Automation Expo Connect – The Virtual Show
Published on : Tuesday 13-07-2021
Automation Expo Connect continues the two decades of rich legacy of the Automation Expo Series of events organised by IED Communications.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world in early 2020, it caused a massive disruption in all spheres of life, the rapidly spreading virus forcing an unprecedented lockdown across nations in various degrees. With normal activities coming to a grinding halt, the industry was also severely impacted in many ways, with supply chains disrupted and production slowed down. Now 18 months down the line, the world is better prepared to deal with the crisis, facing the subsequent waves of the virus more purposefully with a little help from technology. While the service industry was quickly able to adjust to remote working, the manufacturing industry could not switch over to the ‘Work From Home’ routine, not for the assembly lines that require the presence of operators. Realisation then dawned that those enterprises that had whole-heartedly embraced digital transformation were in a much better position to face the crisis, as they were less dependent on the human presence to run the operations.
This is not the time to lament the missed opportunities, and the industry is no stranger to cyclical changes. With the global economy now poised for a recovery, the industry in general, and those lagging on the technology curve in particular, must gear up to cater to the rising demand. More than ever, the End Users are now aware of the huge potential of Automation and Digitalisation and the advantages these bring to the shop floor. If it took the pandemic to convince the fence sitters, so be it, better late than never. Covid has accelerated the need for digital transformation of operational processes which capture and transform best practices into electronic workflows, to connect assets and systems, establish systematic people and system collaboration and to empower the mobile and next generation workforce.
Automate and digitalise – The need of the hour
It is against this background that IED Communications has announced South East Asia's first Virtual Automation Expo, “Automation Expo Connect”, will be held from 22nd to 25th September 2021.
Automation Expo Connect is a great way for vendor’s of cutting edge technologies to reach their target audience in the comfort of their homes and will enable more live sessions, meeting possibilities, and better person-to-person networking. The virtual expo will provide many more opportunities for interaction and engagement while showcasing high-quality trends through presentations of latest technologies, live interactions with the visitors and discussions on the latest developments with industry partners from around the world.
Since digital transformation is a continuous process not a matter of one time process, staying ahead of the curve is extremely important. Even those enterprises that have already begun the journey need to stay abreast of the latest developments to further optimise the processes. This is especially relevant as more and more CEOs realise that digital transformation is not just about cost cutting and optimisation, but it embraces the total customer experience and directly contributes to the bottom line.
Automation Expo – Connect with the end users
The virtual format of the show enables 360-degree display of exhibits with engineering animation and immersive experience, showcasing the latest trends and technologies. Live streaming of the product demonstration – showing them in actual use – greatly enhances the impact, showing the many advantages in simulated operation. The virtual format creates discussion rooms to hold one-to-one discussions and answer customer questions in real time. The importance of a strong online and social media presence can never be overstated today. Automation Expo Connect builds upon this as a platform to showcase the latest technologies, solutions and innovations under one roof. Visitors to the event portal can effortlessly navigate the various booths and collect information that will be useful in their existing business or even launch new initiatives.
Automation Expo Connect is organised in 2 broad sections – Factory Automation and Process Automation – making it convenient for visitors to concentrate on their area of focus. For those enterprises straddling these two divisions, navigation back and forth is easy and hassle free, at the click of the mouse.
At a time when all major physical events globally have been cancelled, postponed or rescheduled, Automation Expo Connect offers the best opportunity to reach all industries across the country. The disruption in global supply chains has also prompted many enterprises, with proactive government initiatives like Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat encouraging manufacturing locally, inviting more and more global companies to have their presence in the Indian market. Automation Expo Connect offers all such vendors a unique platform, a virtual office or a virtual factory tour to exhibit what’s new and new applications with every changing needs.
Concurrent Events at Automation Expo Connect
The best part of Automation Expo Connect is that like its physical predecessor events, this virtual expo also brings alive all the concurrent events held during the show. The Concurrent Events programme includes: Panel Discussions, IIoT Conference, Cybersecurity Conference, Factory Automation Conclave, Industrie 4.0 Presentations, and Interoperability Zone with Seminars as well as the usual Product Launch Forum and Buyer-Seller meetings. The platform also has interactive features of audio call, and video call & chat. Apart from all this, visitors as they register and attend shall win points based on visits to stalls and attendance at various concurrent sessions, and get rewarded based on their score.
Automation Expo Connect thus continues with the two decades of rich legacy of the Automation Expo Series of events organised by IED Communications since 2002. Tailor-made for the present, at a time when conducting physical events is not possible due to the Covid protocols and attendant travel restrictions, Automation Expo Connect aims to recreate the magic of the show in the virtual format, even though not physically present but experiencing all the interaction live.
Automation Expo Connect will thus offer an even better platform to showcase progress and cooperation after a period of major upheaval. Join the 4-day automation technology fair and have interaction with the experts, exhibits and stay ahead of the pack, from the comfort of your home or office, or the home office, or anywhere, for that matter.