It’s been a month of big international shows looking to the future with Futurebuild 2019 for the construction industry and, both running this week, the London Book Fair 2019 at Olympia and the Technology shows at Excel, the last combining eight different technology themes into one integrated event (Cloud Expo Europe, Devops Live, Cloud & Cyber Security Expo, Smart IOT, Big Data World, AI Tech World, Blockchain Tech World and Data Centre World). As you would expect, there are international exhibitors at all three of the major fairs, in particular from the Far East, but also perhaps less predictably from Poland, perhaps an indicator of how that country is promoting its different industries internationally and perhaps a future competitor for the UK in whatever its post-Brexit world might be.
Technology flows from the potentially infinite scale of the Cloud, to 6th generation data centres at one end of the physical scale to recharging of mobile phones at the other, with much in between in the way of integrated infrastructure, data management, remote and efficient monitoring and diagnostics and, of course, security – physical and cyber -, with an emphasis on sustainability in one of the most energy-demanding building types that we have, plus hidden among all these technological and digital stands was a boldly-designed stand on providing support to manage the complex multitude of taxes that impact on the technology industry…..
It is good to see that Lego is here in the Technological world as well as in other worlds such as Harry Potter and Star Wars….
Included in the event is an impressive range of seminars and presentations across different aspects of technology, including the potential impact of AI on the way that companies do business and engage with their customers and the way that cities are managed and – in case we forget it – the human aspects, including diversity. Looking at the visitors visiting the show, it still appears to be a very male-dominated industry: – universities, colleges and businesses need to do more to correct the gender imbalance and encourage more women into the industry (plus also the older generation who are in danger of losing out as technology changes so quickly). And, as technology continues to embrace our working and personal lives, we need effective and efficient help, both digital and human.
