We recently had an opportunity to exhibit at Europe's largest technology marketplace, Web Summit. The conference, which attracted over 53,000 delegates from 167 countries, provided more than 1,000 companies with an opportunity to exhibit and pitch their businesses to potential new customers.
The 3-day conference, hosted for the first time in Lisbon's MEO Arena, provided delegates with an opportunity to hear from the most influential figures within the digital sector.
Web Summit is renowned for its networking opportunities and has organised numerous events during the three days, ranging from cultural tours to the infamous Night Summit. These events are scattered throughout the conference venue and encourage communal dining.
However, the Azimap team was on their best behaviour as we were exhibiting at booth A235 during day two.
Our booth, managed by David McQuillan (Managing Director) and Sean Cleary (Software Development Manager), was a hive of activity, attracting the attention of delegates from multiple sectors, including real estate, finance, retail, public sector, automotive, and gaming.
Throughout day two, we demonstrated Azimap to delegates from the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Ireland. Proving that the Web Summit is the world's most influential tech event and that the interest in our web GIS truly is of a global scale.
When not at our booth, we had the opportunity to hear from some of the most influential people within the digital sector. The talks took place across nine stages, focusing on key topics such as future societies, SaaS, Content Marketing, autotech, and health, offering delegates the opportunity to discover the key trends impacting their sectors.
Whilst these talks were interesting and insightful, the discussion I remember quite vividly was between Salil Shetty from Amnesty International and Robert Scoble on the topic of whether the benefits of technology are worth sacrificing for our privacy. During this discussion, Salil highlighted how Amnesty International use Sentinel data to deploy humanitarian aid and reinforced the fact that we're living in a disconnected era and that society needs to reconnect with real life.
Our experience at the Web Summit in Lisbon was truly memorable. There is no other conference in the world which offers delegates the opportunity to introduce and pitch to a global audience, experience a new culture and network with the world's most influential professionals.
Due to the success and opportunities that Web Summit 2016 has provided, we look forward to returning to Lisbon in 2017 for what will be an even bigger Web Summit.