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Sydney Readies for Nation’s Biggest ICT Event: CeBIT Australia 2009

Announcement posted by CeBit Australia 07 May 2009

SYDNEY, Australia – 7 May 2009: Sydney’s foreshores and business district are taking on their May garb as approximately 500 flags take pride of place on the city’s flagpoles to signal the return of the nation’s largest annual event for the information and communication technology industry, CeBIT Australia 2009, from May 12-14.

From this weekend a steady stream of VIPs and movers and shakers from the local and international technology industry will be arriving in Sydney for the largest annual gathering of technology professionals and decision makers in the region.

CeBIT Australia 2009 this year boasts an exhibition featuring pavilions and stands from some 400 exhibitors, all showing their latest innovations and productivity-enhancing products and services.

The exhibition floor will be complimented by a packed business technology Global Conferences program, with 129 local and international speakers from industry, government and academia discussing the latest trends and directions of technology from research and development to broadband infrastructure to business processes to web-based search and marketing techniques.

The event kicks off at 8am on Tuesday May 12 with the official Opening Ceremony, with special guests the NSW Premier Nathan Rees, and the Federal Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy.


AusInnovate

Senator Conroy will also deliver the keynote address at 9am at CeBIT Australia’s AusInnovate conference, the nation’s peak research and development and commercialisation conference, with 19 speakers dedicated to charting the country’s course within the Global Digital Economy.

Senator Conroy’s appearance at CeBIT Australia will be his last before flying back to Canberra later that day to attend the Budget Session of Parliament. His comments are sure to be timely and closely scrutinised in light of the Government’s commitment to funding the National Broadband Network infrastructure project.


Key international and local speakers will include:

  • Professor Dr Dieter Rombach, the executive director of the Experimental Software Engineering division of Europe’s largest R&D think-tank, the Fraunhofer Institute;

  • Mr Jack Cassidy, the Managing Director of Bearing Point USA;

  • Ms Narelle Clark, the Director of CSIRO ICT Centre’s networking technologies laboratory;

  • Dr Mark Anderson, the Chief, Command Control Communications & Intelligence Division of DSTO; and

  • Dr Warren Harch, the DSTO’s Deputy Chief Defence Scientist (Information & Weapons Systems).


Access

Also on the opening day, the full implications of the Rudd Government’s $43 billion NBN project will be a major focus of the Access conference, which focuses on both the strategic policy and practical implementation aspects of telecommunications in today’s working environment, with speakers representing NBN bidding consortia and major carriers.


Keynote speakers at the Infrastructure, Policy and Practice stream of Access include:

  • Mr Maha Krishnapillai, Optus’ Director of Corporate and Government Affairs;

  • Mr David Forman, Competitive Carriers Coalition Executive Director;

  • Mr Michael Malone, iiNet Managing Director; and

  • Senator Kate Lundy, Australian Government.


The Access 2009 Business Ready Communications Solutions stream includes sessions on practical issues covering topics including Unified Communications, Voice over IP (VoIP), Collaboration and Wireless Solutions. Speakers will include:

  • Mr Simon Burke, IPscape Managing Director;

  • Mr Roger Nicoll, iPrimus Telecom General Manager; and

  • Mr Jim McGowan, BridgeWave Strategic and International Accounts Vice-President.


Enterprise

The third conference on CeBIT Australia’s opening day is Enterprise, a business-focussed event which puts a microscope on the processes and technology trends that are driving business efficiencies in the current economic slowdown. Topics to be discussed include such emerging and hot-button trends as Cloud computing, virtualisation, CRM, SaaS.

Speakers will include:

  • Mr Mark Roberts, IT Business Development Manager for Rittal,

  • Mr Dylan Morison, the Cisco Data Centre Leader for Australia and New Zealand

  • Mr Geoff McQueen, the Managing Director of Hiive Systems,

  • Mr H.R. Shiever, the Managing Director of Citrix Systems Hong Kong,

  • Mr Gianpaolo Carraro, Microsoft Platform developer; and

  • Mr Marc Lehmann, the founder and CEO of Saasu.com.


e-Government Forum

Day 2, Wednesday May 13, will get off to a powerful start with the opening of CeBIT Australia’s e-Government Forum, the country’s top public sector technology conference, at 8:30am, with an address by the Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner in his first public post-Budget address. He will be followed by Queensland Minister for Public Works and Information and Communications Technology, Robert Schwarten.

