Reinventing the present and developing the future, it is with these words in mind that we could sum up this Web Summit 2018. Let’s first focus for a few moments on our exploration of day 3, with a particular focus on the tech giants who were present and widely visible … with a less singular approach than usual.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”19666″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]
(“Are tech giants too big to fail?” … A question that sounds like a warning and an awakening)
Demonstrations of concrete (and increasingly) relevant use cases of artificial intelligence. Highlighting how data protection and user security are now a central concern in the design and development of solutions and finally, presentation of new products accompanied by advice and explanatory workshops; this is the fairly homogeneous methodology found on all the stands of big names such as Microsoft, Google, IBM, Cisco, Siemens, … but also among business solutions and services well known to developers and other professionals that have gained importance in recent years in B2B (Team Viewer, Jira, …).
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Is this reassuring for corporate clients and users? It is not possible to say at the moment, in any case, the uniform message that was spread to visitors of the event is indeed to reassure regarding technology and the consideration of issues generated by Digital in a broad sense (fake news, personal data protection, ethics, …).
“We can exhibit 1 day out of 3, we have to manage visits and seek investors and potential partners the rest of the time”
On the startup side, apart from the times they can exhibit, there are a whole host of activities, workshops, conferences, talks available, to create sharing, feedback, testimonials, … the “startup” community dynamic is truly present and in a world where 8 to 9 out of 10 startups fail to pass the 3-year mark (on average), it is useful and virtuous to communicate around best practices and solutions for mutual aid, if we consider, as the organizers of Web Summit seem to consider, that the future of the web will also pass through today’s startups.
Startups also have a prominent place on many stands of major tech behemoths and other large brands (BMW, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, …); proof that association and more pragmatically incubation is a real solution for the future for these players who wish to trust smaller and more dynamic structures to experiment with new ideas.
When you are a startupper also present at Web Summit and part of the 2000 who were able to exhibit, you must focus on remembering what is essential; finding funds, finding partners, finding customers, … in short, finding growth paths.
We notably met Joseph Rouff from the startup Reengage (Reengage.io) currently incubated at Station F and who has desires to move partly to the provinces, potentially to Normandy, who explained to us how his 1st participation in Web Summit was paced: “we can exhibit 1 day out of 3, we have to manage visits and seek investors and potential partners the rest of the time […]”, a constant race for 3 days to optimize his trip and seize the opportunity that in a compressed time frame one can accelerate as much as in 6 months with all the players available (investors, customers, partners) in one place.
Business, awareness and foresight
To conclude on these 3 days at Web Summit, we will remember that we visited an event rich in players from the web and digital ecosystem.
That the way the event is designed is interesting for high value-added meetings and exchanges.
That the Web Summit application is well thought out … but bugs a lot!!! (Very annoying).
That a point of honor was given to raise awareness, explain, and reassure about technologies and the different subjects induced by Digital for 10 years, the explosion of social networks, ultra-mobility and new uses (employee engagement, dependency-related behaviors, professional/private life, data protection, ethics, …); and this, in our view as a consulting, strategy and project management firm, is vital and necessary.
That the web of tomorrow must and will feed on the errors of the web as it exists today and reinvent itself … why not another parallel internet? … not too “Dark”, but of freedom and respect?
At the dawn of the arrival of controls of public social network publications by the tax authorities in France, is it not time to imagine the useful and protective web that everyone dreams of, both for the general public and professionals?
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Lamine Talakela – CEO Consulting TIME, for NWX and the Founder Family.
