COMPUTEX 2017’s InnoVEX exhibit attracted 272 startups from 23 countries/territories, showcasing innovations from around the world in IoT, AI, health management, VR/AR, cloud computing, wearables, and mobility.

InnoVEX at Computex has become Asia’s largest networking platform for startups, attracting global startups and enterprises to build the future technology prototype.

For InnoVEX 2017, there were 8 U.S. startups including BioInspira, Holojam, SparkAmplify and VaGenie. In addition to individual startup exhibitors, prominent U.S. companies such as Amazon, IBM, and Intel were among the show’s speakers. Several American high-profile venture capital firms and accelerators such as Acorn, Fenox, Indiegogo and Alchemist participated. The Netherlands Trade and Investment Office featured a Dutch Startup Showcase. The French Tech Space also had a significant presence at InnoVEX this year.

Whether it’s Smart Home, Smart Office or Smart Building, IT resellers, distributors and integrators find their interest in smart building rising. It’s not only inspired by the decline of the PC—the IT industry naturally takes to any industry that moves to an IP-based backbone. Once an industry becomes digital and network-driven, the IT folks have an edge in constructing, integrating and maintaining the IP network.  We interview the man in the center of this transition, Jan Nintemann, the head of The Center of Smart Building at CeBIT’s Planet Reseller.

Jan, tell us why Global Fairs TT-Messe has created this initiative at CeBIT’s Planet Reseller?

For more than 15 years, we have had one of the most successful pavilions inside Planet Reseller, the trade-only area of CeBIT. There we have always brought new technology and new trends to resellers and distributors from across Europe and the Middle East.

For example, we were the first to bring in mobile technologies.  Today we see that the IT channels need to find new profit areas, new ways to make business grow. Many interesting resellers like Vanti and Redstone in the UK have shown the way IT partners can get into smart building. Far more IT channel partners are selling smart home and smart office. But they need to accelerate.

These channel partners are following the big IT players--like IBM, Cisco and Google—into Smart Building and Internet of Things. But we feel they need to meet even more new vendors and gain more insight into the opportunity. It’s the future…

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announces an Asian event-- International CES Asia, with an inaugural 2015 edition to take place on 25-27 May in Shanghai, China.

The event is expected to draw business from all over the world showcasing products and technologies entering the Asian market. It will be held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) in cooperation with Chinese tradeshow producer Intex Shanghai.

It is also the first CES-sponsored tradeshow in China since SINOCES in 2012.

“China is a critical driver of the global tech industry with an incredible opportunity to accelerate its innovation output," CEA CEO Gary Shapiro says. "At CES Asia, attendees will experience the innovation that defines the CE industry, with exclusive access to some of the top brands from China and around the world.”

At the IFA Global Press Conference held in Turkey (the largest one yet), analyst GfK presented some good news-- the global CE market should return to growth in 2014 (1%) and 2015 (5%) thanks to an improving world economy and returning TV and PC sales.

In our EMEA region, the bulk of such growth will come from MEA as Europe will make only a "minor contribution."

The improving market conditions explain why IFA exhibitor sales are a high level, even 4 months before the show.

Dr. Christian Göke, C Continue reading...

At the European TCG Retail Summit 2014, top decision-makers from across Europe will get together to discuss the future of technical consumer goods retail (TCG).

Picture someone standing in an aisle of a store looking at their phone. Where are they in their shopping journey? Can you tell? Are they doing research, checking prices, sharing an image through social media or getting ready to buy from a competitor? Are they looking for customer service or are they trying to avoid it?

Mobile and social have led to a revolution a revolution in retail and have caused seismic shifts in customer behaviour. It seems to have disrupted the purchase path so much that it is nearly impossible to tell whether that person in that store is there to buy or showroom-- and where they might go next.

A discussion between a "Digital Native" and a "RoboThespian" hammers home the theme of "datability," or the quick and responsible use of large amounts of data) at the CeBIT 2014 opening ceremony.

Following the human-robot conversation was a performance by violinist Nicky Benetti, prompting British prime minister David Cameron to remark "violins, music, a robot thespian... this for me is a typical Sunday evening.”

Britain is the official partner country of this year's entirely business-focuses CeBIT.

Apart from big data, privacy was the hot topic at the opening. As German Chancellor Angela Merkel puts it "this digital world has to be given a legal framework, an underlying order... National laws alone will not suffice.”

The CEA claims CES 2014 was the largest yet in size and attendance-- the exhibition covered 2 million square feet of space, housed over 3200 exhibitors and welcomed 150000 industry professionals, 35000 of whom from outside the US.

“This year’s show was an energizing display of where the future is headed, bringing to life cool new products from every industry that touches technology," CEA president and CEO Gary Shapiro says. "One-third of the world’s population interacted with CES in some way this week as we experienced the future."

The show is split across 15 product categories and 25 market-specific "TechZones."

One company is reportedly coming back to CES 2014-- Microsoft, whose final major appearance at the Las Vegas event was back in 2012 led declarations of "the beginning of the end" of the show from at least some pundits.

The news comes via BBC interview with CEA president Gary Shapiro, who says "Microsoft is officially back in the International CES... They are taking out significant space in meeting rooms-- it's actually a larger presence than I believe they have ever had."

Shapiro continues "we have had a tremendous partnership [with Microsoft] going back to the very beginning. You know, we had one little blip this year... but now we're happy to have them back with a physical presence."