The European DIGITAL SME Alliance, in the framework of EU-co-funded actions to raise awareness of the benefits of standards among SMEs and in partnership with SBS-Small Business standards, organises the “SBS Forum on ICT standards for SMEs”. The event will take place on January 23rd 2019,  in Rue du Commerce 123, Brussels. 

The “SBS Forum on ICT standards for SMEs” is a European platform for discussion and sharing of information about ongoing ICT standards activities that are relevant to SMEs. The Forum focuses particularly on digitisation of SMEs and it targets SMEs providing ICT services, as well as SME users of such services. The main target audience of the Forum are SMEs across the EU and EFTA member states, as well as associations representing SME interests.

 This year’s event will focus on open standards and ICT hubs as tools towards successful procurement procedures. European SMEs are the major contributors to the European economy and a well of innovation potential. Yet, they struggle to compete with larger suppliers in procurement processes.

Open standards have proven important to the creation and development of ICT technologies, as they help preventing vendor lock-in and foster a level playing field between all suppliers for the benefit of SMEs. At the same time, digital innovation hubs, consortia and other forms of collaboration aim to pool individual SMEs’ strengths.

This session will feature key experts from regulators, standards makers, service providers, and procurement professionals, who will give an overview on how open standards can be further developed and adopted so as to adequately support a networked ecosystem where end-to-end solutions with pieces of software from different vendors can seamlessly work together.

DRAFT AGENDA

10.00-10:30       Registration and Welcome Coffee

10.30-11.00       Setting the scene: Standards as enabling factors in ICT procurement

• Christel DAVIDSON (Small Business Standards)
• Sebastiano TOFFALETTI (European DIGITAL SME Alliance, SBS)
• Antonio CONTE (European Commission, DG GROW)

11.00-13.00       Panel session: Unlocking SMEs’ potential I – Public Procurement today and the EU Catalogue for ICT Standards in Public Procurement

• Antonio CONTE (European Commission, DG GROW)
• Sachiko MUTO (OpenForum Europe)
• Mikael HJALMARSON (Swedish Standards Institute)
• Aleksandra OLEJNIK (EUROCITIES)
• European DIGITAL SME Alliance (moderation)

13.00-14.00       Lunch break

14.00-15.30       Panel session: Unlocking SMEs’ potential II – Practical Insights into procurement procedures

• Emilio DÁVILA GONZÁLEZ (European Commission, DG CNECT)
• Paulo VALENTE (Cable Europe)
• Daniel MELIN (Kammarkollegiet, Sweden)
• Christopher GELLING (Mittelstand 4.0 – Kompetenzzentrum IT-Wirtschaft (KIW), Germany)
• European DIGITAL SME Alliance (moderation)

15.30-15.45       Conclusions

15:45                   End of the Forum