Crypto Chat
Johnny McCamley, Founder and CEO of CryptoClear will be joined by Elysia Patel, Director of Strategy and MRLO at Based Digital Assets to give their insights into whether Crypto has gone mainstream, can DeFi overhaul the current financial system and what a crypto 'winter' means and give their take on how long this winter will last.
Stay Safe - The Dark Reality of Social Media Behind the Screen and how to Avoid Danger
As online usage continues to dominate our daily lives, it can be increasingly more difficult to stay ahead of harm and danger. Digital DNA features a series of expert discussion on the important role of Trust and Safety and asks where Big Tech responsibility should start and end?We continue the discussions on Day 2 with an important lens on digital civility and online safety in an educational fireside chat with industry experts in online Trust and Safety, delving into the rise of online toxicity and harmful content from mis/disinformation, child safety to online dating and financial fraud and more.This session will offer meaningful insights and understanding of the risk and attention we must observe as users, creators, parents and teachers of online, social and virtual environments and asks what more should be formalised in the province to ensure Northern Ireland can be safe in an global online space.
Harnessing an entrepreneurial spirit to achieve your goals on a global scale
Join FinTrU Chief Technology Officer, Emma Pollock, for a fireside chat where she will discuss the company’s commitment to innovation and how your entrepreneurial spirit can be a major driver in achieving your goals.
Delivering on ESG in a Digital World
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) are becoming hot topics for every company today. The Tech Sector plays a key role in creating new environmental pressures – such as through ever-increasing growth of power-hungry data centres – in creating potential new social inequalities – whether in the workforce and or beyond where access to technology and technology education excludes and marginalises in some cases. And we face the risk of green-washing, or using ESG as nothing more than a marketing ploy if governance does not challenge, question, hold us accountable. Ronan will consider these questions and the potential of digital technology as a means to deliver on ESG goals, and will discuss some of the internal initiatives Version 1 is undertaking to address sustainability and ethical impact.
Is it time for BIG Tech to Step up and do the right thing!
The recent assembly election in Northern Ireland was perhaps the most fiercely contested election in recent years. And front and centre of that contest was the use of social media platforms. Whilst social media platforms have provided unparalleled access to elective representatives and others in public life, the 2-way public communication facilitated by such platforms has been hijacked by anonymous and fake accounts, intent in serving up a toxic stream of harassment, misogynistic abuse and at times, threats of physical violence. ( 27 times more towards female politicians than male counterparts)This high profile panel of distinguished public representatives will discuss examples of online harassment they have faced, the challenge facing local legislatures like the NI Executive in mandating for change with Big Tech companies and will pose the question of whether BIG Tech should take action themselves before it goes too far.This incredibly important and relevant panel would not have been possible without the the support of Martin Craigs, UN WTO and WTTC Ambassador, who has helped to curate this session at this year's Digital DNA Belfast.
Innovations in Autonomous Drone Technology
Hear from Matthew on how BT are applying innovative drone solutions using IoT and connectivity across a range of sectors.
Technology in an Evolving Privacy World
How regulations from Europe are becoming globalized and the foundational pieces big companies need to put in place to deal with it
Multi-dimensional Transformation - Product, Experience & Technology
Allstate has recently launched a brand-new technology platform, with a new core insurance product and a new digital experience that is critical to the transformation of this long standing, highly successful company. This will enable Allstate to grow from its traditional agency based person-person business model to also serve the digital-first generation. This is an opportunity to hear some key learnings from a large-scale program where we have developed and delivered a new digital consumer experience, a new core product and a new end to end technology platform to support both, all developed in parallel, while still successfully operating our business.
Founders’ Insights into Raising Investment for your Tech Startup
Alastair Cameron, Co-Founder of Startacus chats with leading NI Founders about the process of raising investment for a tech startup, and how this milestone is just the beginning of the next part of a startup’s journey; what happens next.
Will It Make the Boat Go Faster? - Sports Marketing & eCommerce in 2022
'Will it make the boat go faster?' - The strategy coined by the British men's rowing team who won the Olympic gold in Sydney, Australia in 2000. Was centred around only focusing on activities that will make them faster, and ruthlessly cutting everything else.2022 could be the most challenging year in a decade for eCommerce. Increasing cost per acquisition, lack of transparency in media buying platforms, cost of living crisis and high delivery costs. I'll step through the strategy of incremental gains from creative to checkout that STATSports use to make our boat go faster. Balancing Brand and Performance Marketing to drive long term revenue. Whilst focusing on the real world 'reality' of trying to maintain rapid growth of our DTC product in a challenging market, whilst ignoring virtual ones (For now).
