CeBIT: World’s biggest tech fair focuses on Trust

More than 4 200 exhibitors from 70 countries make CeBIT 2012 in Hannover, Germany, the largest technology fair in the world. We preview the cast range of exhibits, and in particular the keynote theme, “Managing Trust””.

The keynote theme “”Managing Trust”” is at the heart of CeBIT 2012’s focus on the challenging task of establishing trust and security in today’s digital world. This theme is echoed across all display categories at the show and in many of its special events as more than 4 200 exhibitors from 70 countries meet the public this week. CeBIT runs from today, 7 March, to Saturday, 10 March.

The CeBIT pro section of the show, for example, highlights the problem of how companies can control access to their data and defend themselves against intruders in a worst-case scenario. The first port of call here is CeBIT Security World in Hall 12, where big-name suppliers of security software are presenting solutions for stationary and mobile use.

CeBIT Global Conferences are similarly focusing attention on the keynote theme of CeBIT 2012. On Wednesday, March 7, the chief regulator of Facebook, Lord Richard Allan, will be in discussion with EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes. They will consider the question of whether personal data constitutes the real currency of the digital world. The problems of data protection in dealings with government agencies are also high on the agenda in the CeBIT government section of the show.

Partner Country Brazil

The Partner Country concept has been a successful feature of CeBIT for many years. In 2012 it is the turn of Brazil to guest as the official Partner Country at the most important event of the year for the digital world. In terms of land area Brazil is by far the biggest country on the South American continent – and the fastest-growing economic region of Latin America. The Brazilian economy is booming, not least thanks to a strong ICT industry. In addition, Brazil has substantial deposits of special metals, so-called rare earths, which are used in the manufacture of many high-tech products. Brazil will continue to play an increasingly important role in the global ICT business. The fact that it is now the official Partner Country at CeBIT offers many opportunities for firms in other countries to establish or develop business relationships with Brazil. At the same time Brazil will be using CeBIT as a platform to display its credentials as a modern high-tech country and an attractive partner to do business with.

CeBIT Executive Communications – House of CIOs

An important function of CeBIT is to bring together people in similar positions and with similar interests so that they can network more easily. One such meeting place is CeBIT Executive Communications, an exclusive facility for senior IT executives from Germany and other countries, and associated with that the “”House of CIOs””, which offers workshops and round-table discussions for the CIOs of large user enterprises. CIOs working in the car industry will be meeting up at their own dedicated “”automotiveDAY”” on the Thursday of the show, 8 March. Finally, the CeBIT Executive Club in the House of Nations functions as a kind of exclusive business lounge. It is aimed at a select group of CIOs from user enterprises, Federal and regional government officials, senior buyers working for DAX-listed companies and ICT decision-makers in the SME sector.

Business IT – the big trends

Growing digitalization and the sharp increase in mobility are the top trends highlighted in the CeBIT pro section of the show. Leading research institutes all agree that themes such as Big Data, Cloud, Social Business, mobility and security are going to dominate the discussion agenda both now and in the future. In the Business IT zone the exhibition and accompanying special events and forums will focus on topics such as the latest e-Commerce solutions, business apps and innovative analytical and forecasting tools, which allow companies to simulate future business developments in real time and analyze and manage vast quantities of data.

New: Social Command Center on air

For the first time the world’s leading event for the digital economy is hosting a Social Command Center. In Hall 4 the digital dialogue generated by CeBIT 2012 will be analyzed in real time and made visible. The aim of this project, jointly organized with salesforce.com, is to listen in and understand the issues that the social community around CeBIT is talking about worldwide.

New: Logistics IT

A new display category at this year’s show is “”Logistics IT””. Integrated logistics processes spanning the complete value-adding chain would be inconceivable without IT. In Hall 5 manufacturers of logistics software will be presenting their innovations and solutions. This group presentation with attached forum and lecture program covers all the different aspects of logistics that relate to IT – and rely on it.

New: Smart Home – the E.ON Truck is coming

The digital networking of the home and living environment is set to become a top priority for the ICT industry in the future. “”Smart Home”” is the name of a new forum in Hall 13 that explores current issues and trends in intelligent home networking. The event is designed to appeal to retailers, skilled tradesmen, architects, the construction industry, systems integrators, energy suppliers and consumers who simply love new technology. Companies from various branches of industry will present their solutions for intelligent living on a special display arena. One of the top themes at Smart Home is energy management. Energy supplier E.ON will be at the show with a travelling exhibition – a truck that has been fitted out as a mobile smart home. Here visitors can see for themselves how intelligent energy supply functions and operates – from the smart grid to decentralized electricity generation and smart meters, as well as other possibilities opened up by the intelligent networked home.

New: CeBIT i-land

The smartphone is expected not only to do as much as possible – it also has to look good. For the first time CeBIT is staging a dedicated display for smartphone accessories and portable gadgets. “”CeBIT i-land”” in Hall 16 will showcase products and solutions for the mobile world. Items on display include mobile phone covers with a diamant√© finish, innovative headsets, phone holders and portable accessories designed to enhance the versatility of mobiles. The result is a smartphone that’s as individual as its owner.

