Groundswell, Tauranga’s premier festival of Innovation is rolling around again next month, and Cucumber is proud to be involved as the exclusive tech sponsor.

I have come to recognise that growing fruit as a commercial enterprise is fraught with risk. I can only think of two other professions that may have more multifaceted and unpredictable dynamics thrown at them than a grower – a coal miner and an astronaut.

Being able to trace a piece of fruit to its origin, knowing precisely which trees are under-performing, or using sensing to make timely decisions related to crop health is well within the current technical capability in the horticulture tech sector.

I believe the human experience is and always has been connected to food. What we eat, where we eat it, who we eat it with, goes beyond the food. The experience is enhanced when you know who grew and harvested it.

At Cucumber, our team uses a research-first approach to help shape your strategy. With user research projects, we typically follow this process:

Cucumber provided the thinking required to identify the key requirements of the system. This included analysis of which KPIs would be of the most value to the Port and a technical analysis on how the data would be gathered, and the value this would add.

In a world where customisation, personalisation (and several other things that end in -isation) are just expected, it’s the little details that help form a point of difference or give your customers a positive experience.

With the wealth of technology options available and the speed at which new offerings appear, business leaders can end up feeling some confusion. What do they choose?

MobileTECH 2018 was a landmark event in the Cucumber calendar, and our team was excited to attend this specialised event in Rotorua late last month.

I’m going to be replaced as CEO. Rest assured this is not a coup, though.

A few weeks ago, I watched a slightly disturbing programme about tacos made with crickets.

In this fast moving, increasingly digital world we live in we’re all running to keep up with the latest and greatest.

I had the pleasure of helping organise the Agile Tauranga 2017 conference held in….wait for it, Tauranga at the end of September.

Cucumber is proud to have achieved Gold Partner status with Microsoft in the Application Development competency.

Customers understand their experience of a service very well. The problem is that most organisations often develop their services at arm’s length.

I think sometimes Tauranga gets a bad rap as a place for the ‘newly wed or the nearly dead’.

Prior to Cucumber I had worked in marketing roles at a large NZ company and as such I had been the client of a number of brand, design and digital agencies.

I recently attended a presentation from project futurist and guru Colin D Ellis. Colin is an exceptional presenter and engages the audience with his energetic style of speaking.