GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK 2011 – SPOTLIGHT ON WORLD’S LATEST IT TRENDS

COUNTDOWN IS ON TO THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS EVENT OF THE YEAR

The event, which runs from 9 – 13 October at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC), connects more than 130,000 industry professionals from five continents with over 3,500 suppliers. Under the 2011 theme of “Redefine the Future” GITEX maintains and enhances its status of the region’s only finger-on-the-pulse ICT event that not only provides practical solutions, but drives the investment that helps to make the Middle East a competitive technology market.

 

Helal Saeed Almarri, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai World Trade Centre, organiser of the event said: “GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK, after more than three decades in operation, continues to attract the industry’s leading ICT exhibitors and attendees from around the world. Technology is an ever-evolving industry and the Middle East is increasingly becoming both more influential and more lucrative in the global ICT business arena.

 

“GITEX consistently strives to anticipate the most pressing issues and challenges of the day and provide expert insights and solutions through its world class exhibitors. GITEX is cementing even further its position as a leading influence on the global ICT industry by introducing brand new sectors, not only reflecting the current trends, but by providing opportunities for the future. The industry’s top cyber security, digital marketing, card technology and telecoms organisations and experts will showcase their latest products and offer essential new industry perspectives,” he added.

 

This year’s GITEX Global Leaders Summit, themed ‘Innovation in Leadership’, has some of the most inspirational and sought-after speakers within the ICT industry, including Pranav Mistry, the rising star of new technology and radical inventor of Sixth Sense Mistry, voted one of the top 15 Asian scientists to watch and one of the top 35 innovators in the world under the age of 35, will be demonstrating his unique human interface concepts and introducing prototypes for the first time in the Middle East.

 

Speaker Chris Dedicoat, President EMEA of Cisco, who was appointed to a European Commission task force that aims to strengthen Europe’s IT sector, is an inspiration in driving new business models, increasing productivity with a driving ambition to achieve sustainable growth in the Middle East. 

 

Also addressing the GITEX Global Leaders Summit, William H. Saito, an advisor to governments worldwide, venture capitalist, educator and 2011 Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum is an entrepreneur of extraordinary proportions and a role model for business leaders of both multinationals and SMEs. Saito will examine the next generation of innovative products and technology and their application in the marketplace. Other distinguished speakers include Rod Beckstrom, President and CEO of ICANN, Georgio Di Paolo, IT Strategy Head, Accenture and Tariq Hassan, VP Marketing, Hewlett Packard. Supported by Lead Sponsor, Accenture and Networking Sponsor, Metasonic, the 2011 Global Leaders Summit will be an unmissable opportunity for technology businesses to see some of the most inspirational ICT leaders in the world.

 

One of the sectors new to GITEX 2011 is Cyber Security @ GITEX. A recent Norton Cybercrime report revealed that the global cost of cybercrime is USD 388 billion, with 76% of UAE residents having been the victim of data theft over the past twelve months. The inaugural Cyber Security sector will offer presentations on cybercrime awareness and how to avoid falling into cyber traps. Live demonstrations by Terabyte Sponsors Abu Dhabi Police, Gigabyte Sponsor McAfee, Byte Sponsor Norton and event supporters TRA, aeCERT, and Black Hat will give visitors practical advice on how to defend against attacks across a variety of platforms.

 

To further raise awareness and highlight the sophistication and speed of ICT security risks, the first ever Middle East and India regional finals of the Global CyberLympics Championships will be held alongside the CyberSecurity @ GITEX feature. Some of the world’s most skillful hackers will take part in a series of ethical hacking games of both offensive and defensive security challenges, relayed live on screens around the virtual battlefield.

 

For the first time at GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK, GITEX Digital Marketing is an opportunity to assess, evaluate and analyse the full potential of what is becoming an essential business tool. In a recent survey by digital marketing experts Econsultancy, entitled ‘The State of Digital in MENA’, 58% of businesses in the region are increasing their digital budgets this year, and 53% doing the same for mobile marketing. Social media is also thriving, with 56% of Middle Eastern companies currently using social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter to attract business. With sponsors including Yahoo Maktoob (Pearl Sponsor), Ikoo (Emerald Sponsor), ICANN (Opal Sponsor) and Khellan and TkXel among the exhibitors, Gitex Digital Marketing will be strongly attended by experts hailing from digital creative agencies, email software companies and mobile advertising, among many others.

 

The inaugural GITEX Card Technology feature will reflect and drive one of the most rapidly developing ICT sectors. From widespread use in the financial services sector to mobile phone sim cards, road toll systems, national ID cards and hospital records, the use of smart card technology, be it in contact or contactless format, continues to accelerate at an exponential rate.  In keeping with regional advancements, GITEX will again be expanding its profile to incorporate this increasingly important sector.

