This year’s Invest MORE conference focused on issues of the digital world

This year’s fifth annual Invest MORE conference – organized by MSID for the Moravian-Silesian Region – focused on the Region’s digital future in relation to the Internet of Things (IoT) and cybersecurity. The conference welcomed 130 participants from companies, public administration and other institutions active in the field of digitalization.

The morning part of the conference focused mainly on digitalization – including issues of artificial intelligence and the business applications of the IoT. The afternoon sessions addressed issues related to cybersecurity – both for individuals and for companies.

MSID Director Tomáš Kolárik gave more details: “As in previous years, this year too we hosted leading experts on digitalization. Participants were able to hear talks by representatives of companies such as Microsoft, Siemens, ABB and IBM. We also added a practical component to the conference with our “Cyber Arena” simulations. The participants had the opportunity to keep up to date with the latest developments affecting this field.”

In the morning sessions, participants heard the opinions of experts on the business applications of the Internet of Things. Speakers included Jiří Bavor from Siemens, Pavlína Zemanová from Vodafone Czech Republic, Ondřej Spilka from ABB, Jiří Batěk from IBM Česká republika, and Jan Rafaj from RESIDOMO.

Deputy Regional Governor Jan Krkoška explained the importance of this year’s topic: “The Internet of Things permeates the entire economy, and it is relevant to all industries. In our Region there are companies that not only follow trends, but are creating new trends in the IoT, helping to push their business forward and achieve global-level competitiveness. This area is not only of interest to companies, but also to the public sector. I see huge potential for introducing IoT tools that will make life easier for the people of our Region.”

In the afternoon, participants focused on one of today’s most frequently discussed issues – cybersecurity. The second panel discussion of the conference featured Roman Cinkais from Deloitte Czech Republic, Marian Tvrdý from Česká spořitelna, Martin Švéda from the National Cyber Security Centre, and Michal Wojnar from PwC Czech Republic.

The Region’s Governor Ivo Vondrák explained why this topic was chosen: “We face an increasing number of ever more sophisticated cyber attacks, and their consequences are becoming more serious. They can cause damage amounting to millions of crowns, and of course they threaten people’s safety and privacy too. Previously these attacks used to be isolated events that we heard about in the news, viewing them as a distant threat. But cyber attacks are now a reality that can threaten any of us at any time. The Invest MORE conference can help both companies and individuals to defend themselves more effectively against these attacks.”

The conclusions of the conference were captured by Beata Brosková using the Visual Thinking method.