Frank Pörschmann, Head of CeBIT
Interview with Frank Pörschmann, Head of CeBIT
CeBIT 2012 ensures a strong connection to the digital future
ITN: “Mr. Pörschmann, you will be stepping up to fill Ernst Raue’s shoes in April. What are your future goals for CeBIT?”
F. Pörschmann: “The future is something we have always been charged with, that will not change in April. I am very excited and am looking forward to maintaining CeBIT reputation as a global innovation, communication and business platform, especially the challenge of transforming the way we conduct business at the fair in the age of Trade-Business 2.0. No other industry offers as much potential as the high-tech sector, which is ushering in new forms of communications and avenues of business as well as societal interaction at breakneck speed. That is exactly what stands at the center of the CeBIT business platform: people and communication.”
ITN: “What are your expectations for this year’s CeBIT?”
F. Pörschmann: “CeBIT is once again going to be the only platform which connects IT, telecommunications, electronics and the content industry to each other and which makes the convergence of these three markets relevant. I expect that – finally – the topic of users and usability is going to be at the centre of CeBIT discussions. In the end, the success of an event depends upon whether the expectations of each of the participants can be filled. With more than 4,000 exhibitors, 30,000 representatives and more than 300,000 vistiors, that is a very high goal, but it is certainly a reachable one. Our efforts are being directed towards continually increasingly the quality of our programmes and increasing consumer interest. This refers to the whole spectrum of communications measures, from the transfer of knowledge in our CeBIT Global Conferences, the specialists forums and in special exhibitions, the search for new customers in our matchmaking programs to our job service bureau. The broader we make our portfolio, the greater value we can offer to each of the participants. This is the major difference between rote product shows and the art of professional business development the way we practice it. My credo in this area is : “Whoever visits CeBIT 2012 maintains a connection to the digital future – in the business, professional and personal senses.”
ITN: “Is CeBIT still THE leading trade fair for the branch?”
F. Pörschmann: “Yes, definitely. Through its singular combination of fair, conferences, keynote speakers, corporate events and business lounges, CeBIT is clearly perceived by the international business as the most important trendsetter for this industry. By tradition, Germany’s Chancellor opens the fair every year. And many high-ranking representatives from Germany and abroad use the fair as a platform for their dialogues with the global IT economy. Never before has the interest from politicians from the European Union been so high as in this year. You can truly sense – and see – how the fair has grown in meaning.”
ITN: “Why did the fair’s leaders choose this year’s main topic ‘Managing Trust’?”
F. Pörschmann: “CeBIT always take up the most important values and growth sectors of the branch. From a business sense, what is most valuable is rare, and increasingly, what is rare right now is trust. Fundamentally, that does not just mean for the digital economy, but for all industries that use modern ITK technologies for innovation and growth. The digital world yearns for security: essential business data and precious private collections are being stored as data packets on mainframe computers, office computers and smartphones. Reputation and personal security are the names of the game. Because of this development, this year’s CeBIT will be asking a lot of quesitons about aspects of technological security, including the question of business trustworthiness and questions for society and for regulation. All you need is to take a look at a news feed on the web to understand how important the topic of trust is for nations, economies and consumers: Rarely a day goes by on which there is not a report of a breach in security or of data. It is becoming increasingly important to be able to store information in a way that makes it invulnerable. The motto “Managing Trust” takes up these aspects and opens up discussion for the complete breadth of possible solutions. Renowned IT heavyweights such as IBM, SAP Fujitsu and Microsoft will offer their perspectives, as will all of the important players from security software development.”
ITN: “What are some of the other CeBIT 2012 highlights going to be?”
F. Pörschmann: “We have got a lot of trends, new items and thousands of innovations waiting for visitors from March 6-10 2012 in Hanover. The leading institutions and businesses have already made the prognosis that the big topics will be Big Data, Cloud Computing, mobility and social media. Lifestyle solutions for living and working in urban centres that meld digital lifestyles and digital driving styles are just a few examples. Beyond that, visitors will find a lot of points of entry to our top topic “Managing Trust” in all of our exhibition areas. One further highlight is “CODE_n,” an international initiative for fresh ideas in the Internet and IT realm. The goal of the network is to find the brightest minds in the branch and bring their ideas together to promote the industry as an area of innovation and to increase the speed of those innovations. CODE_n stands for “Code of the New.” As CeBIT’s creators, we are looking to use this initiative to take a classical fair concept and combine it with innovations, art, culture and design to create a completely new fair experience. One further highlight: CeBIT is moving stronger than ever into a plattorm for jobseekers and creators. Considering the dearth of trained professionals in this industry, we will be greatly increasing our recruiting activities. For the first time, our “Resources & Career” centre is going to be a major part of the CeBIT fair; you can find it in the CeBIT lab in Hall 9.”
ITN: “How do you gauge the current condition of the IT branch and its perspectives for the next year and next few years?”
F. Pörschmann: “Decidedly optimistic. All of the important think tanks and research institutes are predicting positive growth rates, independent of what is going on in the rest of the economy. Innovation is a driver of productivity growth and creates better efficiency and growth through new products and services. ITK technologies form the basis for that growth. You can see that already on the user side of the equation. For example, automobile producers are already incorporating strategies that address increased use of ITK technologies in the creation of their new products. The same is true for media, electronics, health, production, logistics and the energy branch. For many years we have been talking about the convergence of technologies and markets – but today, it is a reality. Modern ITK is playing an even stronger role in the bettering of our lives – and this is becoming true in many areas of society. Digital technologies have the potential to help us in a measurable and sustainable way as we combat the greatest challenges of the 21st century. At the top of this agenda are topics such as Green-IT, Cloud Computing, eGovernment, eMobility, smarter living and smarter energy. The German economy is already profiting substantially from the IT branch. Through targeted use of information and communications technology, businesses are increasing their productivity and becoming even more competitive internationally. This trend is only going to increase in the future, and as the people who put on CeBIT, we see us having a role in taking the pulse and shaping the path of the branch by engaging with these international trends and innovations and reflecting them to a wider audience.”
ITN: “Herr Pörschmann, thank you very much for speaking with us.”
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