The Evolution of Digital Technologies
Published on : Wednesday 06-10-2021
The exhibition industry was one of the worst hit during the Covid pandemic and the attendant lockdown with travel and assembly restrictions.
According to the statistics released by UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, the global industry revenues for 2020 dropped by 68%, compared to 2019. This resulted in €200 billion (USD 224 billion) of total exhibition-related output not generated, affecting 2.4 million jobs. After 18 months of Covid, the exhibition industry is restarting their operations in a guarded manner, with exhibitions being held from Las Vegas to Barcelona, Dubai to Shanghai. According to a statement released by Mr V Anbu, Director General & CEO, BIEC and IMTMA and President, UFI, the Indian Exhibition Industry which organises around 550 events annually with revenues of about Rs 26,500 crore per annum is also opening up to organise shows once again.
This augurs well for the economy in general, the exhibitions industry in particular. A few shows have been held in Delhi, NCR and Bangalore. Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) successfully hosted the India International Jewellery Show Premiere 2021 from 15th to 19th September 2021, which is one of the top 5 gems and jewellery shows of the world. The show was organised following all the safety protocols laid down by the government and was a grand success. More exhibitions are in the pipeline to be organised at BIEC.
As the organisers of the hugely popular Automation Expo series of annual exhibition and conference programmes, we had to skip the 2020 edition due to the pandemic. This year too, the holding of the physical event was simply not possible given the restrictions still in place, but the recently concluded Automation Expo Connect 2021, the virtual event held from September 22-25, was a huge success. The overwhelming response from regular exhibitors, sponsors and visitors was reassuring and indicated the extent to which all the stakeholders are missing the hustle and bustle of regular physical exhibition. We are thankful to our Board of Governors – the stalwarts of the automation industry – who worked relentlessly to make it happen. A report of the event appears in this edition.
The theme of the Cover Story of this edition of Industrial Automation is IIoT for Manufacturing – How IIoT is driving the manufacturing transformation across industry segments. The irony is, while the industry realises the importance of IIoT, the adoption still remains low. According to a recent survey, even in the technically advanced European countries, over 90% of the companies do not measure operating efficiency based on real time data. Yet the fact remains that many companies are now embracing digitalisation, the pandemic having acted as a catalyst in making the decision. The pandemic may well subside, but the evolution of digital technologies shall continue.
