Thursday 12th July, in a scorching 24°C heat in London. 2 colleagues and I attended the London leg of Fujitsu World Tour.
This is one of those annual events that lots of tech companies hold to attract customers and really try to hit home their views on the future of technology and their visions for how it’s going to move forward. However, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at the approach that was taken at Fujitsu World Tour this year. Having now been to a number of different expos and client hosted events, I have begun to see the difference in the approach that Fujitsu take.
This approach is more focussed on what is happening within the industries that are of interest to their customers. Looking at trends, concerns and the general ecosystem of an industry, whilst also looking at how people are looking to answer these challenges. Personally, I put this down to the Japanese heritage of Fujitsu…informative, open and friendly.
One of my favourite keynote sessions of the event was ran by CTO, Dr Reger; explaining the relation between technological advancement in industries and how it ties into a more connected, ethical and logical society. The one element I found the most interesting came when he displayed the 6 “digital muscles” that Fujitsu believe must be flexed to remain relevant and successful in this new world.
These were:
Value from Data – Actually being able to use data to deliver benefits, while keeping it secure. Essentially, having hordes of data isn’t necessarily the right answer to the digital era, you can collect as much as you like…but if it’s all irrelevant to bringing benefits to your business then why utilise it? Extract the right value from the right data.
Ecosystem – Establishing an ecosystem of partners. In other words, get the right people on your side to keep you pushed and relevant.
Business Integration – Practicing the integration of digital into the business. So don’t hold back on trying to push the right digital methods and solutions, try and test them and then iterate until you get it right.
Leadership – Digital is a priority for any CEO. Make sure you have top down and bottom up by-in on many of the elements you’re looking to implement! You can’t do this on your own!
People – Ensure and equip people for Digital. Yes, you heard that right…digital isn’t just about making us all redundant and looking forward to a world of robot slaves, people are going to be critical to it all! Give them what they need to make it the best it can be!
Agility – Lead with design thinking and be innovative to drive appetite for change. Change is critical, if we don’t change we go extinct! We’ve all heard the same old examples of this but if you cannot be agile and embrace change in a way that gives you the best progression then expect to be held back with the other dinosaurs.
Other highlights included the retail breakout session, which is something that really peaked my interest. Cate Trotter, Head of Trends at Insider Trends got to show us some of the most innovative examples of how the retail market is evolving.
One of my personal favourites as part of this was BingoBox, a completely unmanned retail store…the concept of this is not all that new and has actually been implemented on a concept basis in a few towns now… but the difference with BingoBox is that it has now been rolled out across China on mass! This is a huge leap forward and great to see! The overall theme of the talk was that, actually, despite all the buzz around internet shopping…the retail store is still there and still going strong! Long live the high street!
The expo section; the place we got to revel in our inner geek! Not only did we get to see some amazing advancements from Fujitsu, but also how VR and AR is being used. One that stood out to me was where the VR experience had been built for Macmillan Cancer Trust, to show exactly what you go through when being treated for specific types of cancer, this is there to reassure and prepare patients for what is to come in a way that is digestible and immersive. There’s a lot of warrant for VR in health and this is just one simple example!
The other obvious highlights this year were getting to see the “Rocket Car” outside and of course…ice cream! … See you next year! 😁
