I had the pleasure of attending ConnectivityWeek on behalf of EcoTuesday last week which was held in Santa Clara, CA. ConnectivityWeek is a collection of events that together focus on the application of Information Technology (IT) on the energy challenges facing the world, challenges as illustrated by climate change and the need for sustainability. Spanning all the major industries and energy consumption areas of commercial, residential, industrial and infrastructure, conference sessions at ConnectivityWeek explores how IT can be leveraged towards the new energy paradigm facing the world. Co-located at ConnectivityWeek was a conference and an exposition on key enabling technologies and applications required to make the future energy vision a reality.
The conference was kicked of by a keynote by the father of the Internet – Vint Cerf. As he states “Smart Grid is only the beginning” and “The good thing about the Internet is: everything is connected. The bad thing about the Internet is: everything is connected.”
With more than 1,300 attendees and 270 speakers meeting to discuss the current state of the Smart Grid and what the futures holds, these are certainly “electrifying” times. Looking back, this conference first took place in 2006 and since then, the term “Smart Grid” has become a common term in our everyday vocabulary among entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, utilities, government, and many technology leaders.
With so many players in the market and solutions to choose from, the ultimate winner will be us as the consumer and the environment. Why the “environment”? We will be smarter consumers with smarter devices thus allowing us to make smarter choices in how we use and mange devices not only at work but at home. Sustainability in action both directly and indirectly as we connect/disconnect to the GRID.
To learn more about the conference, please visit their website http://www.connectivityweek.com/2010/. In addition, ConnectivityWeek will return to the Santa Clara Convention Center from May 23 to May 26, 2011.
