In a time when the digital world is growing at breakneck speed, it is crucial to stay connected as a community, despite social distancing and event cancellations.

On Thursday 19 November, Digital Realty is bringing the complete cloud and Internet community together to get inspired and share ideas in an immersive global event known as MarketplaceLIVE.

“MarketplaceLIVE 2020 is going virtual with an around-the-sun global extravaganza taking place during region-friendly times to accommodate our tech industry friends in every continent of the world,” said Omer Wilson, the Vice President of Marketing for the Asia Pacific region at Digital Realty.

Just like when trading routes were used at the crossroads of the ancient world to exchange ideas, MarketplaceLIVE is reimagining the digital crossroads for the modern world.

“We know there is a craving for one-to-one meetings and a place to build our community again, so your complimentary ticket will include speaker office hours for 1:1 mentorship, interactive networking opportunities, virtual booths, games, swag, and giveaways,” added Mr. Wilson.

The theme for this year’s MarketplaceLIVE will focus on ‘Defying Gravity’.

There are a lot of challenges weighing down businesses, from unpredictable economies and a world order in flux, to new and unfamiliar ways of working and doing business.

In the digital world, data pools are rapidly becoming larger and deeper, which makes them more difficult to move, thus overwhelming businesses and weighing down digital transformation.

Defying Gravity

The only way to rise above these challenges could be to defy gravity.

For MarketplaceLIVE 2020, panel sessions will be replaced with compelling stories on how we can overcome the pressures weighing us down.

The event will have six inspirational keynotes. The first will be delivered by Dr. Shawna Pandya, a physician and aquanaut, whose story embodies the importance of staying resilient in the face of impossible odds, offering tangible insights on how tech leaders can rise above today’s challenges.

Next, Dave McCrory, the VP of Growth and Global Head of Insights and Analytics at Digital Realty, will reveal the ‘single biggest challenge facing all companies’: Data Gravity. He will provide a blueprint for addressing infrastructure constraints, with reference to Digital Realty’s recent Data Gravity Index.

“Data has become a key strategic resource, but data gravity means too much of it can be difficult to use and impossible to move while constantly creating and attracting more,” said Mr. McCrory.

Creative thinking, defying echo chambers, yoga and shadowboxing

After breakout sessions on Defying Massive Datasets, The Gravity of Resilience, and a Meditation and Yoga break, world-renowned futurist Nikolas Badminton will kick off the next keynote by asking ‘what if…’ instead of ‘what is…’ to inspire stronger creative and strategic thinking about our futures to see the unforeseen risks facing our society today.

Following discussions on accelerating the re-architecture of IT, AWS Outposts, facing impossible odds and a shadowboxing class, Dr. Anita Sands will take the virtual stage for the next keynote on how we can avoid creating an echo chamber in the tech industry by including voices from all walks of life.

Dr. Sands spent a decade in leadership positions in financial services and now serves on the boards of directors of five companies, including ServiceNow, Pure Storage, iStar, Thoughtworks and NuBank.

Defying limitations, escaping velocity and mixology

Rounding out MarketplaceLIVE will include a talk from two familiar faces from the world of sport and entertainment to share their stories on rising above the devastating impacts of the global pandemic, as well as a mixology class and a keynote from Jayshree Ullal, President and CEO of Arista.

Ms. Ullal will use her experience of leading Arista from zero to a multibillion-dollar business to impart her knowledge on defying gravity via next-generation networking paradigms.

The final keynote on Escape Velocity will be delivered by Geoffrey Moore, the Chairman, Founder and Managing Partner of TCG Advisors. Mr. Moore will focus on the ‘power deficit’ of legacy franchises holding enterprises captive, which can be traced back to a performance-oriented management culture that drives accountability for financial results without establishing equivalent responsibility for replenishing competitive advantage.

To free your company’s future from the pull of the past, Mr. Moore will call out misconceptions and behaviors that trap enterprises into decaying franchises.

Whether you are a network engineer at a startup, a solutions architect at a cloud service provider, or a CIO at a Fortune 500 company, everyone is invited to join MarketplaceLIVE for a jam-packed event of dynamic fireside chats, technical breakouts, entertainment and prize giveaways.

> Register now for your complimentary MarketplaceLIVE ticket

By Stuart Crowley, Editor, W.Media