Can technology benefit from Auckland's growth?

Three to four people will arrive in Auckland every hour, according to 30 year population predictions from the city council.

Alluding to Harvard professor and urban economist Edward Glaeser, Auckland Council referred the growth by quoting:

"Despite the technological breakthroughs that have caused the death of distance, it turns out that the world isn’t flat, it’s paved. The city has triumphed”.

Developed in response to the emerging thinking of the role of cities in global competitiveness, the report says if New Zealand is to fulfill its economic ambitions, and compete successfully for skilled labour and productive capital, it is clear that Auckland has a leading role to play.

"Auckland will add a person to its population every 19 minutes," Auckland Council chief economist Geoff Cooper told the New Zealand Herald.

"This compares to one person every two hours for Christchurch and one person every 2.5 hours for Wellington.

"This shows just how important the central city is, not just for Auckland, but for New Zealand as a whole.

"Auckland firms are prepared to pay a high rental premium because of these returns.

"Creating an accessible and high-amenity city centre will be critical in allowing more firms to take advantage of these returns and generate a high performing business district."

The report follows news last month that Kiwi businesses are once again in the mix in the annual Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific index of the region’s fastest growing tech businesses, with 45 making the list.

Ranking the top 500 tech businesses according to their revenue growth over the past three years, the index sets the standard for high growth technology businesses in the Asia Pacific region.

Leading the list of New Zealand businesses was transport technology and services company EROAD, which was ranked 10th on the index with 2,746% growth, followed by online electricity retailer PowerKiwi, which came 18th with 1916% growth.

Seven of the 45 New Zealand companies to make this year’s list are ranked in the top 100, with New Zealand holding the highest representation per capita.

Wellington-based businesses led the way with 18 making the index, while there were 17 from Auckland and five each from Christchurch and Hamilton.

With an increase in population projected for the next 30 years, can the New Zealand tech industry capitalise on the influx of people? Tell us your thoughts below