Published on the 15/02/2016 | Written by Beverley Head
CeBIT’s Australian lineup has been announced for 2016 with the giant trade show and conference returning to Sydney’s Olympic Park in early May…
Last year around 15,000 visitors attended the event; this year organisers have lined up 11 separate conference streams and are promising 400 vendors will participate. Reflecting the appetite for innovation a Start-Up zone has also been created within the exhibition, there is a startup conference and also a Pitch Fest competition.
Along with the Start Up conference, other themes being explored in detail include digital marketing, security, mobility, fintech, cloud, big data and analytics, eGovernment, eHealth, internet of things and unified communication.
It’s a comprehensive line up – the challenge for visitors attending the event is often about creating a schedule with a good mix of content rather than just opting for a deep dive on one theme. On the first day for example visitors have to choose from content in the cloud, big data, security or fintech conference streams which run concurrently.
And while there is plenty of user experience on show at the conference – Qantas’ CIO is talking about big data and analytics, Woolworths’ CISO will be explaining the retailer’s approach to security, while Coca Cola Amatil has a senior exec talking the Internet of Things – these are spread across different conference streams on different days.
Whatever the timetabling challenges, overall the conference has taken to heart the themes of innovation, digital disruption and business transformation.
Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister, is billed as the opener for the conference, along with NSW Premier Mike Baird and Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore. The three are lined up to deliver a 45 minute “Government Ministerial Keynote” – though it’s not clear if this will be in person, or as in the past, through a pre-recorded video.
Also on the first day Kathryn Parsons, co-founder and co CEO of Decoded, set up to teach and demystify coding, will detail how and why IT is the key to innovation. Dr Bernard Meyerson, IBM’s chief innovation officer is presenting on the emergence of the cognitive computing era, while noted local futurist Ross Dawson will speak about the changing structure of value creation in the enterprise.
