Economic sentiment among New Zealand businesses is turning more positive ahead of 2026, according to Datacom. Its Business Outlook 2026 survey reports that 65 percent of senior leaders expect economic conditions to improve over the next year.
The annual survey, now in its third year, canvassed 200 senior leaders from organisations employing more than 100 people and points to a clear change in sentiment.
Datacom New Zealand Managing Director Peter Nelson says the mood change is already evident across customers. “We’re seeing clear early signs of confidence across the business community. After a period of uncertainty, leaders are signalling that they’re ready to invest and innovate.”
More than four in five businesses (82 percent) plan to increase their investment in technology to meet organisational goals, signalling a move away from defensive cost-cutting towards growth.
Nelson stresses discipline has not disappeared. “While the imperative to drive efficiency and carefully manage costs has not diminished, there’s renewed interest in investments aimed at stimulating growth.”
“One of the conversations we’re having again and again with New Zealand organisations is the challenge of legacy technology and how hard it can be to modernise,” Nelson says.
Artificial intelligence is now the top technology opportunity for 2026, cited by 51 percent of respondents, ahead of data optimisation (40 percent) and automation (30 percent). The focus is shifting towards integrating AI into core operations such as workflow optimisation and customer service.
Datacom Director of AI Louise Compagnone says businesses are becoming more deliberate. “Initially, we saw a lot of organisations deploying AI tools in an ad hoc way… but the net effect is that they get stuck in pilot mode.” She adds, “It’s encouraging to see the conversation shift from ‘if businesses should adopt AI’ to ‘how they can effectively scale it’.”
Two-thirds of leaders still cite economic uncertainty as the top risk. Cybersecurity incidents are rising, with 48 percent reporting an attack in the past year, yet only 24 percent see it as a top threat. Workforce pressure also remains, with 42 percent saying the ongoing brain drain is affecting their organisation.