Digital Drive – automotive DAY

The car industry has a huge stake in ICT. Car manufacturers are increasingly becoming mobile service providers, as the modern car becomes a digital platform. At CeBIT the car industry meets ICT – and vice versa – under the general heading “”Digital Drive””. Bracketed together under this name are the special presentation of in-car IT “”Destination IST”” (Intelligent Transport Systems) in Hall 11, the associated lecture forum “”CeBIT in Motion”” and “”automotiveDAY”” on Thursday 8 March, with the tagline “”IT – Nerve Fibre of the Automobile Industry””. A special attraction in Hall 22 will be the Audi stand, where the next-generation A3 is due to be unveiled for the first time in Germany. The new network-ready compact Audi even boasts its own built-in tablet PC.

Webciety: e-Commerce, Augmented Reality and Social Business

“”Designing the Web Operating System”” is the tagline for the CeBIT Webciety Conference 2012. The issues up for discussion in Hall 6 in a series of international keynote addresses and discussion groups include the phenomenon of consumerisation, the political regulatory framework for online business and technology trends such as Content Targeting, Augmented Reality, Location-based Services, e-Commerce, Cloud Security and Social Business. Of special interest are the challenges associated with the so-called “”Web Operating System””, whose real-time service delivery needs to be data-driven, context-based and easy to use. As well as lecture presentations and platform discussions, the CeBIT Webciety Conference offers a variety of interactive formats such as Seedlounge@CeBIT. The Conference is also hosting a number of prize presentations, such as the BITKOM Innovators’ Pitch and the European Seal of Excellence Award.

New: CeBIT C3 Conference

When different markets converge, we enter uncharted territory. Participants at the new CeBIT C3 Conference will be discussing what successful business models might look like in this new landscape. The three C’s stand for Content, Creativity and Convergence. Over four days a succession of publishers, journalists, games developers and music and film producers will be discussing topical issues and possible solutions for the media industry in Hall 6. Each day is devoted to a different theme. On 6 March, for example, the Tuesday of the show, the subject up for discussion is the highly topical issue of Social TV. We are now seeing more and more TV formats where viewers simultaneously watch the program and participate in the action via social media channels. Here the TV journalist and blogger Richard Gutjahr will be in discussion with representatives of ProSiebenSat1, Endemol Zattoo, Google, NBC Universal and the UFA Lab.

Games: Intel Extreme Masters

Gaming remains a key driver of innovative technologies in the IT industry. And it’s not just the games themselves that are expected to perform to a very high standard, but the players too – as the Intel Extreme Masters in Hall 23 demonstrates. The Intel Extreme Masters has been the top global tournament of e-Sport champions since 2006. Contestants are required to play Counter-Strike 1.6 (5vs5), League of Legends (5vs5) and StarCraft 2 (1vs1). e-Sport champions from Europe, Asia and America compete in the tournament for prize money totalling 643,000 dollars. The world’s best 144 players square off against each other in Hannover at gaming’s equivalent of the World Cup. Prior to reaching this stage they have qualified by taking on – and beating – more than 25,000 professional players worldwide in various online tournaments.

New: “”Health & Vitality”” with “”Wearable Technologies””

One of the highlights at the new forum “”Health & Vitality””, the successor to the earlier “”Tele-Health”” presentation, will be the special display “”Wearable Technologies”” in Hall 8. For many years manufacturers have been developing prototypes of wearable electronics that have excited a lot of interest. Now these wearable technologies have finally emerged from the research lab and entered the world of the consumer.

The world’s leading platform for wearable technologies will be making its debut at CeBIT with a range of lifestyle, gaming and wellness products and demonstrating their potential for the consumer electronics market. A key theme here is the virtually automatic transmission of data recorded by sensors, such as movement, sound, muscle tension or even emotions. This opens up all kinds of exciting possibilities – in the gaming industry, for example, or in medical applications. The themes of the exhibition will be further developed in daily lectures and discussions.

CeBIT lab

CeBIT’s laboratory for the future – CeBIT lab – has expanded rapidly and now occupies the whole of Hall 26. This expansion in size mirrors the growing importance of CeBIT lab as the most important international research platform for the ICT and online industries. Among the major themes covered at CeBIT lab are Basic and Applied Research, New Technologies – including the Internet of Things, 3D, Mobile Robots and Urban Vision – Funding and Resources for Start-ups, and now for the first time Education, Jobs & Recruiting. At the same time CeBIT lab plays an important role in promoting technology transfer, bringing together suppliers and prospective users and buyers in order to develop and market new business ideas. The patron of CeBIT lab is the Federal Minister for Education and Research, Prof. Dr. Annette Schavan. But CeBIT lab is playing host not just to Germany’s research elite: scientific institutes from other European countries, South America, Australia and the Middle East will also be making the most of this opportunity to showcase their latest work. Among the topics up for discussion in the conference forum “”CeBIT lab talk”” will be the so-called “”fourth Industrial Revolution””, Robotics, Urban Vision, Assisted Living, 3D Technologies and Open Cloud Technologies.

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