NZ Mid-sized Businesses Lag on AI Investment Returns
A MYOB-commissioned survey of 500 New Zealand mid-sized businesses finds many have not realised meaningful returns from AI. Australian firms outperform on integrated foundations: processes, data, AI strategy, governance, and workforce capability. Key barriers cited are cybersecurity and data privacy (43 percent), skills and change capacity (40 percent), governance, risk and compliance (32 percent), cloud and integration readiness (30 percent), and lack of standardised processes. MYOB's Paul Voges argues that firms using legacy systems mostly report time savings, while those with AI embedded in core systems report revenue growth and improved margins. The findings point to foundation-first investments - data integration, process digitisation, governance, and workforce upskilling - as prerequisites for commercial AI payoff.
