Cisco chief tells UFI seminar: Don’t ‘wait and see’, go digital

Cisco digital thought leader Bernd Heinrichs has told international trade fair association UFI’s Open Seminar audience in Basel this week that the events industry can learn much from new business models. Heinrichs added those that do not adapt to digitalisation face an uncertain future. “We looked into market transformations at the likes of Google and Uber and asked what their jobs will be like in three years,” he said. “Whatsapp is taking over text messaging but Tesla is already behind the curve. There are already more examples of forward thinking car manufacturing with totally printed parts,” Heinrichs noted. Heinrichs said that ‘wait and see’ was not paying off for businesses. “Everyone is producing data but for what?” he asked, saying that only 80% had a relevance at the time. Fifty percent of the value of a car would be digital in the near future, Heinrichs believed, adding that this reflected how markets were changing. He continued: “Google cars run on real time data. I would love an automatic car at events, and the industry can learn from models that crowd source data and insight. We can learn from the automobile industry’s use of predictive maintenance and smart use of digitalisation.” Speaking about the mobile market, Heinrichs said that the cost of start up business was now far cheaper than before. “We are looking at how we can work with start ups and understanding how their models are changing the wider market. If you see what Cisco does in Berlin, with many people under 30-years old, you would be surprised. We recognise you need to be there from the start to be agile – it’s the same with other industries.” Heinrichs recommended that companies embrace the ‘freedom of failing’, and look to innovate.