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CeBIT 2013: CODE_n continues its search for the most innovative startups of the digital world

Andrea Wlcek_August 28, 2012_8:24 AM_No Comment

Following the huge success at this year’s CeBIT, GFT and strategic partners Ernst & Young and the Deutsche Messe are putting the CODE_n13 contest into motion. We are searching the globe once again for the 50 most exceptional startups and young companies of the digital world. Under the motto “Smart Solutions for Global Challenges”, this year’s contest will focus on concepts for sustainable energy supply and usage.

CODE_n - Digital Pioneering

Sustainable business ideas that connect IT and energy

Innovative concepts for energy distribution by way of smart grids, efficiency maximizing cleantech or electro-mobility approaches, and modern management models for electricity supply in cities and buildings all fit into this topic area. Whether offering products, services or methods, anything goes as long as it serves to optimize energy usage. “The transition towards alternative energies is a colossal issue for all of us. That’s why we have to motivate the young generation to develop and market solutions,” says contest initiator Ulrich Dietz.

CODE_n13 Contest is searching for digital pioneers

CODE_n13 Contest is searching for digital pioneers

CODE_n as a global interface for startups and corporate players

It is more than just an innovations initiative; it strives to create an international CODE_n community. Central to this goal is the exchange of best practice between partners and young companies. Startups profit from the knowledge of experienced entrepreneurs who supply valuable tips on how to successfully implement and position a business model globally. Young companies gain insight into IT-based business models and trends in digital business.

CODE_n finalists present at CeBIT 2013

50 finalists will be chosen from the pool of received entries. They will then each have the chance to present their business concepts to the international public within the spectacular setting of the largest IT exhibition in the world. The highlight of the event is the announcement of the CODE_n13 contest winner during an award ceremony held directly at CeBIT. Cash prizes totaling €30,000 are up for grabs.

What criteria must participants meet?

All companies that have completed at least one business transaction and were founded in or after 2006 are eligible to participate. Applications may be submitted online via the CODE_n website.

The deadline for submissions is November 18, 2012.

 

Need to contact us? Send an e-mail to: code-n.contest@gft.com.

 

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CODE_n goes Cebit 2012

Andrea Wlcek_February 3, 2012_5:30 PM_No Comment

Only 30 days are left until it’s time for: CODE_n goes CeBIT 2012!

Be part of the most amazing event of 2012, just join our event here and meet and greet other participants!

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CODE_n Contest: These 50 startups will get the chance to exhibit at CeBIT 2012!

Andrea Wlcek_January 17, 2012_2:26 PM_Comment (1)

More than 400 startups from 42 countries have applied for the CODE_n Contest “Shaping Mobile Life”. Within the last weeks we have been both amazed and amused by some of the ideas and it was certainly no easy task to select the top 50! Among the various submissions are some surprising and innovative solutions for all aspects of our mobile lives. The ideas include a Collaborative Web Service for live customer advice in online shops, and a storytelling tool that links places with stories based on user-generated content.

A jury will draw up a short list of the ten top innovators for the final stage. Jurors are Gabriele Fischer (brand eins), Lars Hinrichs (HackFwd), Carsten Knop (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), Paulus Neef (PQuadra), Jens-Uwe Sauer (Seedmatch), Dr. Joseph Reger (Fujitsu) and Prof. Peter Weibel (ZKM). The arrangement of the jury is quite impressive and promises an outstanding expertise. From that short list the winner of the CODE_n Award will be selected and is to be presented during CeBIT on March 8, 2012.

CODE_n will also feature a radical visual backdrop – the like of which has never been seen at CeBIT. Artist Tobias Rehberger and architect Jürgen Mayer H. have blended art and technology to create a unique Innovation Space in the 3,500 square-meter Hall 16 – providing the perfect setting for the CODE_n finalists and a platform for inspiration, dialogue and business.

