Central Government
Backing the future of NZ
For nearly 30 years, we've backed some of New Zealand's most critical infrastructure and supported central government agencies that want to leave a better digital legacy.
Standardised
Proven
Adapatable
When New Zealand has more choice, clarity and control over the data and systems that impact people, something powerful happens: technology stops being something that happens to us, and starts being something we shape.
We help central government agencies adopt open standards and open source solutions so that one agency's solution becomes another's starting point, modernisation doesn't have to mean rip and replace, and investment shifts from offshore licensing fees to building local capability and digital resilience - all while reducing duplication and the cost of reinventing the wheel along the way.
Since 1997, we've applied a standardise, save, transform approach through open source solutions:
Standardise
We helped the Department of Internal Affairs build the Financial Help Tool in six days during COVID using existing, proven foundations. The Life Events platform is another success that demonstrates cross-agency collaboration from shared infrastructure.
Save
Our international teams helped a French client avoid millions in obsolescence costs with Samba Active Directory. In Aotearoa, we developed a solution, built on Tōtara, that helped create cost savings of up to $270k a year for a central government agency.
Transform
We've partnered with many government agencies for decades including the Ministry of Education which we helped modernise infrastructure for and. 2,000+ users now experience continuous improvements with zero disruption. Progressive transformation works.
Working with Catalyst
Our services
Strategy & consulting
We can help you shape ideas before RFI and RFPs, or if you're at the proposal stage, you can work with us for your digital transformation projects. We help you make technology decisions that build capability and genuine control over systems serving NZ.
Explore IT consulting servicesDigital experience and web accessibility
Evidence-based research, strategic design, testing with real people. We help you create digital experiences that reflect your community and help you respond faster. Audits, implementation support, and roadmaps to help you meet WCAG 2.2 AA are available.
Improve digital experiencesSoftware engineering & development
Custom software, legacy modernisation, complex integrations. Modern engineering practices with automated testing and code reviews that maintain quality at scale.
Explore our engineering expertiseCloud consulting, platform & services
Cove is Catalyst's fully managed cloud platform - auto-scaling, high availability, geo-redundancy and disaster recovery. Runs on Catalyst Cloud with the option to store data in NZ, or across AWS and Azure infrastructure.
Explore cloud servicesLearning, development & compliance
We have extensive experience with platforms that help you onboard, train and retain your people, helping your organisation maintain compliance for staff learning and recertification.
Explore learning technologiesCollections & cultural heritage
Rōpū kohinga is a dedicated team at Catalyst team specialising in collections management platforms: DSpace repository, VuFind discovery interfaces and Koha library management. Supporting institutions to digitalise and protect assets for generations.
Learn more about Rōpū kohingaContent management & digital services
Silverstripe and Drupal expertise spanning decades. Multilingual databases, multi-architecture and public-facing sites. Brochureware can be launched quickly using our pre-configured CMS - timelines depend on your requirements and content readiness.
Explore content management systemsAutomation, AI & ML
Agentic search, automation, content generation, decision support, or R&D proof-of-concepts, we help you experiment with AI, prove use cases, and implement what works. Option to run open source models on NZ infrastructure, or your preferred cloud.
Explore AI servicesSuccess stories
Partner with us
We offer demonstrated practice, technical breadth across the full stack, and commitment to backing New Zealand to shape a resilient, innovative and self-determined digital future.