Software Solutions from Baden-Württemberg Ensure Security and Trust at the CeBIT 2012

Cloud solutions, social intranet, open data, participation platforms and data security: visitors to Baden-Württemberg's joint stand at the CeBIT from 6 to 10 March 2012 (Public Sector Parc, hall 7, stand C40) will be able to find out about how software solutions ensure more security and trust in the digital world, and how tailor-made services can satisfy customers. This year, 17 medium-sized companies, higher-education institutions and users from public sector organisations in Baden-Württemberg are joining forces to present the state as an innovative ICT location. The keynote theme of the CeBIT 2012 is "Managing Trust".

"Without the trust of the users, the digital world and thus also the ICT economy cannot develop itself further. We therefore provide companies and institutions from the state the opportunity to present their innovative, secure IT solutions at the CeBIT leading international ICT trade fair and thus attract the attention and trust of a broad-based public", says Klaus Haasis, CEO of MFG Innovation Agency for ICT and Media Baden-Württemberg.

Minister of Finance and Economics, Dr. Nils Schmid, to meet exhibitors to get up to speed on ICT developments

The importance of Baden-Württemberg as a location for ICT will also be underlined by the visit of Minister of Finance and Economics of Baden-Württemberg, Dr. Nils Schmid. He will visit the joint stand on 8 March 2012 from 12 noon until 2.30 pm to talk to companies and institutions on the joint stand and get up to speed on current trends and developments in information and communication technology.
Baden-Württemberg's joint stand at the CeBIT has been an established feature of the trade fair for over ten years. The exhibitors include profit-making companies as well as public sector organisations and higher-education institutions. Some exhibitors are presenting themselves on the joint stand for the first time, including COMback GmbH and Nemko GmbH & Co. KG, for example. However, exhibitors from previous years such as cit GmbH, Albstadt-Sigmaringen University or Datenzentrale Baden-Württemberg are back again this year.

Trust and security thanks to open data platform and high security data centre

The trade fair stand organised jointly by bw-i and MFG Innovation Agency will focus on trendsetting solutions for the public sector. An up-to-the-minute example from public sector administration is provided by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Interior, which has created a prototype for an open data platform based on the service-bw.de administration portal. The term "open data" refers to the philosophy and practice of making data accessible to everyone, in order to create transparency and trust in the process. Gisela Erler, State Councillor for Civil Society and Civic Participation, and Dr. Herbert O. Zinell, Ministerial Director of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Interior, will activate the Open Data Portal Baden-Württemberg at opendata.service-bw.de on the joint stand on Wednesday 7 March 2012 at 1 pm.

The COMback company from Oberreichenbach deals with data security and trust in IT infrastructures. The company's centrepiece is a data centre as part of highly secure infrastructure. As a backup and alternative data centre for disaster cases, it has the most modern infrastructure and hardware resources at its disposal. The modern and highly secure infrastructure of COMback builds upon a solid base: the former alternative location for the state government of Baden-Württemberg. The site, built in the early 1970s, was intended to ensure the survival and governing capability of the most important executive organs of the state in the event of a nuclear war.

Higher-education institutions to present research results and IT service management for small and medium-sized companies

Some higher-education institutions from Baden-Württemberg will also be presenting their research projects. For example, the Institute of Measurement, Control, and Microtechnology of Ulm University will be presenting the findings of a student-based project on the subject of virtual environments with video glasses. The presentation will be complemented by the Institute of Distributed Systems, which deals with the development of graphic applications and 3D simulations.

The organisers from MFG Innovation Agency for ICT and Media Baden-Württemberg will also be represented as exhibitors: under the slogan "Learn how to simplify your IT", MFG will be presenting the European "INNOTRAIN IT" project. As part of this project, MFG Innovation Agency and its partners train IT employees of small and medium-sized companies to apply IT service management (ITSM) in order to reduce costs and to free up resources for innovation.

The experts from Baden-Württemberg International will be on hand to answer questions about Baden-Württemberg as a location for commerce and science, and will be able to inform visitors about possibilities for cooperation and investment. "Baden-Württemberg provides companies in the field of IT and telecommunication technologies with excellent conditions. Precisely this important cross-sectoral industry offers a particularly high level of potential," according to Jürgen Oswald, CEO of bw-i.

Welcome Happy Hour on 6 March to provide an opportunity for networking

With a Welcome Happy Hour on 6 March 2012 from 5 to 6 pm, Baden-Württemberg's joint stand will provide an ideal opportunity at the end of the first day of the fair to meet potential business and cooperation partners in a relaxed atmosphere. Furthermore, visitors will be able to establish new contacts and talk to decision-makers and IT coordinators from companies and bodies in Baden-Württemberg.