For the 8th year running, MobileTECH Ag 2020 is posed to, once again, be a major meeting point for agritech companies and industry leaders throughout the country. It’s an event that also sees a strong contingent of Australians and Asian Pacific industry representatives making the trip over to Rotorua, New Zealand.
“This year we were overwhelmed with the industry response and quality of people interested in presenting at MobileTECH Ag 2020,” said Ken Wilson, the Event Manager at Innovatek. “This event continues to grow each year and we are really excited with the packed line-up and programme for 2020.”
The MobileTECH Ag 2020 event programme opens with an international keynote, Dr Mike Briers, CEO of Australian-based Food Agility. He is considered one of Australia’s chief evangelists in big data and the internet of things and has foundered influential tech think tanks. Dr Briers was a fintech pioneer before moving onto the opportunities available within agritech and the future for food.
“We are on the cusp of the 4th agricultural revolution and unlike those that came before, this digital revolution will bring producers and consumers closer together,” said Dr Briers. “The real question, however, is who will be the builders and who will be the bystanders?”
IBM will be speaking for the first time at MobileTECH Ag 2020. Jamie Azzopardi, the Oceania Head of IBM’s The Weather Company, will also be making an important keynote at this event. The Weather Company is one of the world’s largest weather forecasting companies and has made significant advancements through IBM’s Watson Machine learning platform.
IBM has just launched a new weather modelling service that uses supercomputing and big data to provide global forecasts down to an area as little as 3 kms. The system issues 12 trillion pieces of weather data every day and process forecasts every hour.
When asked about presenting, Mr Azzopardi said, “MobileTECH Ag will be a great forum to understand how new technologies powered by data and AI are being adopted by agribusinesses and how this shift is paving the way for digitally equipping the agri ecosystem.”
Russell Craig, the National Technology Officer of Microsoft NZ will be returning for 2020. Mr Craig was, not surprisingly, one of the most popular speakers from the 2019 programme. While artificial intelligence (AI) can be an overused buzzword, there is no argument that this will be a game-changer for the primary sector.
Cloud-based AI is the driving force behind Microsoft’s recently launched FarmBeats initiative, which has already seen action within New Zealand’s agricultural community. The system captures large amounts of data from feeds throughout the farm and uses AI and machine learning to translate that data into real insights for the growers.
“New Zealand’s agritech industry and opportunities are going from strength to strength. I’m really looking forward to learning about some of the latest innovations and achievements at MobileTech 2020,” said Mr Craig.
Details on the MobileTECH Ag 2020 programme are now available. This agritech event runs on 7-8 April 2020 in Rotorua, New Zealand. Further details can be found on the event website, www.mobiletech.events.
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Media Contact
Ken Wilson, Programme Manager, Innovatek
Tel: +61 4 5226 2337 | Email: ken.wilson@innovatek.co.nz |Website: www.mobiletech.events
About MobileTECH Ag
MobileTECH Ag, since 2013, been an annual event that brings together technology leaders, innovative developers, early adopters and the next generation of primary industry operators from throughout New Zealand and Australia. MobileTECH showcases the digital technologies transforming the agricultural, horticultural and forestry sectors.
About Innovatek
Innovatek Ltd delivers world-class events and digital platforms to connect the primary sector with the latest technology, innovation & business intelligence. Over the last two decades, Innovatek has delivered well over 500 major technology events throughout New Zealand, Australia and North America. For more information, visit www.innovatek.co.nz.