Kelloggs, Co-operative Bank, MAG and Cinch will be sharing key insights at the North’s biggest ever digital transformation event at Manchester Central this month designed to help IT leaders tackle  major tech challenges with a focus on network and infrastructure, cloud, cyber, unified comms, data and AI, digital culture, skills and hybrid working.

They join a list of 135 confirmed speakers including 63 senior tech leaders and 34 analysts who will be taking part. Manchester Tech Week is anchored around three major shows - Digital Transformation EXPO (DTX) which returns for its sixth outing in the city (previously IP EXPO) as well as the launch of Unified Communications EXPO (UCX) and Connected North.

John Hobson, VP & CIO, Kellogg Europe, will be leading a panel session on why IT must drive business speed and agility. Becky Franks, Head of UX & Optimisation, Co-operative Bank, will be talking about re-designing digital and tackling transformation in a complex organisation plus how leading the Digital Bees network is championing tech adoption across Manchester.

Andy Norton, Head of Engineering Practice, Cinch will be telling people what it really takes to go from a 20-person start-up in a small Manchester office to a 300+ people unicorn disrupting the car industry.

Cloud will be top of the agenda for Graham Pollitt, IT Infrastructure Director,  Manchester Airports Group, who will be focusing on a roadmap for moving from legacy to cloud.

Manisha Mistry, Portfolio Director, Digital Culture and Collaboration, R2 Data Labs, Rolls Royce plc, will be walking delegates through re-imagined workspaces and asking what does the office of the future look like.

Attendees will also gain practical insight on how to leverage the latest technology from some of the world’s most influential tech brands including CISCO, Okta, AWS, 8X8, Splunk, Threatlocker, Google, Microsoft, RingCentral and GAMMA.

James McGough, MD of Imago Techmedia, the organisers behind Manchester Tech Week, said the calibre of speakers underlined the importance of the event and its role in fast-tracking responses to tech challenges.  He said: “The week will help everyone take the next steps in implementing the latest enterprise IT and communications technologies, with a key focus on how we collaborate on growth to improve the way we live and work.”

An exciting programme is supported by regional and national partners including the Department of International Trade, MIDAS, H.O.S.T, GM Combined Authority, GM Chamber of Commerce, pro-manchester, Manchester Digital, and the leading community meet-up groups from Cyber Security, DevOps and AI.

Ben Ward, Business Development Manager at MIDAS welcomed the MTW initiative and said it was in the right place to succeed: He said: “Manchester has the digital infrastructure necessary to be a world class digital city region and provides businesses located here with all the tools to succeed.”

Katie Gallagher, MD of Manchester Digital, added: “We have a growing tech and digital industry here which includes young start-ups, businesses moving up north from other regions and of course, our homegrown large tech and digital businesses, all of which will play their part in the post-pandemic economic recovery.”

Sam Booth, Chief Executive of pro-manchester said “Manchester prides itself on its reputation for collaboration so at a time when digital transformation is the linchpin for almost every business in every sector what better way is there to showcase what we do best than partnering with Manchester Tech Week. I am excited to see the array of opportunities this week of tech focused activity brings.”

To find out more about Manchester Tech Week 2022 click here and to register for the DTX event on 28th-29th April click here.