Techspectations 2020, the much-anticipated biennial summit powered by Manorama Online in association with First Shows, began on Friday with a long array of global tech luminaries.
Unlike the previous two editions, 2020's summit has taken a virtual avatar in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic but does not for the slightest lag behind on the big ideas it intends to illuminate the way ahead. The theme of the virtual summit is ‘Digital-led 2021 - Define the new normal’, and fittingly so given the times that we are in.
Kiruba Shankar, CEO of Business Blogging, delivered the opening remarks.
"2020 is a black swan. Humanity has been rocked by a swathe of perils - one larger than the other. But none has been as devastating as the coronavirus pandemic. It has brought lives world over to a standstill.
Techspectations too had to evolve in the wake of this, taking on a virtual avatar. The silver lining is that while earlier we were bound by spatial limitations, now we are accessible to thousands of online audiences who can enjoy these presentations in the comfort of their homes or offices," Shankar said.
Mariam Mammen Mathew, CEO of Manorama Online, gave the welcome note.
"In the past 10 months, humanity is challenged by a riddle, wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma,” Mariam said, quoting Winston Churchill. "The virus has disrupted lives across the globe,” she said, before quickly pointing out that there must be a key to the riddle.
"The very aim of Techspectations is to find the key and own the future once again," she added.
Techspectations 2020 is Manorama Online's marquee event.
It is an assembly of people who have made a mark in the technology sector, heads of prominent brands, start-ups and industry leaders, technologists, business spokespersons and digital enthusiasts. Their unquenchable thirst to learn what envelops the morrow adds to the splendour of the summit – not to mention the many conversations lined up for the two-day event. The speakers, whose expertise in their respective domain is unparalleled, will enthral us with insights into the cascading changes reshaping industries globally and the drastic revamp it would spur.
Our collective new ideas and experiments and the conversations that it may pave the way to are certain to make Techspectations 2020 a spectacular ride, away from the storms of this unprecedented distress and onto the shores of global growth.
Sanjay Gupta, country manager and vice-president of Google India, will deliver the keynote on November 27, 2020.
This will be followed by:
11:30 am - Panel Discussion - Way forward for startups & new benchmarks for angel investors
The second session of ‘Techspectations’ will feature discussions that will be useful for startups and new ventures. It will discuss ways to find new investors and accept investments.
Dipanjan Basu of Fireside Ventures; Anand Prasanna, Managing Partner of Iron Pillar Fund; Arun Chandran, Founder of Trycle; Rashmi Poduval, Co-Founder of Seamstress; and Charles Vijay Varghese, CEO of Nava Design and Innovation Pvt Ltd are the experts who will be a part of the discussion.
3:00 pm - Panel Discussion - Changing perspective of Marketing for brands & business
Most brands are looking for new marketing strategies every day. Firms ranging from small enterprises to large tech companies are doing a lot of experimentation in this field to keep businesses afloat. Leading experts in this area will be participating in the discussions.
The panel members will be Vishal Kapil - CTO, Fashion and Lifestyle Retailer; Unny Radhakrishnan - CEO, Digitas India; Damandeep Singh Soni - Vice-President, Growth of Boat; Jose Leon - Chief Operating Officer, Indigo Consulting and Publicity Group.
4:15 pm - Lead Talk - Digital Marketing 2021, The What and How for Brands
In the final session of the first day of the digital summit, Ashok Lalla, business advisor, will talk on how business and marketing will evolve next year.
Day 2 will see plenty of interesting sessions as well. For the full schedule, click here.
Besides these, the meet will also have presentations by the CEOs and CXOs of enterprises with global presence, digital gurus and tech entrepreneurs. The digital meet will also feature special sections where the success stories of those who have excelled in the fields of online learning, OTT platforms, incorporating technology’s influence in the film industry, mobile advertising, YouTube vlogging, fashion trending, etc, will be discussed.
First Shows, the soon to be launched OTT platform, is the title sponsor of the summit. 'Amrita Ahead' the Amrita University's online degree programme, is the knowledge partner. For more information, visit www.techspectations.com.
