Social
Media Portal (SMP): What is your name and what do you do there for
NEBEXT and the DES - Digital Business World Congress 2018?Sonia Pacheco (SP): My name is Sonia Pacheco, I?m the congress director at
DES ? Digital Business World Congress 2018 edition. I´m leading the program, bringing cutting-edge content and extraordinary speakers to the event.
SMP: Briefly, tell us about DES - Digital Business World Congress 2018, what is it and what does the event strive to do?SP:
DES2018, an extraordinary forum for debate to gather inspiration where
global technology leaders that are generating digital solutions,
technologies and high impact business opportunities make their knowledge
available to other leaders in addition to sharing their vision of this
digital moment we are in.
They share ideas so that they can guide
and motivate them in their journey to their enterprise digitalization.
DES is also an excellent and relevant platform for corporate networking
and digital business with more than +18,000 visitors.
Attendees
throughout the three days of the congress will have the opportunity to
acquiring different skills, but also get different approaches through
the numerous talks, roundtables, presentations, cases and success
experiences of cutting-edge technologies, cultural change and
leadership, marketing, different industries where technology is playing a
fundamental role as banking, retail, pharma, etc.
In short, a
not-to-miss platform where the c-suite political leaders and HR managers
will be able to see the progress and development that technological
innovations may have or are having in their company or industries.
SMP: When/where is it to be held and why did you choose this venue?SP:
DES2018 will be held from 22nd to 24th of May 2018 in Madrid. Spain's
capital is becoming at a very fast pace a relevant tech-hub of Europe.
One of the most exciting missions of DES team is turning Madrid into the
global capital of the digital business for a week.
SMP: Who are your target audience and why?SP:
Our focus is the corporate c-suite: Senior Management from medium and
large enterprises. This digital revolution is forcing businesses to
evolve in a very fast way across all industries. That is putting
business leaders under pressure to react appropriately and put digital
transformation at the forefront of organisational priorities. This is
the reason why DES - Digital Business World Congress has a mixed
audience of decision-makers (CEOs, CMOs, CIOs, CFOs, CDOs, CHROs, etc.).
SMP: What do you hope attendees will take away from DES - Digital Business World Congress 2018?SP:
A global vision on the progress and development of technologies,
management and its impact in a wide range of key industries, which is
required to implement a seamless digital transformation strategy that
will drive profitability, and competitiveness in their organizations.
Effective leaders in today?s market need to use the technology and data
to make smart decisions. We hope that our attendees fulfil their
inspiration needs and acquire trends and information takeaways to think
about, for them to apply and become successful leaders; committed to the
customer, focused on continuous improvement, and capable of inspiring
their teams even in the face of massive change.
SMP: How can stakeholders (advertisers, exhibitors, sponsors etc.,) get involved?SP:
There are multiple ways to get involved. I will encourage those willing
to showcase their new products and services to explore our
participation models and choose the one that will suit in their
strategic goals.
From partner and exhibitor to newcomer, all are
a unique opportunity to gain significant brand exposure and promote
companies as a thought-leader alongside top-level speakers. We are proud
to say we are becoming a global reference.
SMP: Tell us about the keynotes and guest speakers you are looking forward to?SP:
We will bring up together top knowledge from more than 450
international speakers on Leadership, People and Organization,
technologies such as Cloud, IoT, Cybersecurity, Blockchain or Artificial
Intelligence and relevant C-Levels of top industries like banking,
telco, retail, etc.
Some important names that will be sharing and inspiring the audience are
Stuart Russell, global AI authority and leader of the World Economic Forum;
Aristedes Mahairas, Head of NY Cyber Operations / Cyber Division of the FBI
Hanna Niemi-Hugaerts, Head of IoT Forum Virium Helskinky showcasing the city as a success story of SmartCity,
Arun Sundararajan, top expert in digital economy and the impact on the business network of the new models of the so-called Platform Economy;
Tamara MacCleary, who will focus her contribution on the future of work and how candidates and employers will be
Rahaf Harfoush,
with a vision of digital anthropologism that addresses the
intersections between emerging technologies, innovation and digital
culture.
SMP: What are the challenges that you?ve encountered
and how are you overcoming them in what you have been doing so far at
DES - Digital Business World Congress 2018?SP:
Organizing DES2018 considering that in digital change and volatility is a
constant. Technology trends such as AI, cloud, mobility, IoT, big data
and analytics, all new government policy shifts, multi-generational
workplaces and the changes in work with the coming of automatization are
all interesting subjects. How companies are building trust thanks to
marketing, interesting things coming together at the same time and
connecting all of these dots is sometimes a challenge.
This means
there is a lot of work to be done. To stay relevant as the world's
largest international forum on digital transformation and deliver growth
to stakeholders in this world of fast-paced change, we have done a
great research work; we have an excellent team with great knowledge to
be capable enough to create a successful program. Being vigilant and
having an open mind is very important for planning DES2018.
SMP: What are the high moments of what you have been doing so far?SP:
I have been able to bring together corporate c-level decision-makers of
all industries, but also marketers and brand managers, data analysts,
data scientists, academia scholars, public sector leaders, top-notch
start-ups, innovators, futurists, transhumanism thinkers, hackers and
many more.
At the European Digital Mindset Awards, I had the
opportunity to know teams and leaders involved in top innovative
projects which are currently building and decisively contributing to the
digital economy, fantastic experience!
SMP: What do you think
is going to be the most interesting aspect regarding digital
translation for the next 12 to 18-months and why?
SP:
The rise of AI. This technology isn?t new, but it?s grabbed the
c-suite?s thinking and their budgets this year like never before.