 

In the GITEX Telecoms sector, as the Middle East prepares to roll out the next generation of Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 4G technology, the implications for the industry and consumers are vast. In response to this revolution in digital communication, GITEX is introducing its first ever Telecoms Symposium. Sponsored by Etisalat and supported by Euromonitor and knowledge partner Telecom Review, the initiative is the region’s most comprehensive and influential telecoms forum.

 

Keynote Speaker Jim Balsillie, CEO, Research in Motion is one of the most influential figures in his field, and an inspiration to both business owners and the leading players in the telecoms industry. Addressing the unprecedented telecoms developments in the UAE, Osman Sultan, CEO of du will focus on LTE deployment and the cost of migrating to 4G for the providers – a crucial aspect of the timing and effectiveness of next generation communications. And with a wealth of experience and expertise from other international telecom gurus, including Olivier Campenon, President, EMEA, British Telecom, Mario Bouchard, President and CEO, IBwave and Mehmet Balos, Executive Director, GenBand, insights into the opportunities and challenges in today’s telecoms markets will be invaluable. 

 

After a highly successful and innovative inaugural GITEX Cloud Confex in 2010, the only dedicated cloud event in the region has even more support this year from international industry icons. Steve Dietch, for example, Vice President of Marketing for HP, the Confex Diamond Sponsor, will be a major draw to the Confex as one of the most passionate and articulate cloud activists.

 

Chick Hollis, VP of Global Marketing and CTO of EMC, joint Platinum Sponsor is another of the sector’s most respected advocates. Ronald Raffensberger, Director of Core Cloud at Huawei, also joint Platinum Sponsor, has more than 30 years’ experience in product management and marketing in telecommunications and is ideally placed to offer his insights into the current applications and future development of cloud computing. Joining the debate, Jan Wildeboer, EMEA Open Source Evangelist, Red Hat, Gene Phifer, Managing VP of Research at Gartner and David Teklit, VP of IT, Jumeirah Group will offer their expert advice and insights on the most pressing cloud computing issues in the region and around the world today.

 

Supported by Gold Sponsors AMD, Etisalat, F5 and Intel, and Silver Sponsors Citrix, Microsoft and WYSE, the latest submissions of cutting-edge trends and evaluation of critical issues from Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Al Futtaim, Dubal, Emirates NBD, Jumeirah Group, Red Hat and many more, make the GITEX Cloud Confex a must-attend event.

 

Building on the foundations of the first edition of the GITEX Mobile, Apps and Content World in 2010, this sector promises to be one of the industry drivers in a MENA market. Internet access is shifting more towards a mobile only environment, and with over 195 million mobile subscribers and an average penetration rate across the Middle East of over 85%, more and more operators are using apps to increase revenues.

 

The industrys top practitioners will share their insights through free-to-attend open panel debates, featuring speakers from the likes of RIM, Nokia, Mobile Entertainment Forum and more. Themed across four days, each daily debate will focus on a number of critical industry topics including mobile advertising, mobile gaming and mobile security. There will also be a series of dedicated developer days from Nokia and Blackberry, as well as the opportunity to meet with apps and content developers from across the region and internationally.

 

InfoComm Middle East and Africa (MEA) 2011 will make its REGIONAL debut alongside GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK, in a joint collaboration between Dubai World Trade Centre in an effort by the international association of pro AudioVisual and information communication industries to help AV professionals and end-users in the region to keep abreast of latest developments and expand their skills and knowledge.

 

Once again, more and more international companies will experience the global influence of GITEX as the event welcomes exhibitors from new countries including Kazakhstan, Latvia, Malta and Morocco and nine new national pavillions including Bangladesh, Italy, Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestine, Scotland and Spain.

 

And many of the world’s leading ICT companies have chosen GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK for the regional launch of their new products and solutions, including Microsoft’s Office 365 and System Centre 2012 and Azure, Nokia’s N9 smartphone, Panasonic’s Solar Powered IP CCTV and Home Energy Management System (HEMS), RIM’s Bold 9900, Symantec’s Endpoint Protection 12 (cloud security), the new Tablet PC from Touchmate, and many more. Among many of the GITEX stalwarts, Oracle will be making its 21st appearance this year, with live demonstrations of its latest products and a strong line-up of software development partners.

 

GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK is open to trade visitors and industry professionals only from 1pm – 7pm, Sunday 9 October and from 10am – 7pm from Monday 10 October to Wednesday 13 October 2011 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. On Thursday 13 October the show will open at 10am and close at 5pm. Registration costs AED 70 per day or AED 130 for a five day pass. For more information, please visit www.gitex.com