Sunil Paul, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Finesse, looks ahead to the region’s only face-to-face technology event of the year GITEX Technology Week 2020.
For the past four decades, one of the biggest global and disruptive technology events GITEX Technology Week, has been a constant in a world where nothing is. It is heartening to see that this has not changed even during a global pandemic. Most of 2020 has passed in a whirlwind of emotions, fighting a pandemic that threw us off track and forced us to re-examine everything we knew about business. However, with GITEX scheduled from 6th to 10th December, there is a new sense of optimism in the air.
GITEX, the region’s largest technology event, is expected to be the only global tech and start-up show in the world in 2020 to go live and in-person, according to its organisers. There are a couple of reasons behind this decision. The primary one being Dubai was voted the safest city in the world to attend an exhibition, according to a survey conducted by Messe Frankfurt Middle East. The study showed that 77% of respondents viewed Dubai as the safest destination to attend an exhibition post COVID-19, followed by Germany (41%), Saudi Arabia (19%), France (17%), and Italy (15%). Another factor giving expected attendees further confidence is that the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) venue was recently certified with the Bureau Veritas SafeGuard Label. Not to forget, DWTC has already successfully held AI Everything x Restart Dubai Summer Conference in a hybrid model a few months ago, which was considered a grand success. Here we saw the event drawing hundreds of attendees – attending physically as well as streaming sessions live remotely.
The annual show is not expected to be different from any other year except that we will have to adhere to all the safety precautions in place, don the mask and consider handshakes a relic of the past. In fact, if anything, it could be the biggest edition to date. In its landmark 40th year, the IT expo is expected to explore groundbreaking pre- and post-pandemic technologies, host high-octane tech conferences and showcase futuristic pioneering innovations. Also, the organisers have decided to combine a number of other sister conferences, which usually run as standalone events – so along with the regular GITEX Technology Week and GITEX Future Stars, attendees will have access to GISEC, Future Blockchain Summit and Marketing Mania during the five days – making it even bigger and grander than any previous editions.
Although this edition promises to be a great platform, several technology firms are not investing in the show this year. I believe this might be a missed opportunity for them. While remote work models, digital technologies and virtual meetings have been the way of life this year, one aspect everyone agrees on is the fact that nothing can replace the human element. We have definitely become a lot more productive and much more efficient and effective relying on digital and remote work practices. However, business is all about people and if there is a platform offering a secure way to meet and reconnect, we must take complete advantage of that. It also gives us the chance to emerge from the bubble that we may have created over the past months and be inspired by new innovations and technologies and remind ourselves, this too will pass.
Technology players participating at the action-packed conference will put the spotlight on key areas, which will define our future lives, such as 5G, automation and AI, analytics, future mobility, digital economies, cybersecurity, cloud and Edge Computing, Deep Learning and Big Data. With first time launches expected from more than 60 countries, attendees will truly be treated to the global tech scene. Moreover, all GITEX attendees will experience 70 plus hours of free content, helping them gain valuable insights from critically acclaimed companies and leaders.
Finesse will be exhibiting at the region’s biggest tech show in full force, displaying not only the latest state-of-the-art solutions but also our unity and strength as a company thriving in these unprecedented times.