The competition’s partners will also be showcasing their products and services. In addition to GFT Technologies AG, the global innovation initiative is being supported by Ernst & Young, Fujitsu Technology Solutions, Deutsche Messe AG, industry association BITKOM and the Karlsruhe-based ZKM.

In the following days we will reveal further news regarding the event preparations – be excited!

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And the Winner is… The Verdict of our Blog Contest Jury is In

Andrea Wlcek_December 14, 2011_1:53 PM_Comments (7)

We announced our “Shaping Mobile Life” blog contest a few weeks ago, and have since received many interesting posts from you. Thanks to everyone who took part! Our six-member jury of bloggers and social media experts were really spoiled for choice. They sorted, compared, discussed – and finally reached a verdict.

And here are the winners:

First place: “For you, Facebook will be like what Yahoo is for us. It sounds vaguely familiar, but it’s just a word that’s gathered a thick layer of dust.”
In her entry, Judith Böhm took her pregnancy as an opportunity to reflect on how mobile life might affect the desires of her child. “Das Abenteuer deines Lebens – ein Wunschzettel von 2012 bis 2031” is the posting that won our jury over completely – and not just the female members. Jury member Andreas Schreiber sums it up: “The clear winner is a post that beautifully renders a mother’s thoughts about the future influence of new technologies on her child.”. In her interview, Judith Böhm told us about her own expectations toward her post: “I want to make people laugh and think, or touch them with my writing.” We think she succeeded! The complete interview with Judith Böhm can be found here.

 

Second place: “Ubiquitous networking has made everything – people, cars, and machinery – into hotspots. The network is literally in the air.”
In her post “Mobile Zukunft – ein Blick in die Glaskugel”, Alexa Wackernagel turns the spotlight onto current trends and incisively projects them into the future. And what put her in the winners’ circle? “Incredibly strong statements that could be the seed for at least 20 follow-up posts,” is how jury member Martina Pickhardt characterized the post. That’s also how we got to know Alexa Wackernagel in her interview – to the point, perceptive, and exciting. A sample: “Networking is increasingly becoming a part of our lives, with the boundaries between online and offline, private and public, becoming more and more blurred.” For more Wackernagel, read the interview.

 

Third place: “Siri could hear how Samsung’s smartphone alerted him and said: ‘Samsung, Siri is standing at 90°, and she’d like to meet you.’”
The SEO Trainees also cast their razor-sharp gaze into the future, convincing the jury with their humor and loving attention to detail. “Shaping Mobile Life – Die Fotolovestory” takes a light-hearted look at how we will fall in love, get engaged, married – and divorced – twenty years from now. “This is certainly one of the texts that entailed the most work (the images in particular), and it has a bit more of a humorous spin. It’s worth reading and thinking about whether this is really what we want ;) ” is how Nicole Simon summed up the jury’s decision to tap the SEO trainees. In their post, it was important to the SEO Trainees to communicate that their vision for the future is a mirror of the present: “An example for this is the idea that it no longer seems strange when people constantly stare at their phone displays when talking face to face – on the contrary,” explained Kerstin Timm on behalf of the SEO Trainees. For more about the SEO Trainees, we have an interview here.

And while they didn’t quite make it into the CODE_n Blog Contest winners’ circle, Martin Krauß and Pascal Tannich are certainly worth a special mention. Their contribution: the stop-motion video “L(i)eb’ die Zukunft”. Enjoy!

A word to those who didn’t quite make it to the top this time, or who maybe simply missed the deadline: Keep us in the loop about on your thoughts and web finds on shaping mobile life – on this blog (we’re always happy to publish guest posts), on Twitter @CODE_n, or on our Facebook wall!

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JUDITH BÖHM: “THE SMARTPHONE HAS CREATED NEW USAGE PATTERNS.”

Andrea Wlcek_December 14, 2011_1:50 PM_No Comment

The jury of our blog contest awarded first prize to blogger Judith Böhm for her posting “Das Abenteuer deines Lebens – ein Wunschzettel von 2012 bis 2031”. In the interview, she explains how mobile applications have changed her – and how women interact differently with technical innovations than men.

