Nuremberg, 17 October 2019 – What is the “smart life” and how will Nuremberg change as a smart city? Visitors to the opening of Bechtle’s new offices on the “Auf AEG” complex today sought and found answers. Some 500 guests and experts swapped ideas and discussed smart tech developments in business, urban development, healthcare, and education, with panels and presentations frequently gravitating towards artificial intelligence.
Bechtle Nuremberg used the opening of its new office as an opportunity to stage a close encounter with digitalisation—from the workplace to the cloud, from process automation to IT security. Co-host on stage was Pepper, the charming humanoid robot who, in his day job, welcomes visitors to the Bechtle system house as an independent receptionist. Another show of the disruptive force that is IT came in the shape of augmented reality. Instead of drawing and visualising structures on a screen, engineers and planners today walk through virtual rooms and move heavy machinery before their very eyes. Service engineers who once had to fly around the world to perform maintenance or repair machines can now do it all with just an internet connection and a HoloLens.
What makes a smart city
A string of renowned experts took varied vantage points to discuss what’s “smart”, Visitors were able to see where digitalisation stands today and how it impacts life and work on the ground. Dr Christian Büttner, Executive Director, Institute for Teacher Training and Psychology in Schools, Nuremberg, reported back on the current educational campaign in schools. The marriage of smart healthcare and artificial intelligence was highlighted by Dr Thomas Menzel, Medical Director and CEO of the Fulda Clinic, and Helmut Greger, CIO of the Würzburg University Clinic.
The city’s digital strategy
The panel discussion featured representatives from business, politics, and science discussing the future of the city of Nuremberg. Dr Silvia Kuttruff, Director of Business Development for the city of Nuremberg, gave insights into the development of a digital umbrella strategy for the Franconian megacity. This includes concepts for education and the digital city administration. The aim is to bring citizens, science, and the economy together, both in an interpersonal and technological way. The “My Nuremberg” campaign let citizens inject their wishes into Nuremberg’s digitalisation strategy, several hundred citizens were invited to get involved. The result shows a large need for e-mobility as well as technical enhancements for refuse and damage reports. A main concern of the citizens, however, was the development of Nuremberg’s digital infrastructure. After all, even cloud technology must be built on solid ground.
Bechtle Nuremberg with over 200 modern IT seats
The new office on the former AEG premises provides enough space for Bechtle Nuremberg’s current and future needs, in addition to the local branches of Bechtle specialists Modus Consult and Solidpro. The first joint premises promote cross-company collaboration of the group’s experts in the Franconia region. The companies currently employ some 150 people in the ultra-modern location which features space for up to 50 additional workstations.