Harnessing technology to drive innovation and stay competitive is a key focus of the Chief Technology Officer Summit, taking place in Dublin on 15-16 March 2016. The summit is an annual event designed to bring together c-suite and senior level executives, web developers, technology innovators and solution providers to understand emerging trends, share innovative ideas and solutions, see new relevant technologies and network. The objective is to help innovators get the most from continual technological change.
In the CTO Summit conference line up, executives from companies in all industries talk about technology and how it can drive innovation.
In his paper entitled, ‘Scaling in a changing world of data stores & hardware’, Alistair Hann, CTO, Skyscanner, talks about how rapid change has shaped Skyscanner’s data architecture and how they moved from just usingSQL Server to a range of hardware and data technologies (Postgres, Couchbase, ElasticSearch, Hadoop). Skyscanner performs 200 million searches every month, and generated $7bn of downstream revenue last year. Scaling from zero brought many challenges, in the context of a continually growing variety of databases and hardware.
Steve Plunkett, CTO, Ericsson, talks about the ‘Uberization of everything’, which is driving venture capital investment and pundits to look for the next big business ripe for Uber-style disruption. He will discuss a framework with which to think about this disintermediation process along with some specific examples. He also predicts that 5G networks will finally enable the internet of things (IoT) ecosystem where connected or autonomous vehicles, remotely controlled industrial robots, telehealth systems and smart city infrastructure communicate via mobile networks.
Mark Brincat, CTO, The Economist, debates, ‘Custom vs out of the box: building a digital platform for your media company’. The Economist is undergoing a dramatic transformation through the systematic restructuring of its technology strategy. By focusing technical talent at product and customer facing challenges, the company is delivering significant results to our businesses. This talk will describe the technology approach that is actually executing on cloud, big data, open and agile in a pragmatic and effective manner.
John Hurley, CTO, Ryanair, talks about ‘How Ryanair Labs is helping Ryanair become digital leaders’. Paper is dead and mobile devices are driving this change. In the same way that customers no longer carry around a walkman, a camera, a diary or a map, they are about to start leaving their wallets, ID and boarding passes at home. In the travel industry, companies have to embrace this trend and work together to offer a seamless experience. They need to have the correct information available, at the right time in the right format, and to build platforms that will help the industry share this data to create that seamless experience.
Peter McConville, CTO, Lucozade Ribena Suntory, talks about ‘Open innovation best practice’. With the evolution of sport today, the difference between winning and losing is becoming smaller and as a consequence monitoring determinants of performance is becoming more important. Carbohydrate availability is one determinant of performance as it is the predominant fuel source during many sports today and dictates the onset of fatigue during exercise.
Jean-Marc Zimmermann, chief information officer, Babolat, talks about ‘The future of wearable tech’. Babolat was founded in 1875 with a mission: produce the highest quality racket sport equipment, innovate, and design the latest racket technology, and provide a material edge for their customers. Now, the company that invented the first racket strings in the 19th century is offering the chance to play tennis, connected. Jean-Marc Zimmermann will discuss this new technology and how it is changing the game of tennis.
To see the full program, click here. The Next Silicon Valley is pleased to be a media partner with the conference, and through our partnership with Innovation Enterprise you’re entitled to save €200 on all 2-day passes – contact us here for the special discount code.