Judith Böhm SympatexterAndrea Wlcek: How and when did you get the idea to write your post for the CODE_n blog contest in the form of a letter to your unborn child? Why did you choose this form?

Judith Böhm: My partner and I have been talking to our baby since the beginning of our pregnancy. We regularly shoot short videos, and I’m writing a baby diary that I’m going to give my child as a present someday. Even though I never really know what’s going to come out in the end when I sit down to write, I immediately knew that it would be a letter to my child. The content took weeks to mature, though. It was a mixture of the idea that this would be an interesting and beautiful way to approach the topic of the competition, and an extension of my months-old habit of talking to my little one, sharing my everyday experiences, as well as my worries, fears and hopes for the future.

AW: How would you summarize the basic essence of your text? And in terms of content, what was most important for you while writing?

JB: I wonder whether I can keep pace with technological developments in order help my child make the right decisions in future. And whether I should presume to know what the right decisions will be. In terms of content, it was important to me to create a text that would draw people in so that they enjoy reading it – perhaps two or three times – despite its length. I want to make people laugh and think, or touch them with my writing.

AW: You predict that Facebook will seem as anachronistic in 14 years as Yahoo does today. The numerous web and mobile apps that were launched this year alone certainly suggest that development will continue at a brisk pace. What does a newcomer application need to offer so that you personally feel like trying it out?

JB: I have to recognize the benefit it offers me. I find most applications are either too inconvenient, or simply pointless. They should be simple to understand and use. If an application is not self-explanatory and intuitive, I quickly lose interest in it. And then it would also be good if I were not the only one for miles around who uses the new application.

AW: In your post, you describe a discussion with your husband about your little one’s first cellphone. To what extent do you think that men and women have different approaches to new developments in the web and mobile field?

JB: My partner is much faster when it comes to trying new technical things. I tend to be more of a late adopter (but heavy user ;-) . I’m always very skeptical as to whether we really need something (be it a bread baking machine, Amazon Lovefilm, mobile transaction numbers for online banking, or a new graphics card). He buys and installs things, shows me how they work, and then I’m always really enthusiastic about them. In addition, I find dealing with things like hardware, configurations and prices extremely tiresome. So it’s really great that there’s nothing he likes more than to pick the perfect smartphone and plan for me, and then set the phone up to suit my needs. I would never have given it any thought on my own, and without his help, I’d still be running around with my old Nokia. I don’t know whether that’s applicable to gender roles overall, though, because it was exactly the other way around with my parents: my mother always tried out the latest gadgets and blessed our household with the Internet in 1999. My dad always said that we don’t need anything like that… ;-)

AW: And finally: honestly, how many new web and mobile applications have you personally tried in the last 24 months – and which ones do you still use regularly?

JB: I tried Foursquare, but lost interest in it after a few weeks. Becoming the mayor of a location simply isn’t enough. For me, it still lacks a beneficial conceptual underpinning. I only rarely look at my RSS feed these days. I also have a bit of Facebook, Twitter and blog fatigue. I used Identi.ca for just a few days, only to return to Twitter. I’ve had a smartphone (Samsung Omnia 7, Windows Phone) for the past several months and I’m pretty excited about it. So far I’ve only installed free apps, such as WhatsApp the day before yesterday. I use the smartphone to pass time, listen to music (Zune), play games (all the free games I can find on Windows Marketplace), read, chat, navigate (Telmap), browse, shop (eBay), and compare prices (preferably on Amazon, since I can also read the reviews there). It’s just a shame when there’s no reception in stores, like a number of Saturn, Media Markt, Rewe, and Obi outlets. One side effect of the new smartphone is I hardly ever use my SLR camera, or upload pictures to Flickr these days. So the smartphone also has displaced other things. But more importantly, it has created entirely new usage patterns, and I consume much more media content than before.

