BroadcastAsia 2017 draws more than 40,000 attendees

CommunicAsia, EnterpriseIT and BroadcastAsia 2017 wrapped up last week after a three-day exhibition and conference addressing technologies and strategies for smart cities and digital ecosystems driving the digital strategies and transformation roadmaps of governments and enterprises in Asia.

The event drew over 40,000 trade attendees with 45% hailing from overseas, and more than 1,800 exhibitors showcased innovations featuring the latest in IoT, big data analytics, cloud, artificial intelligence, robotics, cybersecurity, satellite communications, virtual reality, IP broadcasting, OTT and 5G among others in dedicated technology clusters.

“As organisers, we are proud to present an event that aligns to the region’s initiatives and push in advancing Asia’s digital transformation. Committed to delivering a platform that fosters international collaborations, CommunicAsia, EnterpriseIT and BroadcastAsia are at the forefront of technological evolution with a global showcase of game-changing innovations that our attendees can look forward to discovering every year,” said Victor Wong, Project Director of Communications Events at organiser UBM SES.

New launches and Industry Collaborations

With fast growing digital ecosystems driving the economy and evolution of society, the event saw more than 900 product launches this year.

ST Electronics launched the World of IoT – Sense & eXchange (WISX IoT) platform, an estate service management tool that monitors the performance of common lighting, lifts, rubbish and pest levels, and utilities such as water and electricity.

“ST Electronics is pleased to have participated and showcased its new suite of cutting-edge solutions catered for smart cities globally. I am proud of the depth and breadth of our engineering capabilities, enabling us to address the full spectrum of needs for smart and sustainable cities around the world and manage the rapid rate of urbanisation. Together with our partners, we are well poised to shape and transform the operations of cities – locally and globally,” said Ravinder Singh, President, ST Electronics.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Dubai Police Force and OTSAW Digital was signed at CommunicAsia to deploy their new O-R3 security robot as part of the Smart Dubai initiative. Dubai will be the first city in the world to deploy O-R3 robots from end 2017, with a total of 100 robots by 2020 in conjunction with EXPO 2020 to be held in Dubai.

“CommunicAsia has helped OTSAW Digital to reach international clients, gather massive interest and brought us high quality leads, with the MOU signed during the event, after they read about us in the news! This is a true testament to the importance of CommunicAsia to the region in moving the needle in the implementation of Smart City initiatives. A truly fruitful experience!” said Ling Ting Ming, CEO of OTSAW Digital.

As cities and companies become more digitalised, the importance of cybersecurity measures is essential to ensuring the safety of information and data. Secure-IC’s newly launched Securyzr solution provides protection against the increasing sophistication of today’s cyber threats through ultra-efficient cryptographic acceleration.

Key partnerships were also formed, with Huawei announcing 20 industry collaborations that will further develop the regions’s cloud and connected enterprise ecosystem.

At BroadcastAsia, one of the key discussions revolved around the broadcasting industry’s transition to IP-based systems.

Ooyala launched its new State of the Media Industry 2017 report on day two of the show, which signalled that data-driven video has officially become the beating heart of the digital age.

“The move to IP is inevitable for the broadcast industry as they deal with an explosion of content getting delivered OTT (Over The Top). Production teams within broadcasters are under pressure to get more efficient and to reduce cost. Technologies like Ooyala Flex can help by automating workflows, inserting metadata, and creating a single source of truth for the entire media operation, helping teams identify bottlenecks to reduce production costs, while increasing revenues by getting content to market faster,”said BroadcastAsia2017 speaker Steve Davis, Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific and Japan, Ooyala.

Commenting on the exhibition, Piyush Gupta, Group Chief Technology Officer, India Today Group said: “There are many exhibitors on OTT, IoT and satellite operations who are relevant to our plans for Digital platforms and HD connectivity. I like that the exhibition has a concise layout grouped by different technologies.”

Seedstars World: FinChat Technologies takes top prize at startup competition

Seedstars World, the global seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes saw eight startups compete in the dynamic pitching event, with FinChat Technologies emerging as the most promising seed-stage startup of Seedstars Singapore 2017.

FinChat Technologies makes popular messaging apps such as Whatsapp and WeChat compliant with data retention regulations so that financial institutions can engage with them. The company will represent Singapore at the Seedstars Global Summit in Switzerland and compete with other global startups to win up to USD 1 million in equity investments.

ConnecTechAsia: One voice, one brand

Paving the way forward, 2018 promises to be bigger and better than ever with a new branding unveiled for the event – ConnecTechAsia.

Wong revealed that CommunicAsia, BroadcastAsia and the newly launched NXTAsia for emerging technologies and enterprise solutions, will fall under the new parent brand, ConnecTechAsia.

“The decision for the portfolio rebrand is to ensure the needs of the industry are met by having a clearly defined value proposition, a fresh new look fit for the future and a more focused and enriching event experience,” he said.

ConnecTechAsia 2018 will be a three-day event held from 26 – 28 June at Marina Bay Sands and Suntec Singapore.