The e-Government Forum, organised in partnership with the Department of Finance, will discuss best practice e-Government policies by such Australian and international speakers as:

  • Ms Ann Steward, AGIMO’s Chief Information Officer, who will deliver the Forum’s keynote address;

  • Mr Sung-il Park, the director-general of the Republic of South Korea’s Informatization Strategy Office;

  • Professor Dr Lutz Heuser, Executive Vice-President and head of global research at software giant SAP;

  • Mr Peter Alexander, branch manager, online services, for AGIMO;

  • Mr Ben McDevitt, the CEO of CrimTrac;

  • Mr Bernard De Broglio, internet coordinator for NSW’s Mosman Council; and

  • Mr John Wadeson, CEO of information technology for Centrelink.


WebForward

Wednesday May 13 also features the opening, at 9am, of the two-day WebForward conference, examining the latest Web-based business and marketing practices, with experts discussing topics like social networking for business and the Twitter revolution, search engine marketing and optimisation, as well as mobile devices and apps for platforms like the iPhone.

Speakers will include:

  • Karim Temsamani, the General Manager of Google Australia and New Zealand;

  • Nic Cola, the Chief Operating Officer of Fairfax Digital;

  • Dr Nic Williams, the founder and CEO of iPhone consultancy Mocra;

  • Shane Morris, User Experience Evangelist from Microsoft Australia;

  • Dr Steven A. Zielke, founder and CEO of EyeT Communications and innovator of video-moderated Websites (ModSite);

  • Ian Lyons, Social Media Director for Razorfish Australia;

  • Michael Motherwell, Senior Search Consultant with WMS Consulting;

  • Rod Jacka, Managing Director of Panalysis; and

  • Sebastian Chan, Head of Digital, Social and Emerging Technologies at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum.


The full CeBIT conference program, and speaker lists, can be viewed at http://www.cebit.com.au/conference-program.html

Wednesday night, at 6pm, will see one of the show’s highlights, the ICT Celebration Dinner. Attracting industry leaders, VIPs and innovators, the ICT Celebration Dinner is the industry’s “night-of-nights” and features the winners of the Australian Government Information Management Office’s (AGIMO’s) E-Awards for e-Government Excellence, and CeBIT Australia’s’s own CeBIT.AU Awards recognising outstanding achievement in the ICT industry.

The CeBIT Australia 2009 Exhibition will be open from 10am-6pm on Tuesday May 12 and Wednesday May 13, and 10am-5pm on Thursday May 14. The includes products and services from more than 18 countries representing some 28 technology categories.

A full listing of show floor categories and exhibitors can be found at www.cebit.com.au/exhibit-cebit-australia-2009/show-floor-categories.html

A full collection of press releases featuring exhibitor highlights, plans and releases during the show can be found at: www.cebit.com.au/press/press-release/exhibitor-press-release.html

A special feature of the showfloor this year will be Webciety, one of the popular hits this year of the giant CeBIT Hannover show in March, making its debut in Sydney.

Designed as a walk-through, visually vibrant demonstration of the power and potential of the Web, Webciety will feature a daily roster of presentations by a dozen leading Web innovators from Australia and the world. More information on Webciety at CeBIT Australia 2009 can be found at www.webciety.com.au

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 Global Conference Series, and use of the Media Centre facilities, including a blogging zone and interview area, on the show floor.


Ends.


Press contacts:


James Riley, +61-410 111 208

james.riley@hannoverfairs.com.au


Roland Tellzen, +61-2-9282 7509

roland.tellzen@hannoverfairs.com.au






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.



Event Highlights/Schedule


Mon 11 May


  • 5.30pm – 7.30pm, CeBIT/NSW Govt Reception, Government House (invitation only)


Tue 12 May


  • 10am -6pm, CeBIT Australia Exhibition Day 1, Halls 3-5, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre


  • 9am – 4.40pm, AusInnovate Conference, Parkside Ballroom A, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre


  • 9am – 4.40pm, Access Conference, Parkside 110 & G04, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre


  • 9am – 4.40pm, Enterprise Conference, Bayside Gallery, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre


  • 6pm – Till late, Innovation-Nation Cocktail Party, Harbour’s Edge, Darling Harbour


Wed 13 May


  • 10am -6pm, CeBIT Australia Exhibition Day 2, Halls 3-5, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre


  • 9am – 4.30pm, e-Government Forum, Parkside Ballroom A, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre


  • 9am – 4.55pm, WebForward Conference, Parkside 110 & G04, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre


  • 6pm – 11pm, CeBIT ICT Celebration Dinner, Parkside Ballroom, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre


Thu 14 May


  • 9am – 4.55pm, WebForward Conference, Parkside 110 & G04, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre


  • 10am -5pm, CeBIT Australia Exhibition Day 3, Halls 3-5, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre