6th ITEC birthday: Growth and always new ideas

100 visitors in the lounge at the Hamburg IT Strategy Days

2013 wasn't at first glance a year that one would remember as historic. On closer inspection, however, there are a number of events that have a significant impact on subsequent years. The European Stability Mechanism for the Euro bailout enters into force. Edward Snowden's revelations have led to the NSA affair.

And not to forget: At the IT Strategy Days, CIOs and other digital decision makers form a network which, under the umbrella of Hamburg@work, has since grown to 150 participants from business, science and politics and is participating in the digitalization process in and around Hamburg with a wide range of offerings - actively and with critical observation: the IT Executive Club.

As every time at the Hamburg IT Strategy Days, this year's event was the occasion for the Board to invite friends and members of the ITEC to a glass of champagne in the lounge of the Grand Elysee Congress Hotel. Raphael Vaino and Karsten Kirsch both expressed their delight that the network continues to grow and generate new ideas: Journeys (Learning Journeys) to Estonia and Israel, lively exchange with the IDG publishing house, the "ITEC Cares" award for the promotion of IT talent, which has now been presented twice. And now, as the latest idea, the ITEC Leadership Council, a committee of supporters of the club, which deals particularly with the topic of career planning and transition phases of the members.

Speaking of IT talents: As in previous years, on the first day of the IT Strategy Days a group of students from the IT Management and Consulting (ITMC) course of study at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Hamburg visited the ITEC Lounge. Prof. Dr. Tilo Böhmann is a club member and had invited ten young academics who took the opportunity to engage in lively discussion with experienced IT managers.

On both days of the congress, the lounge recorded a total of almost 100 visitors - members and friends of the club as well as guests. This number, but above all the cultivated discussion atmosphere and the intensive exchange, combined with excellent catering, should ensure that the ITEC Lounge at the most important IT decision-makers' congress in the German-speaking world also opens in 2020.

By the way, the Hamburg IT Strategy Days themselves already took place in their 18th edition. The First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Peter Tschentscher, opened the congress, which was completely sold out with 800 participants (as his predecessors Ole von Beust and Olaf Scholz previously had done).  This time the focus was on the CIO agenda in times of digital transformation - with keynotes from Deutsche Post, DB Systel, Krauss Maffei, B. Braun, Metro/Metronom and Henkel, plus a variety of master classes and breakout sessions. Christian Lindner, FDP leader and parliamentary party leader in the Bundestag, concluded the congress as a guest speaker with thoughts on the influence of politics on the development possibilities of IT. The motto: "Release the brakes".

18th Edition, sold out: This indicates the importance of the IT Strategy Days for the community of CIOs, CDOs and all IT decision-makers in German-speaking countries. In order to keep and possibly raise this level, the members of the IT Executive Club will be invited to give their feedback on the congress at the upcoming meeting on 26 March and to incorporate it into future agenda planning.

Photo credit: Christian Augustin