Technology week opens today

Top leaders from some the largest tech and telecom companies in the world converge on Dubai today for a five-day showcase that will encourage 3,500 conference corporate attendees to seek innovation and redefine the future.Gitex Technology Week opening ceremonies begin at 11am today followed by a 1pm general opening for visitors at the Dubai International Conference and Exhibition Centre.Organisers are expecting 136,000 visitors to pass through the doors this week to hear corporate chieftains who helm multi-billion corporations discuss next-steps strategies regarding technolgies that have changed the way we live.A visit to the Gitex media centre yesterday evening revealed that this week's line-up of speakers at new conferences on cloud computing, digital marketing and mobile trends has yet to be officially released.But Gitex has confirmed the appearances of some big guns in the ICT industry who will deliver keynote speeches such as Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Research in Motion, makers of the BlackBerry, and Rod Beckstrom, CEO and president of the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.Helal Saeed Al Merri, CEO of the Dubai World Trade Centre, said at an advance press conference that "we are expecting a bigger turnout this year," noting this year's show will eclipse past Gitex gatherings."From the net space sold, it is the largest in our history," he said, referring to a jump in recent years in leased space to exhibitors from 35,000 square metres to 75,000 metres.Today, two major conferences kick off at 2pm, including the Global Leaders Summit as well as Cyber Security. International players will get an earlier start tomorrow when the Cloud Confex conference begins at 9am at the exhibition centre as does the opening of the Telecoms Symposium.Two other conference meets also make their first showing at Gitex later tomorrow starting at 11am, notably the Mobile Apps and Content World Open Debates and Digital Marketing Workshops.All of the professional development series on offer by Gitex will continue throughout the week until the final day on Thursday and will begin at 11am each day.