Siemens launches Digitalize 2017 to advance Australia's digital future

Siemens has announced that its annual digitalisation conference, Digitalize 2017, will be held at the Sheraton on the Park, Sydney on Wednesday, 30 August 2017. The conference will discuss and debate how digitalisation is revolutionising the workforce, industry and the energy and infrastructure sectors.

The theme of the conference comes at a critical time, following reports by the Digitisation Index for Australia concluding that despite significant strides made with technology, Australia lacks the digital maturity to compete in an increasingly connected and globalised economy. It also points to a growing gap in the economy between digitally mature firms and less digitally mature firms, with the latter running the risk of being left behind.

Providing the keynote address at this year’s forum is Steve Vamos, former chief executive officer of Microsoft Australia and managing director of Apple Computer Asia Pacific. Vamos, currently in the process of writing his first book, has twice been listed by the Australian Financial Review as one of the most influential members of the Australian technology industry. At Digitalize 2017, Vamos will explore the behaviours that contribute to a high-performing board in an era of constant change. Vamos was the founder and president of the Society for Knowledge Economics (SKE), a not-for-profit think tank that aimed to encourage and promote new and better leadership and management practices.

Vamos will be joined by a number of high-profile speakers including Kumar Parakala, Global Digital Leader, GHD, the recipient of SEARCC and ACS Digital Disruptors’ International Professional of the Year 2016 Award and the Queensland Government Leadership Excellence Award. Parakala will discuss how the efficient use of skills relating to location intelligence, virtual reality, visualisation and data analytics can optimise processes, resolve challenges, predict future scenarios and make the right business decisions.

Other high-profile speakers will include:

• Stefan Bungart, Head of Digitalization, Siemens Power Generation Services — a passionate entrepreneur creating a vision and strategy for the future of digital services, influencing effectively across organisations to drive strategy execution and adoption.
• Jeff Connolly, Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Australia and New Zealand — the first Australian to hold this position since 1984.

Connolly is a member of 11 boards, including serving as chairman of the Prime Minister’s Industry 4.0 Task Force. In addition, he is the vice president of Australian Industry Group, the founding member of the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council and a member of the Victorian Government Future Industries Ministerial Advisory Council.

Speaking about the forum, Connolly said: “Digitalisation is the key to success in futureproofing Australia’s investments in critical infrastructures and getting the most out of the country’s resources. As the world enters into a fourth industrial revolution driven largely by the merging of automation and digitalisation, organisations face a growing challenge of turning data into valuable information that can increase speed and impact of innovation. As a result, Siemens is creating a bridge between real and virtual worlds that will open doors to new opportunities, new ways to compete and for Australia to use its renowned ingenuity.

“With operations in 190 countries, Siemens is ideally placed to share knowledge and insights on how companies and industries can realise the full potential of embracing digital technologies to reduce costs, improve efficiencies, increase flexibility and productivity — ultimately becoming more competitive. Digitalize 2017 is a timely reflection of how Australian companies can embrace ingenuity and intelligent technology to expand their local footprint.”

This year’s conference, Digitalize 2017 — the second such event Siemens has held in Sydney — will include discussions across four key themes:

Workforce

• Attracting talent in the digital age
• The workforce of the future
• Disruption of education and implications for the workforce

Infrastructure

• Smart, resilient cities
• Planning and financing for infrastructure investments
• Intelligent transport systems

Energy

• Australia’s energy transformation
• Digital services
• Distributed energy systems

Industry

• The digital enterprise
• Jumping the innovation ‘Valley of Death’
• Driving innovation in food and beverage

For registration and more details, see https://www.siemensdigitalize2017.com.

Event details:

• Date: Wednesday, 30 August 2017
• Time: 8.30 am–5 pm, followed by networking drinks
• Location: Sheraton on the Park, Sydney

Registration fees:

• Early-bird registration: $150 (expires 31 July at midnight)
• Standard registration: $250.

You can also join the discussion on Twitter using #digitalize2017.