Political commentators Dale Husband and Ben Thomas

Photo:
RNZ / Craig McCulloch
Dale Husband is a long time broadcaster and Radio Waatea presenter hosting a Maori focused current affairs programme.
Ben Thomas is a former National government press secretary, a columnist and a director of public affairs firm Capital.

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RNZ News

8 hours ago

• RNZ News

Free cuts a 'win-win' at Mr Barber

Whether you are after a fade, slick back, perm or a buzz cut look no further - a barber training centre in the Auckland CBD is offering free trims. If you do not mind yours being the first hair the apprentice barber has ever cut, that is. Mr Barber, an NZQA approved and registered training centre, is the only barber-specific training centre in Aotearoa. Barbers-in-training are chucked straight into the deep end, practising on real people from day one. At 10am on Thursday outside Mr Barber in the Auckland CBD, the place was already buzzing. For 25 years, Aucklanders have been going to the training school for a free trim, while apprentices snip their way towards a level four certificate in commercial barbering. Danelle Higgins did her barber training at Mr Barber in 2019. Now, alongside her brother Brodie, she is running the course. "We come up from a small town called Murupara. It's all poverty and all of that stuff. I wanted to do something different, help people, get them a qual. I had it hard growing up, so I touch base with a lot of these boys." Would-be barbers complete a 12-week course covering both theory and practical skills. They are then put on placements in barbershops, where they must work 780 hours to complete the qualification. Although the job market has slowed, especially during winter, she said there is no shortage of people applying to join their crew. "We get barber shops calling us up all the time for barber students. We have a barber job page as well, [if] they have job vacancies." Clarence Morrison has just graduated from the three-month programme and is soon heading into a placement. "It was something for like an investment for me. Came from drugs, alcohol, prison sort of background, brought up in foster homes and kind of cheated my way through life. "Those things don't really last, so it's starting from scratch again and this is a good place." Morrison has cut the hair of homeless people, university students, tourists and people popping in for a short back-and-sides during their work lunch break. "It gives some hope, people that are going for a job interview and if they're unsure, you're able to give them some confidence, to be able to step into their day. "It's like [being] little ambassadors for the community." Alex Burnett completed the course with one of his mates and is now a tutor on the course. "I was sort of at a loose end a little bit after school, just doing odd jobs and stuff and I just sort of thought of it as something that would suit me and I gave it a try and never looked back." Burnett said he can have 20 conversations a day with different customers. "We've had a lot of people that have been coming through since the start, and it helps with getting people something that they need and they can get it for free. "It's a win-win, really, because these guys get to get to learn, get to practise on them." When he is not working at a barbershop up on Karangahape Road, Alex works as a part-time a tutor at the school, where he's able to give tips from his own experience. "It gets the nerves out of the way and gets them used to having real people in the chair and having proper conversations, cause it's more than just cutting. "If you've just got a mannequin, all you're doing is cutting, whereas in here, you can talk to your customers [and] you can learn about yourself." Mr Barber was the brainchild of Jacqui Spence and her barber husband Neville, who, when they moved to New Zealand from the United Kingdom, saw the need for a barber-specific course. Jacqui said 90 percent of barbers walk into jobs when they complete it. "They've come through and done something that they've been passionate about and learned a trade and gone forward. "A lot of them have gone on to open their own businesses ultimately and they've raised their family and been able to live a really good life because of it." The school operates from 9.30am to 4pm Monday to Friday, with free haircuts on offer from 10 - 12pm and 1 - 3pm.