There's More To The Story: How Technology Fuels Digital Journalism
SeedLegals - Getting ready to raise investment internationally.
With Northern Ireland having a small but active investment market - what can you do to attract investment from ROI, GB, US and EU?
Digital Transformation in Irish SMEs - Leveraging Technology to Deliver Great Customer Experiences
Salesforce are delighted to host a panel discussion on how digital transformation has positively impacted SMEs customer engagement and growth. Our panel of leaders within Irish start ups will share how they are leveraging technology within their organisations to operate efficiently and deliver great customer experiences. We will hear about key topics driving digital transformation, the importance of using systems that help rather than hinder productivity, as well as hearing the do’s and don’ts when it comes to planning for the right technology for your business.
Can Climate Tech bridge the carbon chasm?
In the words of UN Secretary General Antonia Guterres, we are still “careering towards climate catastrophe”. The NI Climate Change Bill commits us to Net Zero by 2050, but is it an ask too far? How do we collectively accelerate our drive to Net Zero and what role will technology play?
Building thriving, innovative communities in Northern Ireland
Hear from some of BT leaders on how they are delivering digital innovations and the next generation of services for communities through smart ports, urban regeneration, and much more.
The Metaverse - Science fiction turned reality
Author Neal Stephenson coined the term “metaverse” in his 1992 science-fiction novel “Snow Crash,” which envisions a virtual reality-based successor to the internet. The novel imagines a bleak future: The global economy has collapsed, and federal governments have lost most of their power to a handful of giant corporations. The metaverse is an escape. So, in our reality what will the Metaverse look like? What are the positives for society in embracing virtual and immersive technologies and what are the potential threats?
The Missing Cryptoqueen: lessons from a multi-billion dollar ponzi scam
Jamie Bartlett will talk about his forthcoming book The Missing Cryptoqueen, a multi-billion dollar crypto-ponzi scam. He will draw out lessons for the wider IT community from the story and sketch out the future of online crime and what can be done to tackle it.
Startup to scaleup, and back to where it all began.
Kevin Boyle, CEO of Gearset, discusses his story and the origins of Gearset, a product based engineering company with a heartbeat around an engineering led culture. Gearset is a bootstrapped company doing amazing things in the DevOps for Salesforce space with a team that’s doubled almost every year since 2017 and recently opened a new engineering centre in Belfast.
ASOS in Belfast. Creating a culture, building a team, & developing new generations of Technologists
Ross Hompstead, ASOS’s Site Lead in NI, and Sean Devlin, Director at MCS Group discuss the ASOS journey in Northern Ireland. The opportunities and challenges of building a team from non-traditional tech backgrounds through academies and what he see’s happening in the future.
Traversing Graph Technology
All of us either consume or generate data every day in our applications and every time we do there is a data store underneath being hit to provide information. While most of us are familiar with the concept of relational databases, there is another approach large companies have been utilising for years. Graph Databases.It’s no shocking fact that Facebook can classify roughly 52,000 traits for each of us, but all of that is powered by the relationships we have with our own profiles, our likes and our friends. Every day the Taste Graph that underpins Pinterest expands when you save a pin, generating an understanding of all 100 Billion Pins and how they relate to their 200 Million monthly users.In this talk, we’re doing to explore the concept of Graph Databases, how they differ from traditional data storage techniques and deep dive on some real life use cases. It’s time to traverse through the topic of Graph Technology.
Data-driven approach to Net Zero
As the carbon agenda continues to evolve at a rapid pace across our industry, it is critical that businesses get a plan in place to reduce their Green House Gas (GHG) emissions over the coming years. Carbon legislation is already in place with many companies already reporting their emissions data on an annual basis.When implementing any carbon reduction plan (CRP), the role of data in tracking environmental performance is crucial. Setting baselines, monitoring performance year-on-year and continually identifying opportunities to improve will be essential in achieving both short-term and long-term reduction goals.In this session, SustainIQ Co-Founder Liam McEvoy will discuss what net zero is, and the role that data & technology has to play in supporting you to measure, monitor & report toward sustainability commitments.
Full Stack's dead. Here comes Low Code...
Low-code and no-code development has been gaining in popularity over recent years. Conor McCormick and Jonathan Watters will debate the strengths and weaknesses of this approach as compared with traditional coding development. It will be an interactive session and audience participation will be encouraged.
All Jobs are Tech Jobs...
69% of employers say every job is basically a tech job, according to the CareerBuilder’s Midyear Job Forecast. Today, every job has some element of technology involved emphasising the importance of these skills. Our panel will discuss what it really means to have a career in technology these days.
