Published on the 30/04/2014 | Written by Newsdesk
One of the highlights of the region’s information technology calendar kicks off in Sydney next week in a new venue and with a whole new line-up…hopefully…
UPDATE: Event organisers have just announced that Mike Baird, the new premier of NSW will formally open the event.
Cebit heads to Sydney’s west next week, relocating to Olympic Park for its 13th annual technology conference and exhibition. But just days out from the opening ceremony, event organisers have yet to announce who will formally open the event following the sudden resignation of NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell earlier this month.
O’Farrell’s decision to raze Sydney’s Exhibition and Conference Centre in Darling Harbour forced Cebit organisers to find alternative accommodation for 2014 leading it to what was until just recently home to the Royal Easter Show. At time of writing organisers say they are still waiting to hear whether the new premier, Mike Baird will open the event.
While the venue is large and well organised it is located 13 kilometers west of Sydney’s CBD. Where a trip to Cebit once required just a quick cab across town for many attendees – it now becomes something more of an expedition although attendees with a valid entry ticket are being offered free public transport. There is also a dearth of wining and dining options at this year’s venue in stark contrast to the Darling Harbour-based event. Cebit organisers are still hoping to attract 30,000 visitors.
To lure the Technorati west Cebit organisers have lined up international and local keynote speakers, a series of themed mini conferences and an exhibition featuring more than 500 local and international organisations.
Conference streams for this year are e-health and cyber security which run on Monday 5 May; cloud and WebForward (internet-enabled enterprise) on Tuesday; and enterprise mobility, data con (big data and analytics) and e-government on Wednesday.
Cebit will again run its innovation event hosting 100 Australian StartUps intended to bring together innovators, business mentors and investors, modelled on the Code-n event which has been run at the Hanover Fair for the last three years.
This year the organisation has also established what it’s calling Cebit Campus – themed “how-to” sessions focused on sales, marketing, business productivity, e-commerce, finance and payments, startups, IBM smart city and data visualisation and analytics.
Further details about the event are available here. http://www.cebit.com.au/