Techday NZ

9 hours ago

• Techday NZ

Reality check: Lenovo's enterprise predictions for 2025 under the microscope

Organisations in Australia and New Zealand are accelerating their adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), data centre infrastructure, and sustainable practices while maintaining a strong focus on cybersecurity. This is according to a mid-year review of technology predictions originally made by Kumar Mitra, Managing Director and Regional General Manager, CAP & ANZ, Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group, for 2025. AI adoption and ROI The latest data reveals that AI investment in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) has increased fourfold over the year, outpacing the Asia-Pacific average of a 3.3-fold rise. However, despite this surge in spending, 58% of organisations in the region are still in the planning or evaluation stages of AI deployment. The primary barrier to further adoption is the challenge of demonstrating a clear return on investment (ROI). While generative AI accounts for 38% of AI spend in ANZ, most enterprises are opting for a strategic, long-term approach that aims to ensure measurable and sustainable outcomes from their investments. Cybersecurity focus The review confirms that cybersecurity has become a board-level topic driven by rising threat levels and stricter regulation. Implementation of new Australian laws, including mandatory reporting for ransomware payments and the establishment of a Cyber Incident Review Board, has re-emphasised the need for robust cyber defences. The ongoing 2023–2030 Cyber Security Strategy underpins cross-sector collaboration and targets increased resilience and faster incident response. Enterprises are responding by investing in layered defences and reinforcing governance to counter increasingly complex, AI-enabled attacks. "With the rise of high-profile data breaches in 2024, cybersecurity will remain a critical area of focus for businesses in Australia. Specifically, the spotlight will be on securing data, after Lenovo's 2024 Smarter Data Management Playbook found that data security was the number one priority among IT and business decision-makers. Increased government regulations, such as the Cyber Security Bill proposed in Australia, are pushing companies to enhance their security measures, while also holding them accountable for losses and damage resulting from security failures. This growing awareness is prompting businesses to invest more heavily in cybersecurity and data protection solutions, implementing stricter processes around accessing and securing data. As the volume of data continues to increase, due to growing demand in services such as artificial intelligence (AI), the challenge lies in maintaining a robust and cost-effective data infrastructure. It is essential that businesses begin building resilient ecosystems before regulations are enforced to avoid rushed implementations that increase the risk of vulnerabilities during transition. Lenovo helps businesses do this by providing a comprehensive range of cyber security services, from Security Assessments through to Managed Detection and Cyber Resiliency as-a-service." Sustainability drives infrastructure decisions Sustainability has become central to infrastructure strategy as energy consumption rises due to expanding AI workloads. Industry players are prioritising energy-efficient systems not only for compliance but as a lever for competitiveness and resilience. An example cited is Sharon AI's Supercluster – developed with Lenovo – which aims to be one of the nation's most energy-efficient AI deployments. Organisations are looking beyond compliance, considering the broader performance and competitive advantages associated with sustainable infrastructure. "As reliance on digital services and artificial intelligence (AI) grows, the energy demands of data centres across the APAC region are rising exponentially. Estimates suggest that AI will add 3 per cent to global electricity demands. In 2025, we will see increased scrutiny on businesses to act in an environmentally sustainable manner, with some markets introducing legislation imposing tighter restrictions on the disclosure of climate risks. For data centres, the challenge will be balancing the need for innovation and scalability with its carbon footprint. Governments and businesses alike will be focusing more on sustainable infrastructure, leveraging new advancements in energy-efficient cooling systems, virtualised server environments and sustainable building materials. For example, Lenovo is taking liquid cooling mainstream with its Neptune Liquid Cooling Ecosystem, enabling up to a 40% reduction in power consumption. We will also see more businesses explore sustainable energy sources, such as wind and solar energy, with 9 out of ten businesses already planning to boost their sustainability-focused IT investments." Hybrid and edge computing trends There is a continuation of the trend towards hybrid and multi-cloud AI infrastructure across the region. Forty-five percent of organisations in ANZ now favour on-premises or hybrid AI environments, with only 38% remaining reliant solely on public cloud. Edge computing is also experiencing increased uptake in industries such as mining, manufacturing, healthcare and retail, where real-time data processing at the source is essential. One application is Truis's use of Lenovo ThinkEdge servers to deploy in-store AI and analytics, aimed at optimising customer experiences and streamlining operations. Data centre growth Expansion in data centre infrastructure is expected to continue rapidly, with Australia already among the top five global data centre hubs by size. Current projections indicate 250 operational data centres with a need for roughly 175 additional facilities by 2030 to keep pace with demand, particularly for AI-driven services. Investment is being driven mainly by hyperscale providers and supported by governmental initiatives to fast-track approvals and establish innovation zones. "The data centre market in Australia has experienced significant expansion due to the rise of data consumption across the region. Forecasts predict that deployable data centre capacity in Australia will more than double by 2030, from 1,350 megawatts in 2024. A key focus for governments and enterprises will be balancing increasing energy demands and operational complexities with growing expectations for AI infrastructure, especially as the Australian government is aiming to achieve 82% renewable energy in electricity grids by 2030." AI verticalisation and agentic AI The verticalisation of large language models (LLMs), where they are tailored for specific sectors, is beginning to take hold in the region. More than half of APJ organisations are now fine-tuning and integrating models with their internal data instead of building from scratch, particularly in areas such as IT operations, software development, and cybersecurity. While broader deployment is expected later in the year, the initial adoption signals significant momentum. Agentic AI, defined as AI agents capable of independent action and decision-making, is moving from pilot projects to early deployment. Interest is strong, with 69% of ANZ executives prioritising agentic AI and 38% already testing solutions. Lenovo reports practical benefits including up to eight times faster content creation and a 50% improvement in customer service efficiency from its Hybrid AI Advantage with NVIDIA partnership. "Agentic AI, or AI agents, capable of independent action and decision-making, are set to make waves over the next year and drive not just personalisation, but complete individualisation. For the first time, AI is no longer just a generative knowledge base or chat interface. It is both reactive and proactive—a true partner. Gartner estimates that nearly 15% of day-to-day work decisions will be taken autonomously through agentic AI by 2028. AI agents will leverage local LLMs enabling real-time interaction with a user's personal knowledge base without relying on cloud processing. This offers enhanced data privacy, as all interactions remain locally stored on the device, and increased productivity, as the agent helps to automate and simplify a wide range of tasks, from document management, meeting summaries to content generation. We will also see the emergence of personal digital twins, which are clusters of agents that that capture many different aspects of our personalities and act on many different facets of need. For example, a digital twin might comprise a grocery buying agent, a language translation agent, a travel agent, etc. This cluster of agents become a digital twin when all of them work together, in sync with the individual's data and needs." Skills and future trends The ongoing growth in AI and digital technology continues to place pressure on skillsets, with 45% of Asia-Pacific enterprises reporting difficulty in recruiting AI talent. Investment in upskilling and internal training remains a challenge and an area of focus for organisations aiming to close the gap between ambitions and practical implementation.

