Since 2009 Lu-Cix has organised nine major industry events, but the 3rd edition of the Luxembourg Internet Days conference which took place at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce on 22 and 23 November was particularly rich in content and new announcements.
This year exhibitor registrations had to close in October due to over-subscription. This year’s edition has thus hit all records with more than 1,000 participants from over 400 local and international companies.
In addition to the conference workshops, plenary sessions and exhibition, several exciting Lu-Cix partnerships involving the House of Training, the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce as well as the government were announced during the event.
Marco Houwen, chairman of internet industry association and event organiser Lu-Cix, presented an overview of the rapid rate of progress: “12 months ago at this event, at this venue, we announced Lu-Cix 2.0 and our intention to create an ultra-high speed 100 Gbps internet node backbone in collaboration with the Foundation Restena. As of last week that new backbone has gone live, and 90% of our members has been already migrated to it. So we can say <Job Done!>. Today I am announcing for the first time the next phase in our strategy... The Winning Future... Lu-Cix 3.0... which is constructed on the solid foundation stones of Lu-Cix 2.0 and, as you will discover shortly, revolves around three exciting new partnerships, and our recently announced industry digital marketing platform, datacenters-in-europe.com.”
He further announced an increase in Lu-Cix membership to 62 companies before welcoming the new partnership with the House of Training which will greatly enhance skill building in the sector through a joint offering of tailor-made technical internet trainings offered either by Lu-Cix members or international industry organisations such as RIPE.
Carlo Thelen, director general of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, stressed the increasing importance of the Luxembourg Internet Days in the era of digitalisation, a period of unprecedented change and countless new business opportunities. The Chamber of Commerce is looking forward to accompany and guide new entrepreneurs in their future business process. Yet, he pointed out that it is not just about business, it is also about triggering a new growth model for Luxembourg. Many innovative ideas in this context were advanced at the presentation of the third industrial revolution strategy at the Luxembourg Sustainability Forum 2016. Eventually Carlo Thelen also raised the issue of internet security and performance, enhanced by Lu-Cix’ contribution to keep internet traffic within national borders. Lu-Cix has thus become an important player in Luxembourg’s internet security ecosystem and a valuable promotional tool that is often used on trade missions to attract new headquarters to the Grand Duchy.
Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg Prime minister and minister for Communications and Media, said during his keynote:
“Last year I promised if its members invested in Lu-Cix, then so would the government. They kept their promise, and now I am delighted to demonstrate that I will keep mine too by signing today an agreement with Lu-Cix asbl.”
The agreement takes the form of a financial support over a period of six years in return for a commitment on quality of service to be supplied by Lu-Cix. More specifically, Lu-Cix has committed to offer its services to internet service providers using the national internet exchange infrastructure, which has become strategic for the national economy.
Prime minister Bettel also highlighted the close fit between the government’s Digital Lëtzebuerg initiative, the Lu-Cix 2.0 100 Gbps ultra-high speed backbone and the industry leading promotional and business development capabilities of Lu-Cix 3.0’s datacenters-in-europe.com and “The Winning Future” underlining that “without doubt these initiatives significantly enhance the global presence of Luxembourg as an ultra-high speed ultra-low latency internet exchange and ICT hub.”
The conference covered two of the hottest ICT topics of the year: The Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain, with a series of 22 presentations and six round table discussions ranging from specialist skill shortage to the future of blockchain. This year’s keynote speakers were Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg minister for Labour, Employment, Social economy and Economic solidarity, Nicolas Schmit, and Carlo Thelen as well as some of the most influential ICT experts and entrepreneurs from nine countries on both sides of the Atlantic including Candi Carrera, Microsoft country manager for Luxembourg, Reinhard Posch, Austrian government CIO, Éireann Leverett, founder and CEO of Concinnity Risks, Chris Marcilla, founder and CEO of the Fintech Virtual Currencies and Working Group in Luxembourg, John McLEAN, VP global blockchain labs engagement at IBM, and Joe LUBIN, founder of Consensys.
Another highlight: Luxinnovation conducted two days of workshops dedicated to start-up companies or individuals with a sound business idea seeking expert guidance about how to commercialise these ideas. Open to everyone, this format has proven highly successful and resulted in a constructive exchange of views and experience.
The 2016 edition of Luxembourg Internet Days has broken all records, be it with regards to announcements, content, exhibitors or attendees. Lu-Cix would like to thank each and every person involved for their support, and hopes to continue building a strong relationship. The 4th Luxembourg Internet Days will take place on 14 & 15 November 2017.
For further information about the event itself or Lu-Cix 3.0, datacenters-in-europe.com or “The Winning Future”, please contact [email protected] or visit our website.