The country is facing a digitial explosion with demand, internet usage, expansion of the Internet of things, mobile devices, and broadband speeds all set for double digit growth in the next three years.
The number of devices and connections will almost double and data speeds will more than double, according to the Cisco survey. Photo: 123RF
A survey by digital infrastructure provider Cisco shows that New Zealand will be world leading in many categories - ranging from 94 percent of the population using the web from the current 86 percent, the number of devices and connections almost doubling, and data speeds more than doubling.
The country's IP traffic will double to reach 50 gigabytes per second per person by 2020, or the equivalent of more than 72,000 DVDs an hour, according to Cisco's 2016 Visual Networking Index.
Cisco's head of digital transformation in New Zealand, Glen Bearman, said nearly three quarters of the devices will be machine to machine such as sensors tracking stock on farms, processes in factories, and health devices, along with personal 'wearables' such as FitBits and Apple Watches.
"New Zealand will be ahead of the world in many of these areas, it's little short of amazing."
"Our ultra-fast broadband rollout is going better than some around the world, but it will be interesting to see if we have got the infrastructure to cope with the demand."
He said businesses needed to be prepared for the boom, to have the appropriate people and processes to meet demand from consumers and handle such issues as cyber security.
"Businesses need to recognise the opportunities, and understand the opportunities, and do it right."