Responsible Trustworthy and Ethical AI
With the power of AI being utilised to enhance decision making, improve processes, and automate tasks related to things that impact our everyday lives, it’s imperative that customers, service users, the public and those commissioning AI solutions, can trust what it’s doing. This panel will be a conversation with leading experts in the areas of AI, Ethics & Governance and Citizen engagement for the Co-creation of services. It will discuss what Responsible, Trustworthy and Ethical AI is, why it is needed and what are the technological, political and societal barriers to be addressed.
Nothing to Use | Reducing Risk with UX Design
In 2018 71% of global mobile users abandoned apps 3 months after downloading them and 25% of users abandoned apps after using them only once. Maria will discuss how UX design can mitigate the risk of building the wrong thing and prevent churn.
What Does An Effective Tech Culture Look Like In 2025?
What Does An Effective Tech Culture Look Like In 2025?
A user centric approach to clearing ROT
How we have used UX design sprints to bring a customer driven approach to data management at scale within large Enterprises
One big river: the advantages of centralising your data streams
Nearly all business operations are quantifiable. The challenge now is taking vast swathes of competing data, and presenting relevant, actionable metrics to the right people. It has been a specialty of izon for over 8 years, and today we are interviewing some of our customers to understand what we have done, why, and what tangible benefits coalescing multiple data streams has had on their business.
The Great Disconnection - How reaching your employees has never been more important
65% of workers say they feel less connected. Employee disconnection is one of the main drivers of voluntary turnover, with lonely employees costing U.S. companies up to $406 billion a year. The Grammarly and Harris Poll data shows most business leaders (57%) cited employee satisfaction and retention as a top priority this year, even ahead of team productivity and customer satisfactionThe majority of employees (86%) experience communication issues at work, and they report increased stress as the top impact.
Diversity: Undervalued roles in Software
A group of specialist role enthusiasts discuss the variety of software roles within organisations that are often undervalued and under-invested when it comes to building out products and platforms. We seek to demystify the value each role brings to a software organisation and encourage those who seek to follow those career paths.
Challenges and Opportunities for the NI Startup Ecosystem
Eva-Jayne Doherty, Startup Community Manager at Raise Ventures chats to Andrew Kirke, Partner at Tughans, David Phelan, BD Executive. Belfast Met, Jenny Ervine, Co-Founder at Raise Ventures, and Nial Borthistle, BD & Community Manager for Glandore, about the current landscape for NI startups in NI and also key opportunities and challenges that the ecosystem will face over the coming months and years.
Getting ahead in the new world of work
Keeping skills and knowledge hot in the new world of work.Some questions we'll answer during the session:How has remote and hybrid working changed the way we consume information and collaborate with our colleagues?How confident are we in this new world and how do we provide space to experiment? After the session the group will:- Have insight into the challenges that hybrid and remote working have on workplace development- Have Top tips on informing their development plans- Discuss the importance of building connections in different environments
The group chat exposed! What you don't hear in the office.
Every workplace has a group chat and tech is no different. Have you ever wondered what the “women in tech” really talk about? Our panelists will be exposing the topics that really do matter to them, everything from the motherhood penalty, workplace culture, role models etc. Join us live to find out which of these topics give one of our panelists hives.
How to take the 1st steps towards Product Leadership
Want to become a strategic Product Manager? This talk provides some techniques to have a more strategic influence in your current role through product analytics & the North Star Framework
Metaverse and Metanomics vs the Law
The Metaverse is to be a 3.0 immersive experience, valued by data capitalists at trillions of dollars. But what laws protect its visitors, and how can businesses protect IP in products they sell?
Inclusion to Belonging
Diverse teams help a business grow. They in turn attract better people to the business. They make better products and services and in return make the business more successful, which means everyone succeeds. However, without a strong culture where people feel they belong is any of this possible?
Creating the Right Environment for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Tech
Creating the Right Environment for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Tech
The Story of Branding
Join David (DHD) as he looks at branding's journey through time and how story telling is fundamental to connecting meaning and emotion to your brand.
Amplifying Engagement by Rectifying One Widespread Mistake
We all know the importance of an engaged workforce, particularly in the software industry where it's such a battle to be able to attract and retain tech talent. But I've been partnering with companies, big and small, to help them become Vibrant Workplaces for a number of years now and there's one thing I see which happens in this industry time and again that sets employers up for a world of pain.In this talk I'll reveal what that is, the damage it does and state my case for what I think we need to be doing differently in order to amplify engagement across our teams and businesses.
