BERLIN, Germany – Up to 300 organizations will be represented at NITEC18, the NCI Agency's industry conference which aims to boost cooperation between external partners and NATO.
This is a notable increase on 2017 when 260 organizations – from the private and not-for-profit sectors, national delegations and academia – attended NCI Agency Conference and AFCEA TechNet International (NITEC).
The high-profile event, which is taking place at the InterContinental Hotel in Berlin, Germany, is set to open its doors to nearly 700 delegates today.
This year's edition is already delivering on its promises to "expand the ecosystem", with 240 B2B meetings of 300 requested set up over the next three days. This represents a 70% increase on 2017 when 140 B2B meetings were held.
"This year we've expanded our outreach to industry, not-for-profit organizations and academia to expand the NATO ecosystem," NCI Agency General Manager Kevin J. Scheid commented.
"The response has been outstanding, more companies and organizations have joined us this year than ever before. More competition is good for NATO – it drives innovation, lowers costs and raises quality," he added.
The conference, organized jointly with AFCEA Europe and in cooperation with the German Federal Ministry of Defence, will kick off at 11:30am as participants will be given a chance to mingle with 55 industry exhibitors.
Mr Scheid and Erich Staudacher, General Manager of AFCEA Europe, will take to the stage in the afternoon, with introductory speeches.
NCI Agency representatives will then highlight upcoming business opportunities, while senior government and industry speakers will discuss the best practices which have driven their own digital transformation efforts.
Roger Krone from Leidos, The Honourable Thomas B. Modly, Undersecretary of the US Navy, Robert D Solis from MIT Lincoln Labs and Sabine Bendiek from Microsoft will share their insights on Day One.
Follow us on Twitter #NITEC18 or visit our event's website for more information on the NITEC18 programme and speakers.