MongoDB Doubles Down on Aotearoa as Part of Continued APAC Expansion

MongoDB is expanding its business in New Zealand to help Kiwi organisations build modern applications and take advantage of the AI opportunity that exists today. With hundreds of customers already in Aotearoa, including Pathfinder, Rapido, and Tourism Holdings, we're continuing to hire and invest to continue to grow our community in the country.

Powering the next generation of modern applications

Interest and excitement in AI, and particularly generative AI, has exploded. With a proud history of Innovation, it's not a surprise that many New Zealand companies are early adopters of this incredible technology. In fact, an AI Forum report has revealed that AI has the potential to increase New Zealand's GDP by as much as $54 billion by 2035.

No matter what you think of the veracity of those bold predictions, one thing is sure: Almost every company is trying to figure out how to take advantage of data and software, to help them build better products, more efficiently and more quickly.

Jake McInteer speaking at MongoDB.local Auckland

As organisations transform into digital-first businesses, they’re faced with a growing list of application and data requirements. Modern applications are complex – they need to handle transactional workloads, app-driven analytics, full-text search, AI-enhanced experiences, stream data processing, and more. Companies are being asked to do this all while reducing data infrastructure sprawl, complexity and often also cut costs.

What we are seeing globally is our developer data platform solves this challenge and complexity since it integrates all of the data services organisations need to build modern applications in a unified developer experience.

Additionally, we also allow our customers to easily run anywhere in the world with over 110+ locations making us uniquely placed to enable Kiwi companies to adapt to a multicloud future. We also have strong local partnerships with all three cloud hyperscalers, all of which plan to open new cloud regions in New Zealand in the coming years.

With the support of our cloud partners, in New Zealand we've already seen great adoption of MongoDB Atlas, including the largest established enterprises, through to cutting-edge startups. Here are a couple of examples.

Pathfinder: Protecting vulnerable children

Pathfinder, headquartered in Auckland, is a global leader in software development specialising in protecting vulnerable children. The company's mission centres on empowering law enforcement agencies with state-of-the-art technology, meticulously designed to combat the reprehensible crime of child exploitation.

"We are committed to delivering investigators the most advanced tools. We cannot accept delays in removing a child from harm due to investigations being overwhelmed by large amounts of disparate data. In situations where every minute impacts a child's well-being, these tools must enable investigators to swiftly navigate data challenges, and rapidly apprehend perpetrators" said Bree Atkinson, CEO of Pathfinder Labs.

Pathfinder’s Paradigm service is being built on MongoDB Atlas, running on AWS, and takes advantage of the wider developer data platform features in order to enable the next generation of data-driven investigative capabilities.

By using MongoDB Atlas Vector Search, a native part of the MongoDB Atlas platform, the Pathfinder team are also able to match images and details within images (such as people and objects), classify documents and text, and build better search experiences for their users via semantic search. This enables Paradigm to efficiently aid law enforcement in identifying victims and apprehending offenders.

Bree Atkinson, CEO of Pathfinder Labs, and Peter Pilly, DevOps Architect at Pathfinder Labs, with the MongoDB team in Auckland at the recent .local event

"MongoDB Atlas allows our team to focus on our strengths: developing outstanding technology. It works with us not against us, enhancing integration which enables us to build better user experiences," said Peter Pilley, DevOps Architect at Pathfinder Labs.

"Take MongoDB Atlas Vector Search, for example. Before MongoDB, we would have needed to incorporate multiple tools to achieve that functionality. Now we can handle it all from a single platform removing complexity and architecture that wasn't needed. With MongoDB Atlas, we're able to make data-driven decisions swiftly, boosting our productivity and decision-making speed."

Peter's team at Pathfinder also uses MongoDB's performance advisor. They say it's like having an extra team member who suggests the best indexes for accessing their data, which is critical in an industry where getting to a specific piece of data could make all the difference.

Rapido: Optimising B2B revenue and distribution

Rapido has been utilising MongoDB Atlas for over five years. The team was originally part of MongoDB for Startups, a programme that offers startups free credits and technical advice to help them build faster and scale further. Their eagerness to adopt new technologies has enabled them to effectively harness MongoDB Atlas's evolving features.

Working with the Accredo ERP system, Rapido has harnessed MongoDB Atlas to innovate in business-to-business (B2B) transactions. Using features like MongoDB Atlas Vector Search, the 'moreLikeThis' operator, and MongoDB App Services, they've transformed business interactions, offering precise product recommendations and improved real-time visibility via change streams. Rapido's platform, which has processed orders collectively worth more than $100m to date, is essential for many wholesale businesses in New Zealand.

Adam Holt, CEO of Rapido, summarises their experience: "Our journey with MongoDB Atlas has been transformative. By building on a cohesive developer data platform, we don't need to bolt-on and learn special technologies for every requirement. Continuously integrating new features keeps our platform advanced in the fast-paced B2B market. It's about leveraging technology to innovate and deliver better solutions to our clients."

MongoDB expands in Aotearoa

The increased demand from Kiwi organisations who are looking to innovate faster and take advantage of cutting-edge technologies, like AI, means MongoDB is now doubling down on its New Zealand footprint.

Earlier this month, MongoDB established its local operations in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Jake McInteer, a native Kiwi, has officially transferred from MongoDB’s Australia business to lead the organisation in New Zealand. MongoDB already has a large, engaged community, more than 200 customers, and an extensive partner network.

CEO of Lumin Max Ferguson presents at the Christchurch MongoDB user group

We are incredibly excited about the opportunity to invest in and contribute to the Kiwi tech ecosystem, both to support local companies and help kiwi startups like Lumin and Marsello as well as established companies like Tourism Holdings, Figured, and Foster Moore.