Opinion stories
Higher freight and tariff shocks in 2026 left Australian exporters exposed, but firms with backup suppliers and connected systems were better placed to absorb them.
Real-time checks on deposits, overdrafts and even buy now, pay later debts can mean quicker approvals or a loan rejection for owners.
Small firms can face annual borrowing costs of about 73 per cent on a $50,000 loan when a factor rate is misunderstood.
Outages, cyberattacks and ageing systems are making reliable digital government harder to deliver for Australians, despite tighter budgets.
Long-term planning can cut freight, inventory and disruption losses for FMCG firms by avoiding design mistakes that short-term fixes miss.
Open source maintainers are under growing strain as AI-fuelled submissions swamp reviews, even as tools can now catch bugs and backport fixes faster.
Enterprises are reworking infrastructure to keep data and traffic under local control while still accessing global cloud and trading networks.
Asia Pacific data centre operators are under pressure to add capacity without sacrificing uptime, efficiency or decarbonisation goals as AI demand surges.
Small retailers face thinner margins unless card fees fall through to merchant plans, with borrowing power also likely to weaken later.
With 87% of New Zealand organisations now using AI, firms risk shadow tools, data leaks and fractured controls if IT is sidelined.
If machines can plan better than people, AI could remove socialism's usual bottleneck and make abundance easier to share.
Growing regulatory pressure and wider audience needs are pushing organisations to build accessibility into video workflows from the outset.
Remote hiring is now a security risk, as AI lets applicants fake identity and skills before they ever get company access.
Fraudsters are increasingly targeting supplier payments, leaving both buyers and suppliers out of pocket unless bank details are verified before funds move.
Mid-sized firms face a policy blind spot that could slow AI adoption, despite contributing GBP £2.7 trillion in turnover in 2025.
Poor data classification and weak access controls can let AI expose information or rack up costs, leaving organisations vulnerable.
Mobile verification can cut onboarding friction for banks while strengthening fraud checks and compliance as customers expect account opening in minutes.
Broad access to approved tools has helped the insurer drive adoption, with more than 82% of colleagues using generative AI by September 2026.
Financial services firms are losing 40% of AI budgets to complexity as rushed in-house builds strain teams and delay customer gains.
Businesses must pair AI tools with skills and clear goals if they want the technology to improve output, not just drive adoption.