Spark has launched PureCloud, a new customer experience system by Genesys, to help New Zealand businesses manage and service their customers more seamlessly and affordably over the cloud, keeping on top of rising demand for smarter customer experiences.
The new subscription-based contact centre infrastructure brings together inbound and outbound calling, email, webchat, social media, and fax (for those using it), enabling customer interactions to be viewed and managed as single, unbroken journeys across platforms.
Richard Adams, GM Solutions for Spark Digital, said this is the kind of experience customers are growing to expect from businesses:
"More and more, people expect to be able to determine how and when they get in touch with a company, and they expect the experience to be unbroken, regardless of the way in which they make contact.
"We wanted to help New Zealand businesses keep ahead of this growing demand from their customers with a system that would be easy to adopt, affordable to run, and that would make things easier for businesses as well as their customers. PureCloud does all this and more, so we’re thrilled to be bringing it to our customers."
PureCloud comes with enterprise grade security, regular updates and real-time customer information. It can be adopted with just a headset and an internet connection and, being cloud based, enables business continuity through disruptive events such as natural disasters.
PureCloud is available at www.sparkdigital.co.nz/solutions/collaboration/purecloud-contactcentre/.
| A Spark release || April 05, 2017 |||
A renamed and extended Emperor’s Lounge, plus upgraded wifi are among the changes complementing Auckland Airport’s launch of its new Strata Club.
The club is a new app-based loyalty type programme designed to recognise travellers’ choices with personalised services and benefits. Strata Club benefits are offered in tiers based on a customer’s purchases over a year and are available to all international and domestic travellers, regardless of their airline and class of travel, as well as to everyone visiting Auckland Airport’s international and domestic terminals.
The Emperor Lounge, the international premium lounge owned and operated by Auckland Airport, is being renamed Strata Lounge. It is being expanded and refurbished and will open in a new location by August 2017. Strata Club Members will collect Strata Points and accrue tier spend when they book their lounge visit online and 24 hours in advance.
The first stage of wifi infrastructure and services for customers is also complete and complements the launch of the club. Improvements include offering customers a choice of time allowances and data volumes according to their needs and Strata Club tier.
Jason Delamore, Auckland Airport’s general manager – marketing and technology, says Strata Club is one of the ways the airport is investing in getting to know its customers better so they can be provided with more personalised services and benefits.
Examples of benefits include longer access to free wifi, parking upgrades and discounts, and special offers from participating retailers (such as duty free and food and beverage outlets).
| A Travelinc release || April 06, 2017 |||
/INS. Walki has developed a new fibre-based soil mulching solution that is completely biodegradable. This organic mulch type, which is used for weed control and to optimise soil conditions and crop yield, is the first of its kind on the market.
Walki, a leading global producer of technical laminates and protective packaging materials, has developed the first-ever organic mulching solution that is based on natural biodegradable fibres instead of plastic. Mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of an area of soil. It is designed to conserve moisture, improve the fertility and health of the soil and control weed growth. Soil mulching also reduces the need for pesticides, fertilisers and irrigation.
Traditionally, soil mulching materials have been made from plastic, and, most typically, from polyethylene film. While effective, plastic mulch is not biodegradable and eventually becomes waste material that has to be removed from the field and dumped or recycled at a high cost.
It is estimated that more than a million tonnes of plastic films are used for mulching every year around the world. In addition to having to be collected from the fields, the mulch often leaves behind plastic residues, which pollute the soil and reduce its future growth potential. Yields from polluted soil are typically up to 20 per cent lower than those from non-polluted soil.
“Walki’s Agripap solution is the only organic mulch type on the market that is made from paper instead of plastic. It is entirely biodegradable, does not contribute to plastic pollution and, instead, simply dissolves into the soil. It also reduces the need for the chemicals used to control weed growth,” says Walki’s Vice President Technical Products, Sales & Marketing, Arno Wolff.
Walki®Agripap is made from kraft paper that is coated with a biodegradable coating layer, which slows down the degradation of the paper. Without the coating, the paper would degrade in the soil within a few weeks.
Walki’s new organic mulching solution has been the subject of extensive field-testing in Finland. The tests, which were carried out in 2016 by independent research institute Luke Piikkiö, compared the performance of different biodegradable mulches for growing iceberg lettuce and seedling onions. The tests demonstrated that Walki’s Agripap was easy to lay on the fields and delivered excellent weed control. The results in terms of yield and durability were also good.