Techday NZ

10 hours ago

• Techday NZ

Exclusive: How Cybersecurity startup Blackveil is targetting AI-driven threats

After 20 years in the IT trenches, Adam Burns had seen enough. Burns, the founder of New Zealand-based cybersecurity startup Blackveil, spent much of his career working for managed service providers – firms tasked with overseeing the IT infrastructure of other businesses. And time and again, he says, he witnessed companies fall victim to the same avoidable cyberattacks. "Each time, I saw the same things going wrong," he said. "The industry was missing something critical." Blackveil was his answer: a company with a mission to protect the "forgotten child of cybersecurity" by focusing on overlooked but essential components of digital defence. The turning point came last year, after Burns responded to his twelfth cyberattack incident in short succession. Frustrated by the pattern, he decided to act. "I built a little application, a Python crawler, and stuck it on the internet," he explained. "It ran on the . TLD for six weeks and confirmed that over 50% of Kiwi businesses had critical gaps in their cybersecurity." The data, drawn from public domain records, validated Burns' suspicion that weak digital hygiene – like unprotected DNS records – was leaving companies wide open to attack. From there, Blackveil's reach grew beyond New Zealand. The team expanded their scanning to include Australian businesses and even global Fortune 500 companies. The result? Even the biggest players weren't immune. "These aren't always advanced attacks," Burns said. "It's usually someone forgetting to change a default password, turn on multi-factor authentication, or tidy up an email record." But the landscape is rapidly evolving, and the rise of AI-powered cyberattacks, particularly tools like Xanthorox, is escalating the threat. Burns described Xanthorox as "ChatGPT for hackers" – a platform capable of generating malware, conducting reconnaissance, and launching tailored phishing campaigns. "You don't need technical knowledge anymore," he said. "You just talk to it in plain language. If something doesn't work, it evolves and tries something else. It's terrifying." To counter this, Blackveil developed its own AI assistant: Buck. While it doesn't yet fix vulnerabilities directly, it acts as an intelligent guide for businesses, simplifying complex security insights into accessible language. "You log in, scan your domain, and Buck breaks it down for you," Burns said. "You don't have to be a technical guru to understand what's wrong." For now, Buck exists as a standalone agent, but future versions will be fully integrated into Blackveil's platform. "Our goal is to make cybersecurity accessible," Burns explained. "We're lifting the veil – hence the name Blackveil – on a space that's been out of reach for many businesses." The company's flagship product, Blackvault, is a domain security platform that focuses on prevention rather than reaction. Traditional cybersecurity tools often work in a reactive way, alerting users after something has already gone wrong. Blackvault flips that model by proactively securing digital entry points – what Burns calls "shutting the front door." According to Blackveil's internal data, aligning three critical DNS records – SPF, DKIM, and DMARC – can reduce phishing, spoofing and spam threats by up to 87%. The company promises deployment within two to four weeks for most businesses. "For a small to medium-sized business, the return on investment is huge," Burns said. "This is one of the most cost-effective ways to secure your business." Despite its focus on the ANZ region, Blackveil operates globally, and the remote-first company has seen growing demand abroad. Headquartered in Tauranga, the business can support international clients without needing to be onsite, although on-the-ground assistance is available in the Bay of Plenty. Burns himself relocated from Auckland a few years ago for a slower pace of life, but remains deeply connected to the broader tech world. In addition to Blackveil, he developed KiwiCost, a side project offering real-time cost comparisons for people living in or moving to New Zealand. "That one was just me scratching an itch," he said. "But it also helped me practice and refine the design direction for Blackveil." His approach is anything but traditional. "Most IT companies are run by old guys in blue suits," he joked. "I wanted to bring something different – vibrant, creative and approachable." That includes how the company communicates. On LinkedIn, Burns shares cybersecurity insights with a dose of humour and sarcasm. One of his recent posts – about seemingly mundane email security protocols – went viral, drawing over 100,000 impressions. "People are clearly looking for plain-English guidance," he said. "And they appreciate a bit of personality." Asked what advice he'd give businesses unsure how to prepare for the evolving threat landscape, Burns had three clear steps: train your staff, get the basics right, and monitor your systems. "Every staff member is a risk if they don't know how to spot bad actors," he said. "Their inbox is their digital passport. If you train them properly and secure your fundamentals, 90% of attacks become impossible." He added: "And after that, monitor everything – because DNS records can be altered by mistake, or worse." For those in crisis, Blackveil also offers an emergency helpline – 0508 HACKED – designed to provide immediate assistance to compromised businesses. "That line goes straight to my mobile," Burns said. "It's about being there when people need us most." Blackvault is still evolving, with plans to become what Burns calls "the Swiss Army knife of domain security." But his goal remains clear: "We want to make strong cybersecurity achievable for everyone," he said. "Because it's not just big companies under threat anymore – it's all of us."