New research is showing that New Zealand's tech mergers and acquisitions are booming, with billions of dollars in deals completed in recent years.
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The investment bank Clare Capital, says more than $11 billion worth of deals have been done in the sector over the past six years.
The research also shows that Service as a Software (SaaS) is rapidly growing in the market, capturing 38 percent of the merger and acquisition activity in the tech sector.
That was despite SaaS being a relatively new and growing sub-sector within tech, Clare Capital said.
The analysis showed accounting software firm Xero was the dominant player in the sector.
Clare Capital chief executive Mark Clare said standout companies such as Xero are laying the blueprint for others to grow.
"What we're seeing now is international investors and acquirers take New Zealand very seriously as a technology market. They're bringing money in and investing here into New Zealand but they're also coming in and looking to acquire New Zealand companies.
"Now, there are big questions that often come up about mergers and acquisitions activity with international companies coming down and buying New Zealand businesses, and whether it's a good or a bad thing for New Zealand. We view it as very much a positive."
Clare said it brought international capital, expertise and networks into the country, which was being recycled back into the local market helping accelerate its growth.
He said the key concern for the sector as it grew was the availability of people, and it was the biggest constraint New Zealand is seeing.
"The industry needs to be investing more and bringing more pathways to have more New Zealanders coming into the sector. It doesn't feel like there's an immediate, easy way to be able to stop that constraint."