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ALEXA WACKERNAGEL: “NETWORKING IS INCREASINGLY BECOMING A PART OF OUR LIVES”

Andrea Wlcek_December 14, 2011_1:48 PM_No Comment

With her post “Mobile Zukunft – ein Blick in die Glaskugel”, blogger Alexa Wackernagel took second place in our blog contest on “Shaping Mobile Life”. In this interview, she answers a number of questions about her inspiration and her views of the mobile future.

Andrea Wlcek: How and when did you get the idea for your post?

Alexa Wackernagel: I can’t nail it down to a particular time. As a science fiction fan, the future is a part of my daily life – even if it’s only wishing I could beam myself, and that occurs to me nearly every day. I simply gave my thoughts free rein and collected ideas. Putting them into words was much harder.

AnW: How would you summarize the basic essence of your text? And in terms of content, what was most important for you while writing?

AW: Networking is increasingly becoming a part of our lives, with the boundaries between online and offline, private and public, becoming more and more blurred. While I was writing, I realized how complex the subject is, so a differentiated view of the various contexts was important to me.

AnW: In your post, you describe a state in which people will be online continuously – connected by an earpiece and glasses or contact lenses. “People no longer choose to be online, but decide when they want to be offline” – and disconnect via thought control. Do you consider that to be a desirable state?

AW: I pay a great deal of attention to what I post and where. The idea of being “always on” doesn’t really strike me as desirable. But I think we can hardly avoid it, so I’d rather try to keep at least some control, rather than accepting it passively. On the other hand, I often forget to check into locations, and automating the check-in would be really handy in such cases. In principle, I like the idea of having a natural, barely noticeable connection to the net on me at all times that I can use without having to twiddle around with gadgets or deal with language barriers.

AnW: One final question: how many new web and mobile applications have you personally tried in the last 24 months – and which ones do you still use regularly?

AW: Oh, that’s hard to say. I try quite a few things, but I quickly lose interest or fail to see the point of an application. Travel helpers like booking apps, timetables, maps, and guides are indispensable – I’d often be lost without them. Tools like Evernote, Dropbox, Shazam, Facebook, and Twitter are faithful mobile companions, of course. And sometimes I just pass the time by drawing in SketchBookX :)

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SEO TRAINEES: “IT NO LONGER SEEMS STRANGE WHEN PEOPLE CONSTANTLY STARE AT THEIR PHONE DISPLAYS WHEN TALKING FACE TO FACE.”

Andrea Wlcek_December 14, 2011_1:45 PM_No Comment

The jury of our blog contest awarded third place to the SEO Trainees for their post “Shaping Mobile Life ─ Die Fotolovestory”. In this interview, they explain how they got the idea for their post and whether they wouldn’t mind having a “singles near you” app themselves from time to time.

Andrea Wlcek: How and when did you get the idea for your post? Why did you decide to write your post in the form of a photo love story?

SEO Trainees: The idea to present the mobile future in that form was fairly spur of the moment. But the longer we thought about it, the better we liked it. The fact remains that no one can make an accurate prediction of the future. Take the Internet, for example. At the end of the 20th century, nobody could have imagined how deeply it would affect our lives already in 2011. Who knows, maybe the future will be completely different from the way we picture it? And then why not incorporate old-fashioned elements that everyone knows from their childhood? Bravo was the leading magazine for young people in Germany back in the day, and we all read its photo love stories. So illustrating the future using the photo love story format was not only entertaining, the historical element also provides a nice contrast to the technological revolution.

AW: How would you summarize the basic essence of your text? And in terms of content, what was most important for you while you were writing?

ST: Besides having fun, which was of course our main motivator, we wanted to approach the topic from a satirical angle. Many of the points we mentioned already play a big role today, so we intentionally put a humorous spin on them. An example for this is the idea that it no longer seems strange when people constantly stare at their phone displays when talking face to face – on the contrary. And the fact that mobile applications limit personal interactions is something that should be seen with a critical eye.

AW: In the photo love story, you develop the idea that mobile technology could gain ever more influence in the most private aspects of our lives. Do you personally like the idea of “singles near you” and “ex” apps, or can you do without that kind of technological support in future?

