How secure are our devices when they connect to the Internet? This is difficult for consumers to discern. The IT security label of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) now provides a solution. The eco Association welcomes this initiative and at the same time appeals to manufacturers and consumers to take responsibility for IT security.

Two years down the line, and the world’s most important IoT congress – the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona – could open its doors once again and the eco Association was there, live in person. As part of the NRW pavilion, eco and several member companies were able to present themselves on location.

Presentation at Mobile World Congress (MWC) on 28 February at 10 a.m., at North Rhine-Westphalia Pavilion in Hall 7, Booth C62 Smart City market boom: eco study forecasts over 17 per cent annual growth Digital technologies and applications make an indispensable contribution to achieving the German climate target...

This year, it’s not just the Covid-19 pandemic, but also the threatening climate change which will continue to drive forward digital transformation in the economy and society. “Digitalisation is part of the solution to many challenges,” says eco Chair of the Board Oliver Süme.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is growing rapidly, and everyday objects are more and more connected to the Internet and to other devices. It is increasingly difficult for consumers to judge which devices and services have which security features.

At the 26th Broadband Forum of the German ict + medienakademie on 10.11.21 in Cologne’s MediaPark, the question was explored as to why Germany is finding it so difficult to tap the potential for growth and prosperity that lies in the “Smart Rural Areas”.

SmartHome is an integrated topical field in the multi-layered IoT world and is regarded as an important building block in the topic areas of  Smart Neighbourhoods and Smart Cities. But how are devices and components of the SmartHome world technically linked to the Internet?

“Smart cities are inevitably the future in the long term. But what do we have to do to promote smart cities so that we as citizens can benefit faster and better?” With this question, eco board member Prof. Dr. Norbert Pohlmann gave the first important impulse in his welcoming speech.

The SmartHome Initiative Germany and eco Association are joining forces in promoting Smart Home innovations and markets. For the SmartHome Initiative, with its regional networks and more than 100 member companies, the Internet is an essential building block for smart building, living and working.

The safety test standard ETSI EN 303 645, which was already published in mid-2021, is intended to ensure more uniformity of safety standards for IoT devices, especially on the European market. The test standard is a recommendation to manufacturers and addresses all networked consumer IoT devices, especially in the Smart Home sector.

Digital technologies and services enable high CO2 savings in cities and metropolitan areas. In this way, they make a significant contribution to climate protection and are indispensable on the way to a carbon-neutral city, the Smart City study by eco and Arthur D. Little shows.

Digital solutions can help achieve sustainability goals, says Cloudflare CFO Thomas Seifert. In this interview, he names tools and gives examples of how companies can track and reduce their individual carbon footprint.

The future belongs to Smart Cities, as evidenced by the new joint study by eco Association and the management consultancy ADL. The study forecasts an average annual growth in Germany of over 17 percent, corresponding to an increase in revenues of over 46 billion Euro within five years.

Summa one of 24 new Gaia-X AISBL Board Members DE-CIX as a blueprint for other Internet Exchange operators Harald A. Summa, CEO of DE-CIX, the operator of the world’s leading Internet Exchange in Frankfurt am Main, was one of 24 people elected to the Gaia-X AISBL Board during the organisation’s first general assembly...

qbee AS helps customers to easily digitalise in the field of Industry 4.0 – with smart management and remote maintenance software for embedded Linux devices. In a short interview, Carsten Lehbrink, General Manager at qbee, reveals more about the Norwegian company, current challenges in the industry, and his expectations of eco.

The Service-Meister Consortium announces it will unveil its 2020-developed platform architecture at the end of the year.  Service-Meister is developing innovations using AI to improve the service processes of SMEs.

The quintessential message of eco at the German federal government's Digital Summit, titled “More Sustainability by Means of Digitalisation”: Digitalisation holds enormous potential for sustainability and climate protection.

Logistics is the bottleneck in e-commerce: Eight out of ten online shoppers (85 percent) would like to see a delivery time before the last click when making a purchase. If this information is missing, one in three (32 percent) discontinue their purchase. A trend that is actually intensifying for frequent customers: 44 percent will not snap up an offer on the web if it remains unclear when products will arrive.

In this issue, dotmagazine looks at how the world has changed in recent decades, how the Corona crisis has turned our world upside-down, further changes that are still needed to make society and business more equitable, and how digital infrastructure is supporting us in mastering the challenges of this transformation.

From today forward, the AV-TEST Institute, in cooperation with the eco Association, will complement the extensive data spectrum of its AV-ATLAS Threat Intelligence with real-time monitoring data of IoT (Internet of Things) devices and services.

Ingobert Veith from HUAWEI offers insight into the benefits of AI, together with 5G and IoT technologies – for everything from networks to autonomous driving, and on to fighting Covid-19. Read more on dotmagazine.  

eco is celebrating its 25 years of existence this year under the motto of “Internet with Responsibility”. At the same time, the concept of digital sovereignty is being discussed increasingly in the media, politics, and parts of the Internet industry. But what does digital sovereignty actually mean and how does it relate to the anniversary motto? We asked Alexander Rabe, Managing Director of eco – Association of the Internet Industry, for his thoughts.

ImagineOn provides an overview of how to train artificial intelligence on a budget. Read more on dotmagazine.

Joseph Carson from Thycotic talks to dotmagazine about the ‘A’ in AI and the thought that needs to be put into developing AI solutions. Read more on dotmagazine.

How can people with disabilities benefit from digital technologies and artificial intelligence in the workplace? Hauke Timmermann introduces the research project KI.ASSIST. Read more on dotmagazine.

To fully harness AI’s potential, eco Chair of the Board Oliver J. Süme urges politicians to promote societal acceptance and to strengthen both digital infrastructures and research & development. Read more on dotmagazine.

Harald A. Summa, CEO of the eco Association, explains that we should focus on the objectives, not the tool, to understand the potential of AI. Read more on dotmagazine.

One of the hottest topics currently moving the digital industry is the roll-out of the fifth generation of mobile technologies (5G) and their application, for example in the area of Industry 4.0 or connected driving. And it goes without saying that a cancellation of MWC Barcelona 2020 is not tantamount to a rejection of a secure Internet of Things.

In this issue, dotmagazine sheds light on the business potential of AI, and investigates what Europe needs to do to develop a thriving AI industry and support digital innovation.

“The new Commission is committed to tackling our generational challenges such as climate change, digitalization and migration." With these words, last Wednesday Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, presented the EU Commission's Work Programme for 2020.