Tapping into Talent: Building a Global Northern Ireland
With continued surges in growth across the UK, the demand for talent gets hotter and hotter. With home-grown talent fiercely competitive, tech organisations are starting to tap into the global talent pool to fuel their hiring strategies but for many, international hiring feels like a daunting, costly and time consuming process. This session explores the realities and advantages of international recruitment - from the smallest startups, to large scale-ups. Find out how your organisation can achieve significant growth in 2022 and beyond, with all of the added skills, cultural and behavioural benefits of a diverse, multi talented workforce, without too much invested time, money or other resources.
'Remote Working and the Global Talent Pool - Opportunity or Threat
Northern Ireland has one of the most rapidly growing I.T sectors in the UK and competition for talent has never been higher. The IT sector has has grown by almost 80% since 2021 and demand for digital marketing skills is at all time high.In this session we will explore the opportunities and challenges of hybrid and remote working and discuss how NI companies can compete with global originations when it comes to attracting and retaining talent.
The Future of Fintech: The next big thing?
The Future of Fintech: The next big thing?
Myth vs Reality: The Future of the Digital Worker
“A billion people will lose their jobs over the next 10 years due to AI and exponential Technologies, and if anything, COVID has accelerated that by about nine years,” Our panel will be discussing the implications of exponential technologies such as AI, Machine learning, robotic automation on the modern workforce in Operations, Technology and consulting.
Women Leaders in Tech - Stories and Learnings
Women in Tech present a Panel of Women Site Leads and Senior Managers - who will discuss their roles, various (and differing) routes into leadership and lessons learned along the way
Making Green Business Viable: Navigating Net Zero Technologies
Climate change, an ever-changing energy crisis and the rise of green investment have created a compelling case to invest in Net Zero technology. Billed as the biggest opportunity of our time, how can businesses capitalise on going green without going under? Panel Outline: • The scale of the climate crisis – widespread, rapid and only intensifying. • The role of the energy crisis and the rise of renewable energy in accelerating transformative change. • The true value of going green - how authentic sustainability impacts business, investor and shareholder value. • How can companies make built environments more environmentally friendly?• Identifying the roadblocks preventing widespread adoption. • How can we make climate tech accessible?
The Risks of Social Media and how to Handle Them
The use of websites and social media, particularly, user generated content, are invaluable to businesses to promote their products and services. It is a cost effective way to reach a wide audience. It is a two way process of communication with the customer which can often be to assess the customer’s needs and plan for the future. Previously more traditional firms would have avoided social media platforms. That is no longer an option for most businesses whose clients want them to communicate in a way that works for them in a digital world. However, there can also be a downside which must be managed. Publication over the internet and the use of social media platforms to market can lead to both civil and regulatory consequences. Where personal data is misused, there can be civil claims by data subjects and complaints to and enforcement action by The Information Commissioner’s Office. User generated content may also lead to claims in relation to fake reviews, intellectual property disputes, defamation and harassment. For most companies, their employees are their strength but also their weakness. With agile working introduced, it is more difficult to supervise employees. If an employee makes a post during their employment or using the employer’s email address, the employer may be vicariously liable for any actionable materials.Social Media continues to be one of the most popular online activities. This panel discussion will outline the potential risks of social media and how to take practical steps to manage those risks. The panel will consist of cross-disciplinary experts at Cleaver Fulton Rankin, to reflect the fact that the issue spans across many different areas of law.
Tomorrow’s Leaders are in this Room
We know the voices of future leadership come from our younger colleagues, so why shouldn’t they be shaping the work we do today? That’s where Version 1’s Shadow Board comes into play. Hear from a few of our under 30 Shadow Board members, and how they are helping shape the future of our organisation and developing their own careers.
How do you want to change the world?
Software is ubiquitous; technology and lines of code are transforming virtually every industry, job, and aspect of life. Opportunities for careers in the software industry abound. A recent survey shows that 1 in 4 job openings in Belfast is in the tech sector (1 in 7 for Northern Ireland). However the reality is that only 1% of students choose to study computer programming at A-Level, and local university applications for computer programming related subjects is declining every year. This is not just a Northern Ireland challenge, but a global one. To ensure that the Northern Ireland software industry remains a significant driver of the 10X economy, we must take action now! We've brought together a panel of experts from across the industry to discuss what we can do as an industry to inspire the next generation of software professionals.
Help! The Machines Are Coming! (To Automate My Marketing)
Anyone working in marketing today will be aware of the impending arrival of 'Artificial Intelligence' that will revolutionise our work and takeover (some of) our jobs... apparently.Join this session for a non-technical review of how 'machines' are already changing the way we work and are creeping into the tools marketing professionals use. I will use Google Analytics 4 and Google Ads as primary examples of how machine learning assists analysts in their role.This session is for humans who work in marketing in any capacity, who are open to new ideas and curious about what the immediate future will look like.