ST: Personally, we have mixed feelings about such developments. On one hand, a “singles near you” app strikes us as absurd. Yet I’m sure that one or the other of us would give it a try out of curiosity or just for fun. Such an app would be the future of personal ads, and even though none of us have ever used such an ad, we do know people who have found happiness that way. So why not a “singles near you” app? In any case, it’s important that individuals always have the option of deciding just how much information they want to reveal. Such apps could be a useful tool in that case.

AW: And one final question: how many new web and mobile applications have you personally tried in the last 24 months – and which ones do you still use regularly?

ST: Comparing our experiences, we realized that we all have our own preferences and ways of using mobile applications. There are the “classics”, who rely on firmly established apps like Facebook, Barcoo, traffic apps, etc., and “switchers”, like our trainee colleague Nico – interesting apps never stay on his smartphone longer than a few days. And then there’s Olaf, who has to put up with a lot of ribbing because still uses a dumbphone and only knows the mobile world from hearsay.

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Ulrich Dietz: “An entrepreneur needs a feeling for the right decision – sometimes it’s a spontaneous gut feeling.”

Andrea Wlcek_November 30, 2011_1:43 PM_No Comment

Ulrich Dietz (Photo: Günther Bayerl for brand eins)

Andrea Wlcek: You were recently voted one of Germany’s best entrepreneurs. What makes a successful entrepreneur, Mr. Dietz?

Ulrich Dietz: Passion, perseverance, a certain willingness to take risks. But in the long run of course, growth. If you want to be successful, you need to have faith in your own ideas.

AW: Do these principles apply in the same way today as they did when you founded your IT company 25 years ago?

UD: More than ever before, good ideas also need friends and a critical exchange of views. Factors such as internationality, networking skills and flexibility also play an increasingly important role. Compared to the old days, decisions have to be taken more quickly in these fast-moving times. An entrepreneur needs a feeling for the right decision – sometimes it’s a spontaneous gut feeling.

AW: You yourself recently initiated the innovation contest CODE_n. What do you expect from the competition?

UD: Many young people around the world are thinking about our current and future mobile society. CODE_n aims to bring together these fresh new ideas, present them to an international audience and thus give them a chance to achieve global success. But CODE_n is also the start of a wide-reaching community, a global innovation network based on sustainable support and mutual exchange.

AW: What will participants receive if they win?

UD: The participants will receive an exceptional platform to showcase their concepts, products and apps. The presentation at the CeBIT fair will feature a unique backdrop – a highlight certain to attract considerable media interest.

AW: Prestigious awards certainly raise a company’s profile. But it’s still a long way from actually implementing the idea.

UD: Gaining attention is only the first step. What then follows is ongoing business support. The aim is to help young companies take the next growth steps and launch their ideas on an international market.

AW: What kind of support can the CODE_n partners offer the winner?

UD: IT start-ups have plenty of creativity, but often don’t have the necessary business and technological know-how or experience. For this reason, experienced managers of our strategic partners will be offering personal coaching. Over a period of two years, a network of managers will provide the winner with advice and help, for example discussing growth strategies or important company decisions.

AW: The topic of the contest is “Mobility”. How relevant do you think this topic will be in future?

UD: These days, every child knows how to use a smartphone; such mobile devices will also be used increasingly by companies in future. Each employee will have access to the Internet. This combination of growing private and business use will lead to a myriad of new application opportunities.

Every IT company is currently working on new developments – whether security solutions, new database applications, operating systems or new devices and apps. It’s the right time to initiate a start-up movement.

AW: Do you expect many applications from abroad?

UD: We’ve already received over 200 applications from more than 30 countries. They include some fantastic business concepts which really whet the appetite. The CODE_n hall at the CeBIT will not only be showcasing a wide variety of mobile business concepts but also a cultural variety of young companies from around the world. I’m already looking forward to meeting them and exchanging views.

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