18 | T T Emma Bailey Big wins for regional tech specialist Vetta Group were named the winners of the Innovation Award and the Professional and Trade Services Award at the 2026 South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce Business and Community Excellence Awards. “Innovation is at the heart of everything we do, all of our initiatives are off our own back to harness technology.” Vetta Group REGIONAL P ljîljlj Ċ )e E ĘåĬĬŅÄƴåƋƋ±ţĹDŽ È vetta.nz NOMATTERWHAT, WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK Let’s talk Thank you to our community... Holding its own against national tech giants, Timaru’s Vetta Group’s sterling work has seen them win two awards at the 2026 South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce Business and Community Excellence Awards. Vetta Group were named the winners of the Innovation Award and the Professional and Trade Services Award at a Gala evening held on Friday August 14, much to the delight of founder and operations manager Shaun Fisher. “We were very proud. It was great validation and certainly very emotional and a bit surreal. To win one category was great but to win two was beyond fantastic. “It’s all about the team and the passion they bring and it’s amazing to be recognised by our customers and business partners on our own turf.” Vetta Group brings broadband, managed Information Technology (IT), cyber security, cloud hosting, communications, payments and field services under one roof. The tech company built and based in provincial New Zealand holds its own against the national players and the Innovation Award recognises the very core of their technology business, he says. “Innovation is at the heart of everything we do, all of our initiatives are off our own back to harness technology.” They have built up their network into 34 data centres and exchanges to compete with national telecommunication giants. The Professional and Trade Service Award recognised the non-glamorous side of the business like providing 24/7 support. Their technicians handle cabling, installations, IT maintenance and onsite support. “Our specialists protect local businesses. For example, our payments division keeps retailers trading with EFTPOS and POS solutions, backed by a reliable IT setup and resilient telecommunications network we own. It’s about being available and able to help at 2am for our customers when they need us.” From Timaru they have delivered multiple New Zealand firsts, proving what a regional technology company can achieve. They engineered automated fibre provisioning that connects customers in minutes with zero human intervention, an industry first in the retail market. Due to the specialist nature of the work, getting the right staff often meant recruiting from outside the region. “Pulling talent into the region can be a challenge. Our people and our culture is the most important thing about our work, we hire on passion and our staff are very passionate problem solvers,” he says. It’s a great place to work and this year Vetta Group was shortlisted as one of New Zealand’s Best Places to Work. The company is also doing its bit to help reduce the digital divide and make sure everyone has access to fibre broadband. They created Local Linkup, a $28 per month unlimited fibre for low-income families. “We want to bring connectivity to these people who will otherwise miss out in a growing digital world.” Vetta Group started with Shaun in 2010. “At the start it was just me. I have always had a passion for IT and technology. “I studied IT and was then working in that area for a few years. I thought there were more efficient ways to do things and Timaru deserved better so I went out on my own.” He started in a small office in the Royal Arcade. Now with a team of 17 they are based at their modern offices at 33 Sophia Street.
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