Singapore, 16 October 2018 – Asia’s largest technology business event stack, Cloud Expo Asia, Cloud & Cyber Security Expo, Big Data World, Smart IoT Singapore and new launch eCommerce Expo Asia, welcomed over 16,000 technology professionals, stake holders and practitioners on its sixth edition at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre on 10th and 11th October.

The annual free-to-attend event saw a world-class line-up of over 350 international solution providers, as well as an impressive line-up of over 500 influential industry experts speaking on the very latest trends and challenges in the evolving technology landscape.

Day One opened with opening remarks by Mr. Soon Tein Lim, Chairman, Cloud & Data Chapter of SG Tech, followed by an address from guest of honour, Mr. Philip Heah, Assistant Chief Executive, Technology and Infrastructure Group of Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Singapore.

Mr. Heah spoke of the importance of moving towards further utilising cloud, especially as Singapore has such a high level of cloud readiness, making cloud adoption easier for businesses. He also shared with the audience, in the packed Techerati Keynote Theatre, the various IMDA initiatives for cloud as part of its Tech Roadmap. 

“Cloud services are set to play a bigger role in Singapore’s digital transformation. We have in place cloud infrastructure that is ready for businesses to leverage. The government will work together with the industry and end users to make this process of moving to cloud adoption easy and hassle free.”

Delegates also heard from Bernie Trudel, Immediate Past Chairman of the Asia Cloud Computing Association (ACCA) on how 5G, Internet of Things, blockchain, x-reality and artificial intelligence are exponentially converging on a disruptive world for industries.

More conference highlights from the opening day included an insightful presentation from Ericson Chan, CEO of PingAn Technology on the massive transformations brought about by artificial intelligence, blockchain and cloud technology.

The business technology event stack featuring Cloud Expo Asia, Cloud and Cyber Security Expo, Big Data World, Smart IoT Singapore, Data Centre World and eCommerce Expo Asia, drew in thousands of international and regional visitors on the first day alone, from key sectors such as finance, manufacturing, telecommunications, construction and engineering.

With the addition of new launch event eCommerce Expo Asia to the award-winning co-located shows, professionals from the online retail sector met with dedicated ecommerce-focused practical content and solution providers.  

Visitors were presented with hundreds of sessions across 19 conference theatres covering the entire technology ecosystem, ranging from the edge computing to hyperscale data centres, blockchain to machine learning, future banking to blockchain security. With such comprehensive and wide-ranging topics, record numbers of senior decision makers from organisations such as J.P. Morgan, Visa, Procter & Gamble, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, PSA Corporation were in attendance at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

Alexia Germain, Senior Logistics Manager, Esprit enthused: “We came here specifically for eCommerce Expo Asia. The content in the ‘Logistics & Delivery Theatre’ and ‘Cross Border & Customer Experience Theatre’ are highly relevant to us so we look forward to coming back for more.”

Recognising the importance of cross-industry collaboration and discussion, the show has prioritised a number of key streams. These include a focus on real-world applications of rapidly emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain and DevOps.

With huge media buzz and industry interest in these developments, the speakers and panels had the opportunity to discuss how these innovations are being put into practice in real-life situations, with use cases and testimony from the people on the frontline.

The world’s leading cloud service providers, including Microsoft Singapore, Alibaba Cloud and IBM gathered at the Techerati Keynote to share the latest regulatory issues and development of disruptive technologies and their impacts on business.

The exhibition floor also welcomed great interest and commercial activity, with a selection of some of the world's leading technology companies, including Huawei, Adobe, Anixter, Carbon Black, Caterpillar, Citrix, Datto, Delta, Extreme, IBM, Kohler, Magento, Microsoft, NEC, Senetas and TIBCO Software.

Adrian Seto, Technical Account Manager at Qualys spoke of a successful participation at Cloud and Cyber Security, alongside its co-located shows: "There’s no other show like Cloud Expo Asia and Cloud & Cyber Security Expo that reaches out to a vast group of audience from both cloud and cyber security in the same venue which is exactly who our service offerings are for!”

Andy Kiwanuka, Managing Director – Asia Pacific, at CloserStill Media, the organiser behind the event, said: "Today has demonstrated the dedication that our international audience has for technology and driving their business growth in our now hyperconnected world. We are pleased to be once again hosting CloudAsia, powered by SGTech, and launching eCommerce Expo Asia attesting to our goal of gathering an even wider network of industry professionals at one location over two power-packed days.

"It has been a fantastic show this year and I look forward to welcoming our visitors, partners and exhibitors, to another successful edition in 2019."