CeBIT 2018 will be less of a trade fair and more of a "business festival," organisers Deutsche Messe claim as they reveal further details on the show, such as theme areas, in-show events and optimised hall layout.
"With its winning threefold mix of innovation-rich showcases, quality conferences and informal networking opportunities, the new CEBIT will provide a 360 perspective on the digitisation of business, government and society," Deutsche Messe continues. "As well as attracting IT experts, industry professionals and top-level decision-makers from the digital and IT user industries, our aim with the new CEBIT is increasingly to reach the next generation of business decision-makers."
The CeBIT 2018 format comprises four main sections-- d!conomy, d!tec, d!talk and d!campus. The d!conomy section covers digitisation, with exhitition topics such as digital business, digital administration, Internet of Things (IoT), security, networks, channel and distribution, mobile solutions and datacentres. The d!tec section is all about cutting-edge innovations and startups, d!talk is a conference platform and d!campus is a space for networking, live music and street food.
The show opens with a keynote by Jaron Lanier, an American computer scientist and Microsoft employee famous for his work in VR. Another speaker is Dan Lyons, the author of the "Secret Diary of Steve Jobs," who will talk about his experiences in "startup hell." German science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar will also take the stage to talk about AI and the future of our relationship with computers.
Other speakers include "memory hacker" Dr. Julia Shaw and Chief Research Officer at Finnish IT security company F-Secure Mikko Hypponen.
CeBIT opens on 11 June with a first day reserved for conference attendees and journalists. The day is capped off by a Welcome Night featuring high-ranking political leaders from Germany and abroad, setting the day for the three business-centric show days to follow. "Digital Friday" (15 June) targets the general public with hackathons, drone competitions and recruitement events for students and digital professionals.
The hall layout is somewhat revamped-- Halls 9 to 13, 14 to 17 and 25 to 27, as well as the central open-air site around the EXPO canopy, host a number of activities, showcases and networking events. The exhibition stands in the halls will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The d!campus is open till 11 pm and features a pogram of digital culture, street food and live performances by popular artists, such as German hip-hop star Jan Delay.
