With the motto 'd!conomy: join - create - succeed', the Cebit organizers are specifically placing people as decision-makers and creators at the heart of digitalization. "The motto for the beginning of the digital age is: join, create, succeed," said Oliver Frese, Member of the Deutsche Messe Board of Management. This means that every decision-maker can actively shape the digital transformation in their area of responsibility. "The prerequisite for this is to see digitalization as an opportunity and thus recognize the potential for increased efficiency, new value creation networks and business models," said Frese.

IoT & M2M combined

Since the repositioning of Cebit in 2014, Hall 13 has become the place to be for IoT and M2M topics: With the exhibition areas 'IoT Solutions' and 'Communication & Networks', the building blocks for networked communication are to be presented. According to the organizers, the most important part of the IoT area is covered by the 'IoT/M2M Theme Pavilion'. Both providers and users from various sectors will be demonstrating what is already possible in the IoT at the joint stand. The pavilion's partner is the M2M Alliance, Europe's largest association in the M2M sector with 85 members.

The topic of the cloud will be more prominent than ever this year: "After the market launch phase, cloud solutions are now gaining momentum as a central component of digitalization," says Frese. In addition to leading providers such as Deutsche Telekom, IBM, SAP, Microsoft, Software AG and Amazon Web Services, the US cloud company Salesforce will also be taking part in Cebit 2016.

The first port of call for users of ERP systems will be Hall 5, where around 175 providers from this field will be exhibiting on an area of more than 4,000 square meters. In the associated forum, everything revolves around the digitalization of business processes, with the topic of Industry 4.0 playing a major role.

ERP live

A highlight of the area: in the so-called ERP Challenge, two providers compete with their solutions live on stage. One after the other, both systems run through a complete order processing process: from the customer's order in the web store to scheduling in the ERP system and production through to delivery and invoicing. In this way, the audience gets to know the services and functions of both systems and can compare them directly with each other.

The Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Hall 6 (Stand B48) is also dedicated to the topic of Industry 4.0 and will use a LEGO showcase to present the use of business process management methods: In the application, a flexible manufacturing process for the production of tractors in over 30 variants is first planned in the form of a process model. Based on this, the fully automated control and monitoring of actual production takes place in a cyber-physical system. Taking human work steps into account, the production process is then to be visualized and analysed in real time on the model in order to be able to react immediately to any errors that may occur.

Platform for start-ups

The start-up platform Scale 11, which took place for the first time last year, has been expanded and this year more than 250 young companies will be presenting themselves there. Visitors can expect an ecosystem of innovations, founders, established companies and investors. The platform is creative: business ideas are presented to trade visitors and investors on two stages and in a real boxing ring.