• A large share of future value creation through AI will be generated by corporations and SMEs.
• At the DATA festival (24/25 May 2022), one of the leading data & AI conferences in Germany, corporations and startups will showcase impressive AI lighthouse projects
• Companies such as Deutsche Bahn, Adidas, Siemens, Merck Group, Cariad - A Volkswagen Company, Continental, Metro Digital, Infinieon will be presenting their products and services at the DATA festival.

Munich, 20 May 2022 - The time for experimentation in digitalisation and the use of data and AI is over. In the past, many companies have divested themselves of digital projects and initiatives that do not clearly pay off in terms of business success. The most recent example is the sale of Share Now, the car-sharing service of BMW and Daimler, to the car manufacturer Stellantis.

The DATA festival, one of the most important data & AI conferences in Germany, is also taking place under the motto "Playtime is over: How Data & AI bring value to business". It will take place live at the Muffatwerk in Munich on 24 and 25 May.

Business success thanks to artificial intelligence

Numerous studies, including "KI: Wo steht die deutsche Wirtschaft" (AI: Where does the German economy stand) by the digital association BITKOM, prove that things are moving forward with AI in Germany and Europe. In practice, this is also shown by the increasing number of AI start-ups and the generally growing range of concrete AI products and "Artificial Intelligence as a Service (AIaaS). However, these studies also show that the gap between successful companies and those that have not yet made any investments (57 percent according to BIKOM) is widening.

"This is also borne out by our practical experience", confirms Alexander Thamm, founder and CEO of the eponymous data science and AI consultancy and co-founder of the DATA festival. "We work successfully with numerous corporations and SMEs on data and AI projects - from strategy to implementation and roll-out. These companies are setting standards. Nevertheless, doubts and concerns still arise quickly in this country. Medium-sized companies in particular are still very sceptical about being able to handle expensive projects with such complex technology. With the DATA festival, we want to demonstrate that it works. But also that it is essential for future competitiveness to invest in data and AI.."

AI in Germany and Europe - the great opportunity

The potential for European companies is enormous: according to a study by the auditors at PwC, AI will generate value of around USD 15.7 trillion worldwide by 2030. So far, leading technology companies have generated most of the value. What makes the development exciting is that the next wave will no longer be driven by IT companies alone, but by traditional companies and SMEs - a great opportunity for Europe.

"European companies must seize this great opportunity", says Alexander Thamm. "However, AI is still too little understood in our country. Both in terms of the technology itself and the idea of what return on investment (ROI) AI projects can offer. In order to explain AI and thus demonstrate its great potential for one's own company, there is a need for lighthouse projects and an ecosystem for bundling activities that provide corresponding impulses.."

AI lighthouse projects and a big party at the DATA festival

For this reason, Alexander Thamm and Dr Carsten Bange jointly launched the DATA festival back in 2017. In doing so, they are giving the data community a platform to learn from each other, discuss strategies together and ultimately also with the aim of advancing AI in Germany and Europe.

These goals are reflected in the programme of the DATA festival, which, after three successful online events, will now take place live again on 24 and 25 May at the Muffatwerk in Munich: In addition to presentations by technology providers, the focus is on presentations of lighthouse projects by companies that have been able to integrate analysis and AI technologies into their daily business and create sustainable added value with innovations.

These include presentations on data strategies and internal data culture from companies such as the Merck Group and Siemens AG to examples from Konecranes and ERGOVersicherung, among others, on how AI projects can be made measurable and scalable. In addition to the 33 lectures, there will also be workshops and in-depth tech deep-dive sessions in five areas. The two-day programme will be rounded off with a total of three discussion rounds on the topics of mobility transformation and data culture, as well as a debate on the controversial use of AI in defence, inspired by the war in Ukraine.

On the evening of the first day of the event, there will be a big party with cult status that the "data community" sorely missed during the pandemic. "Data is not only our daily business, data is also our passion. And we want to share this with other data enthusiasts - not in a suit and tie, but in a trusting, relaxed atmosphere and in the evenings with good music and a cool drink in our hands.", agree the two managing directors and founders of the DATA festival, Dr Carsten Bange and Alexander Thamm.

About the DATA festival

The DATA festival is a two-day event at which experts and companies from the fields of AI, data science, machine learning and data engineering, among others, exchange information about current technologies and future trends. In addition, the DATA festival #online takes place once a year in a purely digital format. The aim is to network the data community in Germany and Europe in order to learn from experience, transfer knowledge and exchange ideas about future developments.

More information at data-festival.com 

Tickets for the event in May are under this link available.