Dubai meets Singapore.

Last week, the first ever GITEX Asia was held in Singapore – and I just had to be there…

Not that the original GITEX, which has been running since… 1980 (!) in Dubai every year, is disappearing or anything. It’s just that it’s getting all the more global – or should that be more local, given that Dubai is also in Asia. Confused? Don’t be! The more GITEXs the better is all you need to know!…

So what can I say about this newbie expo? Overall it was pretty modest: the venue wasn’t huge, and it featured only several dozen companies – a hundred tops. Not many big-name players, either. And in our field, it was basically just us:

Sure, you can see Fortinet there next to us – but they’re more our colleagues than competitors.

I personally wasn’t at the booth for long – I was too busy with a panel discussion (no photos or notes – it didn’t really suit this post), important meetings, handshakes, press conference, interviews, and a whole bunch of selfies (folks recognized me rather a lot; outside the IT crowd though I’m fortunately still living in full incognito mode:).

From what I’ve heard, our booth was buzzing all day:

Looking at it from both inside and out, I get the sense that this expo is pretty low key (for now), but it has big ambitions. Arab countries are clearly building direct partnerships with the Global Southeast…

So yeah – for now: no big names and no major announcements. But who knows what it might grow into? I’m not placing any bets. But we’re here. That’s what counts…

I had a quick wander around the rest of the expo. Nothing too surprising ->

Marketing slogans everywhere – with many the trending buzzwords: tech, AI, innovation, future…)

…But I try not to dwell on the inevitable triteness: I just keep walking and snapping.

More AI (it even had its own dedicated stage!) ->

I look at it all with… acceptance (you remember the stages, right? Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance?). But this is what I accept: there is no “intelligence” in artificial intelligence. Artificial? Yes. Intelligence? Nope. Is it better than humans at some stuff? Absolutely. // Actually – not always, but it patches fast )

Chess programs that have been thrashing grandmasters for years: is that AI? No. Those are just chess algorithms that outperform the human brain. Face recognition? Yeah, kinda. But show it a picture of a horse or a dog and it falls apart. Thus, I sort people in IT who use the term “AI” into three groups:

Those who truly believe in it.
Those who know the truth about it but don’t tell it – for personal gain.
Those who’ve surrendered – like me. I used to whine about AI being just a buzzword for investors, but now I use the term myself all the time! Yeah – I gave in, in the best traditions of “If you can’t beat ’em – join ’em!”

But I digress. Enough AI talk; let’s move along…

My stroll around the exhibition got me thinking: IT expos have their own lives, their own destinies. COMDEX in Las Vegas and CeBIT in Hanover? Gone (I never made it to COMDEX, but I wrote about CeBIT quite a… CeBIT during the covid lockdowns)… // Oh, and that series of “cyber-yesteryear” posts also has a full history of our company – from my first adventures with computer viruses through to the 2000s. People always ask about that stuff – and I’ve got answers :-)

So, while COMDEX and CeBIT are history, the new wave is thriving – MWC in Barcelona and GITEX in Dubai. And now GITEX is branching out – here in Singapore, then in Marrakech for the African edition (I won’t be there – no time), and then in Berlin for the European GITEX.

Ooh – a “Moscow” booth. That was unexpected. Nice setup :). Actually – probably the most eye-catching booth at the show. Inside? A mix of companies and universities. But I won’t go into detail – not like I remembered much anyway…

There was also a dedicated hall for startups. Pretty much what you’d expect from a startup zone at an expo: you get a 1.5-meter table, a power socket, and the rest is up to you. Sometimes they throw in a screen (not here). And a lot of the time it’s free – just a way to support young companies starting out. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: I think startup zones are a wonderful thing. So important. And I’ve been banging on for years now about how Russia needs its own IT expo with a startup focus! I’m convinced it’d give a major boost to the home-grown tech industry.

Startups from Dubai:

And that was all for day one at GITEX Asia. That evening, from my hotel room window – more and more ships waiting in line. There must be hundreds of them! ->

That’s a wrap for day one!

Which means… it’s time to dance! ->

Singapore’s GITEX isn’t forgetting its Dubai roots! ->

Dubai vibe + eastern vibe = ->

And last but not least – that night: our ad on the giant 3D screen on Ten Square, Singapore’s answer to Times Square:

The next day was a real busy one for me, so don’t expect any photos from my side. Luckily, colleagues snapped some colorful shots.

Here, I wonder – were they actually listening to the speaker’s useful info, or just zoning out while they were transfixed on that there futuristic installation up above? ->