Frese pointed to the game-changing IT industry trends of the past few years, namely big data, cloud computing, mobility, social media and security, noting that they had developed rapidly and were now converging to have a profound combined impact on both the business world and society generally. “By virtue of convergence, fundamental innovations wield great transformative power that has already brought us to the dawn of a new, digital era of industry,” he said. On a related theme of particular importance in Germany, he noted that the German government had made digitization a political priority with the release of its Digital Agenda policy statement.

One trend that is abundantly clear across all industries at the moment is that the development of business models, production processes and products is increasingly being driven by digital technologies. “The sweeping trend toward digitization is opening up major opportunities for business and the public sector. By putting in place the right strategies and investments, SMEs and multinational corporations alike can now secure decisive competitive advantages in the global marketplace,” Frese said. These observations were tempered with a caveat about the importance of enabling human users to keep up with the increasingly fast pace of digital transformation and ensuring that data and IT systems were secure. All of these issues will be addressed at CeBIT 2015, where the exhibitors will present solutions and business models under the lead theme of d!conomy.

Germany’s IT industry is represented by BITKOM (Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media). Its president, Dieter Kempf, had this to say on the subject of d!conomy: “Digitization is driving paradigm change across all industries. Traditional business models and job profiles are being supplemented and, in many cases, replaced by new ones. We need to embrace these changes in order to share in the opportunities they create.” As examples, Kempf pointed out that digital technologies were helping to improve health services and were also the key to overcoming the enormous challenges posed by the transition to a sustainable energy system and to new, sustainable forms of mobility. “Digitization is rapidly transforming the very core of our economy – our manufacturing industries. Our industrial companies need to stay ahead of this development and lead the charge,” he said.

Among the big, overarching themes grouped under the d!conomy umbrella are the Internet of Things and the all-embracing trend toward networking and integration. In the manufacturing industries, these themes are commonly referred to as Industry 4.0 and relate to a concerted push toward digitally integrated production and machine-to-machine communication. This can be seen in the automobile industry, which is strongly characterized by highly complex production processes and close integration between manufacturers and subcontractors. At the same time, the vehicles produced by this industry are sporting a growing array of digital and networking capabilities which increasingly are becoming key points of difference in today’s competitive market. Similarly, the services sector is aggregating big data, cloud computing, mobile applications and social media to develop new, highly individualized offerings. The logistics industry, too, is using applications from these technology areas to optimize the utilization of transport capacity. The digital trend also extends to the retail sector, which is increasingly using new hardware elements, such as beacons, to enhance the in-store shopping experience with digital content. And in medicine, the ability to process seemingly endless volumes of data in mere seconds is making possible completely new diagnostic methods and treatment options.

“Digitization has become a key driver of innovation throughout the business world. And the IT and telecommunications industries, in turn, are driving digitization. That’s because digitization is critically reliant on high-speed data networks and high-performance software and hardware. We as exhibitors look forward to participating at next year’s “d!conomy”-themed CeBIT and to showing what we are doing to help our business clients transition into the digital age and capitalize on the worldwide opportunities that digitization brings,” said Jan Geldmacher, Chairman of the CeBIT Exhibitors’ Committee and CEO of Vodafone Global Enterprise.

“Only CeBIT can successfully bring all of these themes together and provide multiple perspectives – not just on the big opportunities that arise from them, but on the challenges as well. With its d!conomy focus, CeBIT 2015 will frame today’s lightning-paced digital transformation in a way that is real, tangible and accessible to all participants,” Oliver Frese explained. d!conomy would, he added, be reflected in real applications and products on show at the exhibition booths. It would also be the defining theme of the CeBIT Global Conferences, which are expected to feature more than 100 top-notch speakers from all around the world.

CeBIT 2015 opens its gates to visitors from around the globe on Monday 16 March. It will run for five days, closing on 20 March.

Deutsche Messe AG

With revenues of 312 million euros in 2013, Deutsche Messe AG is one of the world’s ten largest trade fair companies and operates the world’s largest exhibition center. Deutsche Messe developed, planned and staged 119 trade fairs and congresses worldwide in 2013 which hosted 41,000 exhibitors and four million visitors. Its event portfolio includes world-leading trade fairs such as CeBIT Hannover (information and communications technology), HANNOVER MESSE (industrial technology), CeMAT (intralogistics), DOMOTEX (floor coverings), and LIGNA (wood processing and forestry). With more than 1,000 employees and a network of 66 representatives, subsidiaries and branch offices, Deutsche Messe is present in more than 100 countries.

source: CeBIT Official Press Release