Although still in the making as it hasn?t become a mainstream technology
yet, I foresee that AI for many reasons will take off in 2018.
AI
will be used to create new business models and improve customer
relationships. The best option for short-term success with AI is
business intelligence and decision-making. Benefits of AI in enterprise
will be marketing automation and advance analytics, as well as talent
management, major gains in operational effectiveness, etc. In the other
hand, some other disciplines of AI as voice technology or computer
vision is starting to disrupt the way will engage with customers.
Our
high-level sessions will bring together forward-thinking brands, market
leaders, AI evangelists and hot start-ups to explore and debate the
development and progress in artificial intelligence.
Another hot
topic will be GDPR. The EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
is the result of four years of work by the EU policy-makers to bring
data protection legislation into line with new, previously unforeseen
ways that data is now used. GPDR will come into force on 25 May, only
one day after DES2018 ends.
If EU starts enforcing Internet
security regulations with significant penalties, organisations will have
to prepare for the upcoming regulatory changes. Even smaller businesses
may be more concerned about their ability to cope with such a complex
task. During the congress we are going to have several sessions with
experts in the field to know the keys of this new regulation.
SMP: What are your top five predictions for digital translation for the next 12 to 18-months and why?SP replies with:
In 2018, o
rganizations won?t be able to avoid innovation,
they will need to adapt the market trends and customer demands. The
c-suite will have to adopt a clear strategy in understanding what
digital transformation stands for their organizations. Evolve in our
digital age is no longer a choice, but a must.
Cybersecurity.
The number of online incidents and attacks is increasing. More
sophisticated attacks are taking place. Companies will need to
effectively set an intelligence and deterrence strategy to secure their
most valuable assets. Companies all kinds will need to invest in threat
protection and response, monitoring, data recovery and back up.
Data analytics
will continue transforming and improving the way companies communicate
with customers or making efficiently their processes, as well as
creating new approaches to deliver value to the right ones, at the right
times, in the right way.
Blockchain for solving a variety of business challenges.
As the technology progress and consumer trust increases, the demand for
blockchain-based services will continue to grow. Forrester predicts
blockchain will become a foundational technology for: certificate
issuance and authentication or malware and ransomware protection.
Security and trust is at the top of the agendas of the C-Suite
executives.
5G networks on-the-go. Connectivity and 5G
will be key for the development of the our hyperconnected world. This
new step will bring us to a new stage and possible into a new wave of
innovation.
SMP: What are your top overall five digital translation tips and why?SP replies with:
Successful
transformation requires collaboration and support, with an eye toward
customer demands, operational agility, culture, and tech integration.
Implement a holistic adoption strategy.
It?s essential to take a holistic view of how these technologies and
business changes will affect all areas of the organisation.
Think from the outside-in.
Start the thought process from the consumer demands to determine how to
drive a consumer-facing strategy. Big data help understand your
customers.
Assess current capabilities. Business leaders
should work with IT, innovation, digital, marketing and HR to evaluate
the current workforce and identify skills gaps. Some employees will need
retraining but also organizations should consider hire new talent.
Plan a roadmap.
How it will be? Whether new roles need to be created, whether
outsourcing is an option, and whether the structure of the organisation
should change. For example, CDO (Chief Data Officer) continues to gain
traction within organizations.
Make deployment a priority. Digital transformation requires 24/7 performance and the ability to deliver the best to consumers quickly.
SMP: What tips would you give your attendees before they head to DES - Digital Business World Congress 2018?
SP:
The key to getting the most value out of DES is to view it as the best
chance to learn, experience, meet, compare and buy the most advanced
solutions to become a ?top of mind? company.
This advice may
sound obvious, but it is often an afterthought; determine where you
currently are, where you need to go, and if your culture and expertise
can help you to address digital challenges. It's important to attend
DES2018 with at least a goal in mind and a way to track performance when
facing key, the main digital dilemmas.
SMP: Is there anything else we should know, or is there anything that you?d like to share?SP:
This year we will continue with the Digital Business Club initiative
(developed along with Ideas4all Innovation), a space for crowdsourcing
and co-creation for managers, where debating and sharing ideas about
technologies and new business models taking part at DES2018.
We
have also launched the DES Academy, where we will offer master classes
to attendees to give them the opportunity to develop new skills in the
digital environment.
SMP: Best way to contact you and DES - Digital Business World Congress 2018?SP: Email is my best tool of communication
info@des-madrid.com as well as
DES LinkedIn or Twitter
@DES_Show.
Watch the video summary of DES below.
Now some questions for fun
SMP: What did you have for breakfast / lunch?SP: I am very humble when talking on food habits, three morning coffees and a salad.
SMP: What?s the last good thing that you did for someone?
SP:
I make someone very happy giving this person the opportunity to travel
the other side of the world to visit the family for Christmas time.
SMP: If you weren?t working at DES - Digital Business World Congress 2018 what would you be doing?SP:
I would be a poet, actually I have written poetry, love the idea to
play and to make the words beat, translate them into feelings and
leverage their meaning to the fullest.
SMP: When / where did you go on your last holiday and why?SP:
My last holidays where in California, I wanted to know El Camino Real
and all the Spanish Missions along its way, as well of course as to feel
the Silicon Valley air.
SMP: What?s the first thing you do when you get into the office of a morning?
SP: Talk to my colleagues and checking if I can be of any help with something in addition to have my third coffee!
SMP: If you had a superpower what would it be and why?SP:
Super memory powers! Would be very happy reading all human knowledge
which is now in internet in a matter of seconds and remember all.
Would you like to tell us about your conference? Get in touch.