Positivity, resilience and the realisation that an awards event can be just as exciting in the virtual realm.  Those were just some of the take-outs from TIN’s inaugural three-day Tech Pulse 2020 event which delivered the key data and analysis from this year’s TIN Report’s data while celebrating the achievements of New Zealand’s tech sector.

"We acknowledged and awarded the entrepreneurs and companies that are helping drive the industry to record levels of revenue, but most importantly, we took stock of a year that has provided equal measure of opportunities and challenges for our TIN community,” said Greg Shanahan, managing director of TIN.

“In this changing and uncertain world, there are some things you can still count on – and one of those is the TIN Report,” he said. “Tech Pulse 2020 gave us the opportunity to celebrate the tech sector, while doing things a little differently.”

“We acknowledged and awarded the entrepreneurs and companies that are helping drive the industry to record levels of revenue, but most importantly, we took stock of a year that has provided equal measure of opportunities and challenges for our TIN community.”Greg Shanahan - Managing Director, TIN

The 2020 TIN Report – the 16th annual report – showed that “export” revenue for New Zealand tech companies is on the rise, as an increasingly diverse international market heightens its demand for Kiwi-designed and manufactured tech products.

“Export” revenue for the TIN200 companies rose by 10.6% to a total of $9.4B this year. Total TIN200 revenue reached $12.7B in 2020, slightly less than the $1B annual growth recorded previously, but overall, the TIN200 shows ongoing strong growth in the face of tough economic headwinds.

This year’s TIN Report also provided a partial view of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the tech sector’s performance in 2020 so far.

“With continuing double-digit export growth creating record employment growth, the TIN200 companies are well positioned in terms of scale, growing profitability and global spread to absorb the negative impact of COVID-19 and take advantage of the opportunities for growth as a result,” said Greg Shanahan, managing director of TIN.

You can see the highlights of the 2020 TIN Report here.

The virtual awards ceremony recognised winners and noteworthy companies in the EY Ten Companies to Watch; Absolute IT Supreme Scale-ups, and NZX Early Stage Companies categories.  Wellington-based Volpara Health Technologies won the coveted Rocket Award in recognition of the biggest jump on the TIN200 list at 54 places.  You can read more about the category award winners here.

Winners posed with awards certificates, social media was alive with buzz, and there was palpable excitement in the virtual realm. It didn’t matter that there wasn’t an awards dinner – people still had cause to celebrate, with one of the winning Scale-Ups saying that it had been a company ambition over a number of years to make it on to the TIN200 list.

There was a candour to the sessions, with companies sharing what had worked and what hadn’t over the course of this unprecedented year, while stressing how important diversity is in the tech workplace. COVID-19 was definitely the ‘topic de jour’, but with it came a real sense of resilience and pragmatism, and a defiance that we can get through this together.

We were delighted to have the participation of Hon Dr Megan Woods, Minister for Research, Science and Innovation; and Hon Damien O’Connor, Minister for Trade and Export Growth, in our final morning of sessions last Friday.  Our thanks to all our participants, speakers, supporters and sponsors, including New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), Absolute IT, BNZ, EY, James & Wells, and NZX.

You can catch up on any of the sessions you missed last week by logging on here.  Sessions are live and on demand until Friday, 4 December. Copies of the TIN Report are now available for purchase in digital or hard-copy form at the TIN shop here.