MWC cancelled: A chance to eat our own dog food
Overnight the news has broken that Mobile World Congress has been cancelled. The multi-million-pound decision won’t have been easy to make but as big names started to withdraw the decision will have become more urgent. I think we’d all agree it’s the right one to have taken, despite the money at stake. Millions are spent on stands, not to mention the flights and accommodation spent by the 100,000 visitors. It will be a financial blow to many companies, especially those that planned big launches or would use the conference to secure major deals. But I can’t help thinking that given the conference is all about mobile that perhaps this represents a time to re-evaluate how and where we do business. The technology we now have at our disposal would facilitate meetings, without having to leave the country, or even our homes. But this is about more than just meetings. 5G can be the hero here and help us build a virtual Fira. We can explore the halls from wherever we are, without having to walk miles and grind down shoe leather, and then activate demos and discussions as we need. In the coming weeks, I am sure the thousands of cancelled meetings...