“Having seen the kind of environmental impact that plastic film can have on the soil, Walki has understood that there is a need for a more sustainable mulching solution. Walki®Agripap is the perfect alternative for the farmers who care about our environment,” says Peter Martin, Technical Service & Development Director, Industrial Packaging.
Following the successful testing and approval of Agripap in Finland and Sweden, the next step will be to complete testing in Europe’s main mulching markets: Spain, France and Italy. Farmers and equipment manufacturers wishing to participate in testing Walki’s new organic mulching solution are encouraged to get in touch with Arno Wolff.
| An NS release || April 06, 2017 |||
It was the era of black and white television, The Beatles, and the space race between the US and Russia to the moon. It was the 1960s and on the other side of the world, in his garage in little New Zealand, a man was making crystals to generate radio frequency. That man was Warren Robinson, founder of Rakon. Back then, Warren saw a large gap in the market for crystals and so he decided to make his own. The company became incorporated on 4 April 1967.
Fast track fifty years where connected technology is in use more than ever, and diverse applications are evolving rapidly. The company continues to design and make frequency control devices based around quartz. However, today, there is a plethora of communication and location systems which all require accurate clocking signals to generate precise electrical, radio or optical signals in networks and systems everywhere – and at the heart of many, is a Rakon product. This week the company is celebrating across its multiple sites worldwide.
Rakon CEO Brent Robinson says the competitive nature of the industry and rapid pace of technology requirements makes the milestone particularly significant.
“It is an incredible achievement to not only endure within a highly dynamic technology driven industry such as ours, but to continuously innovate and push technology boundaries, and we are immensely proud of this milestone.”
So has being a kiwi-led company played a part in Rakon succeeding?
“Certainly the can-do attitude and transparency we have had with our customers has forged very strong relationships with them and that is something inherent within the New Zealand culture. Also our relative isolation to the rest of the world provided the opportunity, particularly in the early GPS days, to develop in-house our own proprietary test equipment completely unique to what else was available, which gave us an advantage.
“However, largely we have achieved this milestone through the sheer drive and determination of our highly talented team of engineers and professionals worldwide. We have built a truly global manufacturing, R&D and customer/application support platform. Supporting that is a great team who are united with the same passion and curiosity to continually go beyond conventional performance limits.”
Diversification has also been strongly part of the company’s strategy and Robinson says continuing to diversify, evolve and shape the business to customer requirements will be essential to succeed in the years ahead.
In 2015 the company diversified through its investment with Thinxtra – an Internet of Things (IoT) business. In February this year, Taiwanese company Siward Crystal Technology Company Limited took a 16.6 percent share in the company, giving both companies a broader range of products and alternative channels, into new and existing markets.
“Listening to our key eco-system partners, staying abreast of developments and evolving the business accordingly to meet their requirements − and those of the industry − is mandatory” Robinson said.
Rakon has a proud history of delivering industry ‘firsts’, has won a number of industry and supplier awards and its products can be found in many international programmes.
| A Rakon release || April 05, 2017 |||
The Reserve Bank today began publishing new monthly statistics that will provide greater insight into the structure and activities of the banking sector.
Head of Macro Financial Stability, Bernard Hodgetts, said the Reserve Bank has worked closely with banks to develop the new statistical collection on the sector’s balance sheets.
“Since the global financial crisis there has been increased demand from the general public, media and financial analysts for more detail in financial statistics, and for these statistics to cover more areas – particularly in banking.”
The new banking statistics include breakdowns of financial instruments, including loans, securities, deposits and borrowings. They replace the existing statistical framework first introduced in the late 1980s, which was known as the Standard Statistical Return.
Statistics manager Steffi Schuster said that, with lending to households now making up a larger share of bank lending, a more comprehensive breakdown of mortgage lending to households is timely.
“Users will be able to see the banks’ mortgage lending portfolio broken down by payment type, such as interest-only, revolving credit and principal and interest. Residential investor mortgage lending will also now be separately identified.”
Comprehensive sector breakdowns have also been introduced in the collection and aligned with Statistics New Zealand’s Statistical Standard for Institutional Classifications (SCIS). “We have further expanded the business sector statistics to capture data on agriculture, commercial property and other business lending activity. For the first time, business loans fully secured by residential mortgage have been identified,” she said.
The Bank plans to expand the statistical series even further later this year and publish data that provides more detail about bank deposits, as well as lending to the business sector and commercial property sector.
“We understand the importance of data continuity, so some key statistics such as credit have been backdated to provide comparable historical data. Statistics for most new series will be available from the December 2016 month
New banking statistics can be seen in more detail on the reserves bank website here
Another year has gone by, and Autodesk has been working hard to bring you innovative CAD features to help you design the next aerodynamic bike, energy-efficient building, high-speed railway, or anything else you can dream up.
