GEC Media Group, publishers of Business Transformation, Enterprise Channels MEA, The Titans, Cyber Sentinels, completed the second leg of the BTX Road Show 2021, Asia Edition. The roadshow is focused on digital and business transformation with the overlying theme – The Change.

The half-day event on 2^nd September was hosted at the GEC Media Virtual Arena. The title sponsors of BTX Roadshow were Aruba HPE, Riverbed, Pure Storage, Veeam, Logicom, Netapp, Western Digital, Arcon, Veritas, SilverPeak, Alcatel-Lucent enterprise, SecureNet, Synology, Finesse, CORK information technology, International Group of Artificial Intelligence – IGOAI, Global CISO Forum, Business Transformation, and Enterprise Channels MEA.

The pandemic of 2020 disrupted virtually every industry and every nation. Citizens, social fabrics, businesses, supply chains, trade, communication, value systems, workplaces, leisure, entertainment, decision making, almost everything conceivable had to adapt and change and survive. Information technology and business applications and strategic decision making around how to support everyday life through technology, has also had to adapt.

This has prompted the need to relook at business and the IT organisation, the executives, operations, survival mantras, decision making, and finally outlook and forward-looking vision. The meaning of business continuity, disaster recovery, collaboration, virtual meetings, remote workforce, cloud, security, have overnight changed from esoteric into everyday work life meanings.

BTX Road Show 2021 Asia edition was opened by CEO Ronak Samantaray, Global Head, Content and Strategic Alliances, Anushree Dixit, and President, GEC Media Group, Malavika Shanker, through their welcome notes.

There were four speaker keynote presentations, three technology keynote presentations, and two-panel discussions. The event was followed by the BTX Awards. Close to 100 attendees participated virtually for the event. The event was streamed live from the virtual arena and on Vimeo also.

Here are the highlights of the various speaker keynote presentations.

From analog to digital to space, A pilot’s perspective

In the opening keynote address Captain Nivedita Bhasin, B787 Training Captain, superannuated after 37 years as executive director and chief of flight safety, Air India talked about her journey and explained the present digital era and said, “We are at the digital world, we are surrounded by technology whether it is social media, instruments, flying reporting, training, and weather reporting everything has turned digital.”

Regional trends in business and digital transformation

Manoj Saxena, Chairman RosettaNet Singapore GS1 digital standards, Senior Director Data and Digital transformation, Maxeon Solar Technologies, and Advisory board Global CIO Forum made his presentation on the partnership between government, industry and education system and said, “It is important that the government, the industry, and the education system come together. Always to solve the industry’s problem and challenges which we constantly go through.”

Organisational transformation leveraging sustainability and leadership

In the first panel discussion on Millie Gillon, Global Head Client Experience, Senior Managing Director, Standard Chartered Bank explained from a leadership perspective it is going top-down and bottom’s up so hopefully, we can somewhere in the middle and make some change and it’s really shifting from its no longer just some side project, its moreover cultural shift having dedicated people, resources and its extremely difficult so we are still trying to maintain our business.

Panelist, Vinay Awasthi, Worldwide Head of Print Supply Chain, HP said, “Now I think the most important thing is what are we doing and how intentional are we as we work on our sustainable goals.”

Manoj Saxena, Chairman RosettaNet Singapore GS1 digital standards, Senior Director Data and Digital transformation, Maxeon Solar Technologies, and Advisory board Global CIO Forum highlighted the way of changing consumer behaviour and said, “Today most consumers are cultured with lot of intimations, they have cultured with the information they see in the social media they see environmental issues; they are also conscious about environmental issues.”

Transforming the supply chain

In her presentation titled Transforming the Supply Chain, Nicole Tretwer, Head of Logistics Services, APAC, Swarovski talked about her company’s omnichannel capabilities and said, “In our case, we are focusing on giving the consumers the option on where they wish their items to be delivered to whether it be an in-store order and a to store order.”

Manufacturing and customer-centricity

Saket Gore, CEO Asia Pacific, The Himalaya Drug Company highlighted the evolving customer behaviour and said, “Today most consumers are cluttered with a lot of information on social media. There is a lot of lack of trust because of an overdose of information.”

Regional technology and innovation trends in industrial and consumer robotics

Prof Tadhg O’Donovan, Head of the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences Heriot-Watt University Dubai made his presentation on innovation trends and intelligence and explained “Robotics can be classified into many different areas. One way of classifying them is intelligence. Robotics is not just a typical robot. It is about autonomous systems and interactive systems and how they can all work together.”

Panel Discussion on Artificial Intelligence, powered by the IGOAI Forum

In the second panel discussion on “Panel Discussion on artificial intelligence, powered by the IGOAI Forum”, Moderator Ahmed Buhazza started the session with the introduction of panelists and briefed about artificial intelligence and its role in the present era.

Dr Chiranjiv Roy, Senior Vice-President Data Science and Analytics, SG Analytics, Member Forbes Technology Council talked about where artificial intelligence stands in the last few years and said, “Initially artificial intelligence started with an automation and today artificial intelligence is called as the new oil or the new soil whatever that you want to call it.”

Carrying forward the discussion, Ms Divya Dwivedi, Advocate, Supreme Court of India, Founder and Director, JND Charitable Trust highlighted legal laws and ethics for digital transformation said, “Human brain cannot be surpassed by artificial intelligence. I see artificial intelligence as a baby like we feed baby with all the information and they grow and they tell us that we are beyond you, it is similar with artificial intelligence.”

Mr. Abhivardhan, Managing Partner, Indic Pacific Legal Research, Chairperson and Managing Trustee, Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law discussed what is the prediction for artificial intelligence and how mature it is and how fast it is growing every day.

Sriram Bhargav Madhav, Head of Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Automation, Provenio.ai, Member Forbes Technology Council briefed what should be the key focus an enterprise should take to build artificial intelligence and said, “Every enterprise today is struggling with multiple challenges if I may say that, and I often try to simplify explaining what priorities organisation and enterprise should take.”

With the successful completion of the BTX Road Show 2021, Asia edition, the next BTX South Gulf edition will take place on 8^th September in-person at Grand Ballroom, Conrad Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai, and BTX Africa on 27 September.