"d!conomy" is the lead theme for CeBIT 2015, which kicks off this weekend with a lineup of over 5,000 innovations from the digital industries, a conference program packed with top speakers, and a captivating showcase by this year's Partner Country, China. "This year's fair is putting the spotlight on digitization and the profound impact it is having on every aspect of business and society," said Oliver Frese, the member of Deutsche Messe's Managing Board responsible for CeBIT, on Tuesday in Hannover, Germany. "For anyone with a stake in the digital world, CeBIT offers an unparalleled mix of innovations, information and inspiration that makes it the world's leading event."
On the evening of Sunday, March 15, the show will be officially opened at the Hannover Congress Centrum (HCC) in downtown Hannover by Germany's Chancellor, Dr. Angela Merkel. She will be joined by other VIP speakers: Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai, the President of the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and the New Media (BITKOM), Dr. Dieter Kempf, and the Lord Mayor of Hannover, Stefan Schostock. A much-anticipated highlight will also be the industry keynote by Alibaba founder Jack Ma. Alibaba is a Chinese eCommerce company whose stock market float last autumn ranks as the biggest IPO in history.
Frese: "This year's CeBIT will highlight the important and growing role that digitization plays as an innovation driver in companies big and small, across all industries. Digitization is radically changing business models and entire value chains. Both the private and public sectors need to treat it more as a strategic management objective. At CeBIT, managers of every background – IT, marketing, finance, HR, sales, or purchasing – can find out what their organizations need to do in order to stay competitive for the long run."
Small and medium companies, in particular, will find this year's CeBIT to be a richer-than-ever source of input. Decision-makers can get unbiased advice on best-fit digitization options for their companies at the SME Lounge in Hall 5. Of course, digitization strategies always go hand-in-hand with security risks. Which is why the show's Business Security exhibits are close at hand, right next door in Hall 6. Security is also an essential ingredient for the Internet of Things. "The Internet of Things is particularly dependent on robust and secure digital value chains," explained Frese. "It also opens up a world of new business models, and studies have shown that investments in IoT technologies pay for themselves very quickly." The Internet of Things will be the subject of many exhibits and forums throughout CeBIT 2015.
Public sector decision-makers will find a broad offering of digital solutions for government at the Public Sector Parc, which features exhibits from corporate providers, the German government's IT Planning Council and numerous German federal states. Visitors from the ICT retail and wholesale sectors will find a vast array of products at the Planet Reseller center, which has been expanded yet again for this year's show. Planet Reseller will feature the latest smart and mobile devices, computers, data storage systems, digital displays, and audio and conference technologies from a wide range of manufacturers.
But this year's CeBIT is not just about digital products and solutions. In 2015, the spotlight is also on new, innovative business models. Over 350 startups as well as established companies, accelerators and investors will present bright new ideas and ways of commercializing them in the CODE_n (Hall 16), SCALE 11 (Hall 11) and Research & Innovation (Hall 9) display areas. "Those who visit these special displays can delve into a multitude of novel and disruptive business ideas," explained Frese. "CeBIT 2015 will be a bustling hive of creativity and entrepreneurship."
China's Partner Country showcase will be an especially impressive highlight at this year's CeBIT, with over 600 Chinese companies presenting their innovations. Their exhibits will not only span the Central Chinese Pavilion, but also feature prominently at other group pavilions and displays throughout the show and its various display categories. The Chinese exhibitor lineup boasts such big names as Alibaba, Huawei, Xiaomi, ZTE and Neusoft. "China is mounting the biggest CeBIT Partner Country showcase ever. Attendees will clearly see that Chinese companies are up there with the biggest and best of the global IT industry," remarked Frese.
The CeBIT Global Conferences are another major magnet at CeBIT, and Frese in convinced this year's program has what it takes to captivate and inspire audiences in a big way. The 200-strong international speaker lineup includes some of the world's top thinkers and industry leaders, such as SAP's CEO, Bill McDermott, US economist Jeremy Rifkin, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun, the European Commissioner for Digital Economy & Society, Günther Oettinger, the President and Head of Samsung Electronics Media Solution Center, Dr. Won-Pyo Hong, Infosys CEO Dr. Vishal Sikka, BILD Editor-in-Chief Kai Diekmann, Oscar-winning film director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Unify CEO Dean Douglas, the German rock star Peter Maffay, NATO's Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, Dr. Jamie Shea, the world's best known hacker, Kevin Mitnick, the investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald, and the world's most famous whistleblower, Edward Snowden, who will be participating from Russia via a live video link.
Frese also pointed out that this year's CeBIT is larger than last year's – something which has not been the case since the year 2001. "This is proof positive that our sharp B2B focus is working. This year's show will feature around 3,300 exhibitors from 70 countries, which is on a par with 2014. But the total display area has grown by over five percent," explained Frese. Many companies have enlarged their stands this year, among them big names like Samsung, Huawei, HP, Intel and ZTE. CeBIT 2015 will also see the return of a number of well-known companies, such as Rittal, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Germany and Konica Minolta. First-time exhibitors include Xiaomi, Amazon Webservices, Dropbox and Tesla. No less impressively, four of the world's five top smartphone companies are presenting themselves at CeBIT 2015 with stands of their own.
