AusInnovate @ CeBIT Australia 2009: Engaging the Global Digital Economy

SYDNEY, Australia – 28 April 2009: The strategic importance of the Research and Development (R&D) sector in ensuring the country’s future prosperity through engagement in the global digital economy will the set the scene on the opening day of CeBIT Australia 2009 when AusInnovate launches this year’s show Global Conference Program.

Amidst the continuing fallout from the Global Financial Crisis, this year’s AusInnovate conference, organised by Hannover Fairs Australia in partnership with NICTA, CSIRO and DSTO, will be even more vital than ever as technology becomes a key weapon in the arsenals of governments and businesses as they strive to beat the economic downturn.

The Australian Government’s decision to take control of the construction of a $43 billion super-fast National Broadband Network in particular has underlined the importance of technology infrastructure to underpin business survival and success.

Indeed, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, who will assume chief responsibility for overseeing the construction of the NBN, will deliver the keynote address at AusInnovate, where he will outline the nation‘s commitment on how to realise the benefits of the Digital Economy.

Senator Conroy’s appearance at CeBIT will be his last public appearance scheduled before flying back to Canberra later that day to attend the Budget Session of Parliament.

The Minister’s address will also kick-off a high-powered program of speakers featuring the cream of the local and international research communities.

Key international speakers will include the director of IBM’s Zurich-based Research Laboratory, Dr Matthias Kaiserswerth, who will outline his vision of building an instrumented, interconnected and intelligent planet, and the executive director of the Experimental Software Engineering division of Europe’s largest R&D think-tank, the Fraunhofer Institute, Professor Dr Dieter Rombach.

They will be joined at AusInnovate by the Managing Director of Bearing Point USA, Mr Jack Cassidy, who will set the agenda for a major session at the conference on the security aspects of the Digital Economy.

Mr Cassidy’s viewpoint will be particularly relevant through his work within the US Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the September 11 2001 attacks, during which he helped pioneer the use of electronic identity management within US Government agencies.

Security issues in Australia will in turn be discussed by the Director of CSIRO ICT Centre’s networking technologies laboratory, Ms Narelle Clark, the Chief, Command Control Communications & Intelligence Division of DSTO, Dr Mark Anderson, and the DSTO’s Deputy Chief Defence Scientist (Information & Weapons Systems) Dr Warren Harch.

AusInnovate will also feature successful case studies of the use of technology to solve complex challenges by Australian businesses, particularly the application of innovation within the mining sector.

Mining giant Rio Tinto’s approach to innovation and partnering, for example, will be outlined by the general Manager of the company’s Recovery -Technology and Innovation Division, Dr Chris Goodes, and the CSIRO’s role in driving adoption of new technology within the mining sector will be explained by the leader of its “Transforming the Future Mine” theme, Jock Cunningham.

As the peak annual public gathering of the nation’s R&D elite, AusInnovate traditionally draws the cream of both the research and commercialisation sectors from the Asia-Pacific region and the wider world. It has been been a prime mover in many local and regional companies taking their inspirational ideas onwards towards global commercial success.

Hannover Fairs Australia Managing Director Jackie Taranto said AusInnovate was especially vital this year as a forum to attract investors and entrepreneurs looking to invest in new markets and ideas in Australia.

“Australia remains an incredibly vibrant and attractive market and the Australian Government has clearly signalled to the world with its A$43 billion National Broadband Network announcement that it is serious about the development of the ICT sector,” Ms Taranto.

“So despite this being a difficult year, we are bullish about our prospects in this region. The NBN will create its own centre of gravity around ICT sector industry development and the CeBIT global brand will be there to help take some our best innovations to the world,” she said.

Ms Taranto said she was proud that AusInnovate had provided the first real international exposure to a large number of local innovators and entrepreneurs.

“This is an established event, and we really need to now leverage what we have here in taking both Australian companies to the world and bringing the latest offshore technology to Australia,” Ms Taranto said.

Other events under the CeBIT Global Conferences Program at CeBIT Australia 2009 include:

Enterprise 2009 – Entirely new in 2009, this event is divided into two streams. The first addressing cost-saving business technology for large scale business like Cloud computing, virtualisation, CRM and SaaS, The second, for growing SME’s focuses on next generation eFinance, eCommerce, like eRetail 2.0, as well as practical sessions on managing complexity in IT environments.

WebForward 2009 – If you attend one conference in 2009, make it the two-day WebForward event. The multi-streams explore cost-saving and highly-effective post-2.0 business process around eMarketing, location-based services, rich media, email marketing, social media for business and much more. This event will sell-out.

e-Government Forum 2009 – Conducted by CeBIT Australia with the Department of Finance, this peak public sector technology event has never been more topical against the back drop of the Gershon Review and the increased interest in citizen-centric Web 2.0-style policy interaction.

Access 2009 – from broadband management, unified communications systems, wireless integration to Voice over IP (VoIP) for small businesses to large enterprises – this conference helps you navigate communications technology – and deliver savings. This event sold out in 2008.

Media registration for CeBIT Australia 2009 has now opened, offering print and electronic media journalists, bloggers and analysts access to the latest insider information and demonstrations on technology trends and techniques.

Media are encouraged to register for the show as soon as possible at: http://www.cebit.com.au/press/media-registration.html

Media access includes free entry to the exhibition, access by accredited representatives of media organisations to the full Global Conference Series, and use of the Media Centre facilities, including a blogging zone and interview area, on the show floor.

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CeBIT Australia is the largest business technology exhibition and conference event in the region. CeBIT Australia 2009 will be held from May 12-14 2009 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre at Darling Harbour. For more information on CeBIT Australia, please visit www.cebit.com.au.

CeBIT Australia is organised by Hannover Fairs Australia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the global trade group company Deutsche Messe AG. Hannover Fairs Australia also assists Australian companies in attending other international events organised by Deutsche Messe AG across the world. For information about other please visit www.hannoverfairs.com.au.