrasies and drivers.

“New Zealand has many similarities with Australia in terms of business and people. We also have a lot of local capability which means the growth is well-supported,” Rui explains.

 

“There’s room to grow, and with it, there’s also that opportunity for partners to ride the wave of growth with us — we’re ready to open up the floodgates. ”

With Rui leading the charge, we’ll be hitting the ground running in Auckland.

“I’ve always been one to enjoy the responsibility of setting up practices for success, and it’s exactly why this opportunity with Cloudwerx was so easy to say yes to.” 

“It’s all about focussing on core competencies and scaling up from there.”

Good people, good culture

The one thing that remains constant wherever we conduct our business is good people and good culture.

In the consulting world, it’s not uncommon for high staff attrition rates to be one of the accepted costs of doing business, but it’s something Cloudwerx is bucking the trend on. 

“Our low staff turnover speaks volumes about our culture and what we really value,” Rui declares.

“And it’s something I want to weave into the fabric of our New Zealand office from day one … I want to continue making Cloudwerx a place where people want to thrive and build their careers.”

“That’s why we do it. It makes getting up every day and pushing things easier when we’re all moving in the same direction together.”

When a healthy culture and workforce enjoys the challenge and remembers to have fun along the way, it flows through to the quality of the work we produce too.

Kia ora, New Zealand! We can’t wait to start doing business with you in your own backyard.