Banks, Financial Services, Forum, Latvia, Technology

This time, the human being – the customer, the consumer, the source of information – is in the centre, and, therefore, the theme of the conference is E-Commerce HD2 – Homo Digitalis in High Definition.

“In recent years, we have talked so much about the necessity to get rid of all that is obsolete and about the necessity to create something new. Disruption has become a common term for daily use, especially in e-commerce and fintech industry,” says Ilya Shevchenko, the Executive Director of the Rietumu eCom21 conference. “But it is a customer, a technology user, a person who must be at the centre of any business. However, in spite of all considerable changes and achievements, very little has been changed in this respect. And still, this has recently been often forgotten because the focus is on technological advancements and achievements.

To those who do not see the importance of the user who is also the payer, focusing on an innovation for the sake of innovation instead, their project usually ends at the level of a beautiful idea. The idea and the ability to implement it in the interests of a normal human being – a consumer - express the difference between unsuccessful and successful companies in the e-commerce business. Why do some people succeed in a vertical start and others remain unknown, with all their breakthrough ideas? And, what is the most mysterious - why do users choose one certain solution, which is perhaps not the best, not the most affordable solution available in the market?” The conference organisers, together with the invited internationally recognised experts, promise to find answers to all these questions.

All speeches and discussions within the framework of the Rietumu eCom21 conference will be subordinated to this topic. Also the no-less important actualities will be touched upon, “For example, last year, the development and deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT) reached a dizzying increase, but it also called attention to such issues as security. Investments in IoT security solutions also increased significantly in 2016. This is especially important in this area – if you let things drift, the ones who use the situation for their own mercenary, often criminal purposes, will soon appear (and there have been such examples),” emphasises Ilya Shevchenko. With account of the fact that the theme of protection of users, their data and devices of access to their finances has become a very pressing issue, the conference will be attended by the leaders of the cybersecurity industry, in particular leading experts of Kaspersky Lab, as well as inventors and top managers of other leaders of the industry.

The debate on regulatory changes (such as, for example, PSD2 and the Forth AML Directive) and their impact on the sphere of e-commerce is not over. Changes in legislation will be implemented and will surely affect both online marketing and other online businesses. Therefore, the participants of the Rietumu eCom21 conference will traditionally explore and discuss the challenges and hardships the e-commerce business will face in the coming years. The leaders in global business consulting, among them top managers of Acuity, Baker McKenzie and other internationally acknowledged companies, have been invited to speak on this subject at the 2017 Rietumu eCom21 conference.

“It is expected that there will be very interesting discussions on the regions, the development of which we almost do not perceive in our everyday life, such as Africa and Asia. However, they are very topical for e-businesses that would like to enter new markets, and one of the obvious ways to do it is to study and analyse the success stories of the businesses already efficiently operating in these markets.

There is a lot of innovation in these areas. Moreover, these markets are huge, so often it is enough for any new company to get to such a market to achieve rapid growth and financial success. It is possible to quickly achieve a very high turnover rate there. For example, India is a huge market with plenty of companies specialising in software development, its support and consumer services. China has performed several revolutions in e-commerce, online finances and is a leader in the market of cryptocurrencies. We will discuss and analyse the specifics of consumers on these markets, their demands and expectations, and how the compliance with these requirements provides total success in businesses,” says Ilya Shevchenko, noting the most important aspects of the Rietumu eCom21 conference.

In parallel with the speaker presentations, as usual, much attention is paid to panel discussions at the Rietumu eCom21 conference. Inviting participants, the conference organizers pay particular attention to diversity of opinions. It is important that discussions are made and the event is useful to each participant. As usual, on the sidelines of the conference, it will be possible to talk with experts and speakers, so the Rietumu eCom21 conference is also traditionally a great place to make new business contacts. The conference is open to e-commerce executives and representatives, online business owners and developers, IT system and cyber security specialists, IT software developers, as well as developers, top managers and leading specialists of payment systems, financial experts and marketing specialists.

Rietumu eCom21 is the largest international conference in the field of e-commerce in the Baltic States. It is regularly visited by hundreds of participants from the Baltic states, Central, Eastern and Western Europe, CIS countries, Asia and other regions of the world. Each year, the organizers invite the top executives from world famous companies, e-commerce experts and business "sharks" to participate at the conference. Rietumu eCom21 – it is a platform for discussions on the most topical issues in electronic commerce, as well as the opportunity to establish useful business contacts. It is precisely this practical orientation that has become f the business card of the conference.