In the new business era, technology becomes one of the keys to success. Facing the world’s economy marked by turmoil, it becomes particularly vital for Hong Kong’s businesses to fully embrace the latest technology trends to sustain and stay ahead of the crowd. While business efficiency matters, issues regarding data security, data privacy and compliance to new laws and regulations are crucial parts of a larger technological evolution that is shaping how we develop and provide services in a knowledge-based economy. That is why we should be thankful to the Hong Kong International Computer Conference (HKICC) for gathering so many of the world’s top IT specialists to share with us the latest ICT trends, and what they mean for Hong Kong’s business community.

This year’s conference, “ICT in a Volatile Economy – Creating Opportunities and Managing Risks”, could not have come at a more appropriate time. Bringing great insight to the ICT industry, the HKICC will highlight key areas on technologies trends & issues, cloud computing & data centre, business intelligence & knowledge management, and business opportunity & mobility in social media. With a wide range of comprehensive topics, ICT industry professionals can learn and take good advantage of the knowledge to sustain and lead during these uncertain economic times.

Cyberport, one of the leading ICT hubs in the Asia Pacific region, fully supports knowledge based events and programmes that will transform Hong Kong into an inclusive knowledge-based digital economy. We believe that the conference will offer enormous potential for the long-term economic growth of Hong Kong.

Thank you again to all of the conference organising committee members for making the conference possible. May HKICC 2012 be a complete success!

1977 was the year when the Hong Kong Computer Society (HKCS) first started to organise the annual Hong Kong International Computer Conference (HKICC). Over the past 35 years, HKICC has grown to become the ultimate forum for IT and business professionals to share experience and foster innovation in ICT, and to promote the highest professional standards in the industry.

I applaud HKCS's continuous commitment to helping the ICT industry, business sectors and community to realise their potentials through progressive and innovative used of ICT. I also congratulate the HKICC Organising and Programme Committees for their leadership in making this year's event a very successful one.

Wishing all delegates a enjoyable and profitable two days!

ICT is a converging business, market shares tend to grow or shrink quickly. Managing risks intelligently at low times are vital opportunities to capture market shares. Wish a great success for the HKICC!

I would like to congratulate The Hong Kong Computer Society for organizing the “Hong Kong International Computer Conference 2012”. Now in its 35th year and being one of the most well-established events of its kind in the region, this Conference has a successful history of attracting influential ICT stakeholders from industry, academia, and government to share and exchange knowledge and insights of the trade.

In the prevailing times of economic turbulence, ICT offers a powerful tool for businesses in risk management and maintaining competitiveness. Cloud solutions and social media are some emerging ICT applications that help businesses ride out the storm and scale new heights. On the other hand, issues such as information security and software testing are posing challenges to ICT adoption. This Conference offers a timely opportunity for stakeholders to explore how ICT could help businesses thrive in the current economic environment.

At this Conference, participants will benefit from the knowledge and experience of ICT professionals in warding off challenges and turning them into opportunities for further growth.

I wish the event every success and I am confident that this will be a very rewarding experience for all the participants.

Congratulations to the 35th Anniversay of HKICC! Information Technology is everchanging in shape and scope. Today, no business can sustain for long without innovation and business transformation using IT. Archirecting tne enterprise, Cloud Computing with public/private/hybrid setting, Big Data and Knowledge Management on Cloud, and Mobility and Social Media Enterprise are key trends in front of us. To keep our record straight, we must pursue on the path of developing Hong Kong as a prime location for Data Centres with guts.

May our IT dreams come true, and may our 35th HKICC be another successful conference!

It is indeed exciting to know that this is the 35th anniversary of the Hong Kong International Computer Conference (HKICC). This is a true reflection of the dedication of Hong Kong Computer Society (HKCS) to maintain the HKICC as a flagship conference event for IT professionals in this region for such a long period. Year after year, this conference creates a platform for vivid discussions on the latest trend of ICT innovations and developments to promote ICT deployment in business and industry in Hong Kong and our neighbouring areas.

Time and again, HKICC has created very interesting themes for the annual conferences. The theme of this year’s conference - “ICT in a Volatile Economy - Creating Opportunities and Managing Risks” - has been most timely and appropriately chosen. In the face of the world financial crisis that we are going through and without knowledge of when it might be remedied, there are a lot of uncertainties in the world economy which would certainly have a lot impact on our daily lives. As ICT professionals in Hong Kong, we must be vigilant to see how ICT could help to improve Hong Kong’s competitive advantage and create opportunities for the Hong Kong economy. It is my firm belief that we could play a significant role to drive the next-generation ICT development in support of the business corporations as well as the Small and Medium Enterprises in Hong Kong to sustain our long-term development and prosperity.

The HKICC2012 will surely provide an excellent opportunity for experts in the ICT sector to present their experience in ICT innovations and exchange ideas with their peers on how ICT innovations could create values to transform the economy in Hong Kong. I congratulate the Hong Kong Computer Society and its Organizing and Programme Committees for staging the HKICC2012. I wish HKICC2012 every success.

“ICT in a Volatile Economy - Creating Opportunities and Managing Risks” is indeed a thought provoking Conference title. Is the economy really volatile? Many would argue that the world economy is actually stable, at a depressingly low level of growth. The volatility tends to be focussed on traded markets, where it sometimes feels as though prices are being manipulated by professional traders whose high frequency trading takes advantage of small variations in price.

We are all now over-focussed on managing risks. Regulators are over-zealous and ever inclined to expand their powers and authority. There is a serious risk that customer service and social responsibility take second place to controlling risk. We must all avoid this danger since it stifles rather than creates opportunities. Growth in western democracies relies heavily on entrepreneurial risk takers.

I wish HKICC 2012 every success.

I write to congratulate the Hong Kong Computer Society in having consistently maintained a long tradition of bringing to the profession an annual opportunity for practitioners and business leaders to get together to share their thoughts on the application of information technology in business. The opportunity has become even more pertinent in this environment of business volatility today.

I appreciate the enormous amount of work carried out by the organizing committee under the able leadership of Susanna Shen. I wish the Society continued success with its endeavour.