Leading innovators and high-achievers from Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will be honoured by their peers at the upcoming iTECH Gulf 2014 event to be held in Bahrain next month.

Billed as the premier international forum and boutique exhibition for the regional ICT industry, the first-ever edition of the iTECH Gulf is being held at the Gulf Hotel's Gulf Convention Centre on April 9 and 10.

The show is being organised by Hilal Conferences and Exhibitions (HCE), whose exhibitions director Ahmed Suleiman told the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication, the idea was to add a new dimension.

The award categories include: best IT entrepreneur, best app development company, best innovative software, best IT educator and best performing IT company.

The awards are not just for Bahraini companies and nominations would be invited from across the GCC, stated Suleiman.

"Some of the thought leaders who'll be speaking at the forum are also going to be on the award judging panel for this year," he added.

Among confirmed speakers are Gulf Air director of information technology Dr Jassim Haji and University of Bolton senior research fellow Dr Kondal Reddy Kandadi.

It will be a multi-faceted convention bringing together telecommunications, software, hardware and middleware.

Suleiman said he expects 300 delegates to attend with the exhibition space "practically sold out".

Al Amthal, Apps House, Hilal Computers, Orion Pro and Mobitel are some of the exhibitors.

"We felt that there was a need for a convention that took cues from developments and trends in the industry six months after Gitex that happens in October every year in Dubai.

"We have exhibitors from Dubai who have told us that they see it as a very important regional business-to-business and business-to-consumer event," he said.

"The idea is to create a platform that gives people the opportunity to exchange knowledge about the latest developments and to visit and experience hardware and software product demonstrations," the exhibitions director said.

Discussions are expected to focus on smartphones, machine-to-machine communication, accessing information, data storage, transmission and analytics, broadband offerings, data application and business services.

Special sessions will cover essentials including preparation for funding, copyright and intellectual property protection and marketing.

The event will take place annually and HCE expects it to grow every year. With innovation and technology being key themes, there will be a specific app for the conference.

"We will also have a near field communication wall, which will enable people to get all kinds of information on the event just as they walk in," Suleiman said.

Bahraini delegates can take advantage of the Labour Ministry training fund and the exhibitors will be covered by Tamkeen's Tarweej scheme, he said. The exhibition will also be open to the public through a dedicated entrance.-TradeArabia News Service