Lisboa hosted another edition of Web Summit, one of the most important technology conferences in Europe. The team of Noviron attended the event and we like to share some takeaways.
With 42,751 attendees from 128 countries and 748 speakers, the event made an outstanding comeback after two years of COVID 19 restrictions. And just in case you are wondering, it worked well with the masks and enough space for the people.
This year’s topics included of course the latest trends from the technology and marketing sector, but also led the way in putting headlines on the climate change, sustainability, renewables, and even human rights agenda.
The key takeaway from Web Summit 2021
Since the COVID 19 pandemic has brought all of us into new situations, in private and professional life, it also opened the doors for new opportunities.
We have all experienced it with the heavily increased use of the internet and the rise of remote work. Moreover, the pandemic has forced us all to re-evaluate our values and goals in many instances.
And even though we are now talking mainly about the Post Pandemic World, the discussion about different ways to work and live, the need to counter the ongoing climate change, has gained momentum and the conference was a perfect mirror to that.
Technology has adapted to the (post) pandemic world
From Software, and SaaS solutions, to digital payments, and cryptocurrencies – it was very obvious to see how the tech world and tools adapted to the situation during the time of the lockdown and used the opportunity to advance, becoming more accessible and user-friendly.
Glancing at remote work in that context, which also was one of the top topics during the presentations, it is clear that working remotely gained its fixed place in the modern working world.
Sustainability becomes suitable for the masses
How to get sustainability right and what role do the brands have in saving the planet was one of the big topics of the conference.
And it was very interesting to see besides larger brands taking sustainability stronger into consideration, there had been a number of startups presenting new products and platforms to incentivize the usage of sustainable products and services.
While sustainable products didn’t attract mainstream consumers so much in the past, mainly for (bad) design reasons, a trend reversal is emerging here.
Climate – the transition is happening now
At first, it was a little surprising how strongly climate change was represented on the agenda. Clean energy, renewables, sustainable products and services, the responsibility of brands, tech, politics, marketers, me, and you.
Looking closer at it, it makes absolute sense. Achieving net-zero carbon was never going to be easy.
Great minds and smart solutions are needed on all levels. And that’s where the opportunity lies for everyone involved, and also for those who are not yet.
The future will contain many challenges and generate even more opportunities and completely new jobs. And the business with green products and services will be driven by technology and knowledge.
Looking forward to it with excitement.
