User Experience (UX) was the theme as the GPA held its 3rd Summit of the year in Singapore from 22nd to 24th of October 2018. Hosted by ESCO, it was also the first time that several key customers from in and around the region participated in the Summit for the first 1.5 days.
John Cartwright (Downstream) led the way with his keynote and did an excellent job of explaining Downstream’s design principles based on the four core key values: Design, Strategy, Technology, Content. There was an emphasis on Personas & Archetypes as two distinct groups of people separated by commonality of a desired experience and expectations of users based on their mindsets.
Our generous platinum sponsors BOSE, LG and Shure also gave their keynotes. Bose’s Akira Mochimaru, spoke at length about BOSE’s design philosophy and how much it was centered around UX. LG’s Miss Lee gave us a beautiful video presentation of how LG is being used in creative design applications to give their customers a wonderful sensory experience. Shure gave us a peek into the future with some product updates.
Hurrairah bin Sohail (Editor, InAvate APAC) then played moderator to our UX panel comprising of Abhijeet Mehrotra (Coca-Cola), Skye Nicholls (Steelcase), Akira Mochimaru (Bose), John Cartwright (Downstream) and Jeroen Labots (AVEX). The panel covered key considerations of UX design in their respective roles and was an enlightening experience for all in attendance.
Over the next two days there were further keynotes by Peter Andrews (CBRE) and his take on designing workspaces that adapt to the cultural, operational and generational disparities and how embracing diversity is a huge part of that. Following that there were sessions dedicated to best practices in global delivery, standardization and was heavily geared towards intelligent designs for eventual outcomes. One of the key aspects is the availability of cloud monitoring platforms that enable data aggregation and remote monitoring, which would be essential in a global delivery.
To give the overall GPA membership a better idea of business trends in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC). Suvir Varma (Bain & Company) gave a keynote on the future for Asia and its impact on the rest of the world. Much of his presentation revolved around the role China and India will play in the global economy. He predicted that China will be the biggest consumption-based market in the world with India not far behind. He also noted that there are more fortune 500 companies in Asia than the US, which would be a little known fact to the layman. Much of this is owed to the rising middle class which are consuming at a different rate than previous generations.
One of the most important events of our October Summits is the annual GPA Awards. In an organization that relies heavily on Volunteerism, it’s paramount that we recognize the contributions from members (and individuals) that embody the GPA Spirit. For a bit of fun, members were asked to dress up in their ethnic country outfits.
Overall the Summit was a great success with the customer facing element always drawing praise from those in attendance. At the end of the Summit, it was a foregone conclusion that all the effort that had been put in was worth it and members and customers alike, left with a fresh perspective on UX & Global Strategy.
“It was a great forum bringing along leading production organisations, AV expertise across the globe and clients from varied fields. I look forward to some of the content to share within my company” - a Tech lead from an MNC who attended the summit.
“I think it was a good event bringing vendors, integrators and customers together to discuss some of the topics was actually a really good approach. Also the Bose session was great. Very insightful” Another customer from a FSI who attended the summit.
