2020.07.28
With its first edition in 2014, Smart City Summit and Expo (SCSE) has become an internationally renowned event in the smart city and Internet of Things (IoT) industry. Due to the impacts of COVID-19 virus, the original date of the 2020 edition was scheduled to be held on March 24th.
However, while the pandemic is still intense around the world right now, it is considered to continue the spreading within human communities at least before the vaccine comes in handy. Within the next two to three years, it is expected to continue its influence on international networks and all big events. Though COVID-19 barricades the networking across countries, Taipei City Government, Taoyuan City Government, Taiwan Smart City Solutions Alliance, and Taipei Computer Association have resolved together to turn this crisis into advantages. They have jointly announced on April 16th that the 2020 Smart City Summit and Expo will be held as an online O2O exhibition.
As there have been an increasing number of online exhibitions recently, many may wonder what could make SCSE successful. In the past, SCSE covered three types of events including G2G, B2G, and B2B. For example, Mayors’ Summit and CTalk attracted over 120 city leaders or representatives to share their insights and visions on smart city as a G2G networking. On the other hand, B2G and B2B activities included World Telecom Smart City Conference, World System Integrator Conference, and all professional forums, displays and business matchmaking, AI 50 Campaign and startups networking. All these events shaped a comprehensive ecosystem of IoT solutions in the SCSE.
After a series of negotiation, Taipei and Taoyuan City Government will respectively host Mayors’ Summit and Sustainable City Forum. With the two cities inviting and hosting, more overseas city leaders are expected to involve themselves in this online event. Meanwhile, the World Telecom Smart City Conference as well as the World System Integrator Conference will be held in multiple cross-national and professional sessions. In addition, the original displays of solutions in the exhibition and business matchmaking sessions will be redesigned to fit in the online edition with better business benefits. The SCSE online version is going to be the only O2O event in the world featuring IoT solutions and business networking. The whole event planning also features a complete ecosystem to leverage the successful digital transformation of SCSE.
SCSE+ combines online and offline event
We have seen diverse IoT solutions coming out one after another, but only some of them used be showcased within the four-day SCSE in March every year. Exhibitors are only able to present some of their highlights in a physical exhibition. Even when the worlds needs IoT solutions more than ever, practically only a small part of the global leaders, telecom operators, system integrators, and solution providers could come to Taiwan for the event. Through the online O2O event, it could further develop the long tail benefits for all, creating more interactions and business opportunities.
The preliminary goal of SCSE online is to collect 1,000 IoT solutions around the world, establishing itself as the biggest online network of smart city and IoT solutions. The current strategy is to divide the online event period into the first and second half of the year. In the first half of the year, the online SCSE will go with its physical event as an online-offline integration while in the second half of the year, it will then be an online event customized according to governments’ and exhibitors’ special needs to extend and enhance the benefits brought by SCSE.
Smart City Online 2020/7/1~12/31
https://smartcityonline.org.tw/
