Adam Rubach, MD UK at Ogury
Last week was the hotly-anticipated Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona, the annual event bringing pioneers and inquisitive minds together to discuss all things mobile.
Unfortunately, this year the seasonal Spanish sun wasn’t on our side. However, we made the most of our Ogury Networking Garden which, despite the rain and even occasional snow, was a great success. The unpredictable weather made for an unforgettable product launch of our latest mobile data solution, Active Insights. People were huddled under branded umbrellas in the middle of a sprinkling of snow, but we were delighted to see that there was still a substantial and buoyant crowd to watch our founders kick off the next chapter in our company history.
Active Insights really demonstrates the overarching theme of the event, ‘creating a better future,’ as it gives publishers a full picture of apps relevant to their business interests, and allows them to understand users’ behaviours and journeys like never before. It was a sentiment reiterated by almost everyone we spoke to over the course of the week, and it was encouraging to discuss ideas that people were already formulating, despite having only just seen our product launch moments before.
MWC ‘18 offered the perfect opportunity to share thoughts and opinions, and we’re glad that people envisaged so many opportunities inspired by Active Insights’ capabilities. It was definitely one of our highlights of the event, as afterwards, many were enquiring about how our data can help their apps, reflecting the wider business trend of desiring bigger and better data to aid decision-making.
Our Networking Garden hosted consistent numbers over the course of the event, with many taking the opportunity to take a break from the hustle and bustle of indoors and quiz us about the future of mobile data. Companies are finally seeing the positive impact that big and detailed data can have in guiding the future of a business, something we were keen to emphasise when questioned.
Aside from Active Insights, there was another AI on people’s lips – artificial intelligence – and its rapid growth rate. After taking in many of the solutions on display at the show, perhaps a future using AI for everyday tasks is a lot closer than one might think. Seeing what other companies have done with the latest technological innovations and getting to observe demos of AI in action were some of the many standout moments of MWC ‘18.
One topic which seemed to be omnipresent at this year’s event was GDPR. In fact, it’s fair to say that the vast majority of conversations touched on it in some regard. As May’s deadline approaches, many are worried about the potential repercussions of not being compliant, and it’s likely that GDPR will still be a hot topic even after 25th May due to its long-lasting effects. Having incorporated opt-in consent since day one, our preference is to focus on the potential benefits that come with GDPR; in particular, the opportunity to have a more transparent relationship with end users by prioritising their data and privacy.
MWC ‘18 was the perfect setting for us to launch our new product, as well as network with others and spread the word about what’s in store for the future. As ever, it proved to be an equal parts eye-opening and thoroughly enjoyable event. Roll on next year – we hope to see many more of you there!
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