The inaugural iTECH Gulf 2014 Forum and Exhibition, positioned as the IT and ICT convention of choice for the Northern Gulf, opens today (April 9) at the Gulf Convention Centre in Bahrain.

Held under the patronage of the Kingdom’s Minister of State for Telecommunications Affairs Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, this unique IT and ICT knowledge exchange platform will feature debate and discussion on the latest regional trends, a line-up of prominent expert speakers, industry awards and a comprehensive exhibition.

The iTECH Gulf 2014 Exhibition promises to be a vibrant showcase of technology and innovation for IT and ICT professionals and consumer visitors alike.

For the first time in the Kingdom, a Near Field Communication (NFC) Wall will be demonstrated by award-winning web development and interactive agency 4SPOTS. Facilitating information exchange in a very mobile world using simple tags, the Wall will enable visitors and delegates to download detailed information on show exhibitors, contacts or speakers directly onto their smart phones, simply by swiping over sections on the wall.

Globally-renowned technology giants such as 3M, Huawei Business Applications and Canon will, meanwhile, offer product demonstrations from their stands, while many exhibitors will respond to the diverse business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) audience with special offers on hardware and software products.

The exhibition will also feature Game Development showcases, live Q&A sessions via Twitter and comprehensive YouTube coverage of sessions at the iTECH Forum.

The iTECH Forum, which is expected to attract 300 delegates over the two days, will feature plenary sessions and parallel workshops which will seek to empower, innovate and educate participants on topics including Technomics, Wireless Everywhere, Cyber Security, Cloud Computing and Big Data, Gaming and Game Development and i-Ntrepreneurs.

Experts such as be Dr Jassim Haji, director of Information and Technology at Gulf Air, renowned international speaker Raffael Marty, founder and CEO of US data visualization specialists Pixlcloud, as well as the award-winning lead engineer of the game ‘Skulls of the Shogun’, Brout Pfeifer, will offer their unique perspectives as thought leaders, and will engage in practical activities with the audience.

Regional executives are, meanwhile, being honoured for their contribution to the industry during iTECH Gulf 2014 in categories including i-Ntrepreneur of the Year, App Innovator, IT Educator, Software Solutions Implementer and ITC Achievers.   

Jubran Abdulrahman, managing director of Hilal Conferences & Exhibitions (HCE), the organisers of iTECH Gulf 2014, said: “iTECH Gulf is all about cutting-edge IT and ICT, so it is only right that we lead from the front. For example, working with our strategic partner 4SPOTS and its NFC Wall, we are delivering a ‘real tech’ experience for visitors and delegates to instantly exchange contacts and information via their smart phones.

“The iTECH Gulf 2014 Forum and Exhibition is driven by its mission to develop a holistic platform for knowledge exchange for the IT and ICT sectors, and in this debut show we have already exceeded our expectations in terms of the response to the challenge from exhibitors and speakers.”

Ahmed Suleiman, iTECH Gulf 2014 Event Director, said: “We have been openly working on iTECH Gulf for more than a year. This open approach has been well received by exhibitors and speakers, and the audience in Bahrain, and expectations for future IT forums have been raised as a result. We look forward to building the iTECH Gulf brand.”

iTECH Gulf 2014 Forum and Exhibition is being staged on April 9 and 10.

For more information visit www.itechgulf.com. – TradeArabia News Service