In this latest release of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, you’re able to:
Check out the full AutoCAD 2018 Preview Guide to learn more about the new features, how to access them, and why we think you’ll love them.
If you’re on an AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT 2017 subscription license or maintenance plan, you’ll get all your updates as they become available, right in the Autodesk Desktop App. Just accept the update, and you’ll be up and running with the new features immediately. If you have any issues of updating your latest version, please do not feel hesitate to contact CADPRO Systems, our dedicated team is always there to help.
Subscribe Now: Take advantage of 25% OFF* by purchasing the latest release of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 2018.
Follow this link for more information CADPRO Systems
| A CADPRO Systems release | Wednesday 5 April 2017 |||
/ins Low investment. Long life. High performance.
T-model is as rare as an entry level waterjet cutting system based on very high quality standard. Water Jet Sweden has for decades been building quality waterjet cutting machines for the most demanding customers. A craftsmanship rooted in Swedish industrial tradition with machine installed all around the world. The new T-model is based on that tradition.Meeting a tough requirement specification
The T-model is Water Jet Sweden’s first machine model with a flying bridge construction widening the already broad product range. It has been designed to meet a list of very specific requirements: It had to fit into a container to get low transportation cost. It had to be quick and easy to install and must be easy to operate. The result is a complete machine system available at a market price from around € 100 000. This is a completely new price segment for Water jet Sweden as a manufacturer.
A multi-purpose waterjet cutting tool
The T-model is a multi-purpose waterjet machine designed for in-house production, part manufacturing, design workshops, engineering workshops and prototype workshops, cutting any kind of material of various size and shape. You get all the basic functions you need. Metal cutting, composite cutting, glass cutting, stone cutting, tile cutting, rubber cutting, plastic cutting, wood cutting, you name it. With the T- model you are able to cut virtually any material with the same cutting tool, up to 200 mm thick.
Five Year Performance warranty and awarded reliability
T-model is operated with a real CNC control system from Fanuc, who for the last decades has been awarded best reliability and availability in the world. The machine system is powered with original intensifier pumps from BFT and KMT, which are leading European and American high pressure pump manufacturers. The waterjet cutting machine itself include the unique extended five-year performance warranty, built by the same experienced Swedish engineers as the rest of Water Jet Sweden product range. Water Jet Sweden guarantees that it will keep the same tolerance requirements after five years, or 10 000 hours, as when the machine was first delivered.
The T-model meets a new market but deliver the reliability and comfort of a high end cutting system.
| For more information visit http://waterjetsweden.com || April 04, 2017 |||
What a Difference three years has made to the Media Class
Out the book came on its triennial pre-election rotation shaming mission this time of the military. Broadcasters adopted solemn visages to hype the soufflé. Print columnists responded piously in their customary and secondary Pavlovian pick-up role.
The public responded. With indifference. The media class had flailed away at the usual levers. They were no longer connected.
Less than a year has passed since the two New Zealand newspaper chains first lodged their merger application with the Commerce Commission. Yet industrially it is an epoch ago. It is as if during these 11 months that the age sail had given way to steam which in turn had given way to internal combustion. Consider what has happened during this short space of time:-
What a difference three years makes. What a difference 11 months makes.
The free model meanwhile scythes at ever accelerating speed through the communications sector, notably books and newspapers.
In the sector at large there remains though some curious ironies. For example this week Spark’s Xtra subscribers found that accessing what they were paying for, their email service, was labyrinthinely complex, if possible at all.
While access to the Spark free news service was instantaneous.
| From The MSCNewsWire reporters' desk || Wednesday 5 April 2017 |||
Foreign Minister Murray McCully welcomes the Angolan Minister of External Relations Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, who he will meet in Wellington today.
“This visit presents an opportunity to deepen this relationship, including through discussing ways to increase trade flows. Angola had one of the fastest-growing economies of the past decade, and appointed its first ever Ambassador to New Zealand, resident in Singapore, last year,” Mr McCully says.
“New Zealand and Angola served together as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council from 2015–2016. Angola is a leader in the Southern African region, and it provides an important voice on African peace and security issues. Our mutual Security Council terms also provided an opportunity for increased engagement between our two countries.”
While in New Zealand, Minister Chikoti has also met with the Minister of Trade and the Minister for Primary Industries, and will discuss business opportunities with the fisheries sector.
| A Beehive release || April 05, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242