SMART BUILDING EXPO definitely falls within this second category, convinced, as it is, that exhibitions that create product and supply chain culture have a decisive role to play in the construction of that market in which the real competition between the various operators takes place. We are not afraid to say that, from this point of view, SMART BUILDING EXPO, which will be opening the doors on its third edition in November 2021, but which is the result of a long process, is a pre-competitive event, but this is exactly what makes it irreplaceable. The success of a product, as we know, is determined by a fortunate combination of factors: innovative idea, price and, perhaps most importantly, timing, meaning the market's willingness at that particular moment in time to receive and adopt that specific design idea, transforming it into a product. More often than not, timing is the most difficult factor to predict, because it is a largely exogenous factor, determined by an extended convergence of factors and a widespread sensitivity that no operator can produce autonomously. But who or what creates this extended receptivity to innovation? Clearly many elements together, one in particular being absolutely crucial: training. We can have the best product in the world, but if we don't have technicians capable of introducing it onto the market, and a market that is ready to welcome it, failure is just around the corner”.

During the “Smart Building Roadshow 2020” organised by Anitec-Assinform and ANCE - the leading industrial associations in the ICT and construction sectors - the companies that took part were asked several times about the key factor to promoting the introduction of new technologies, right from the design stage, in new buildings. They were unanimous in their opinion: the professional training of the operators.

Everyone is aware that there is a risk that the speed of innovation will not be matched by a similar ability by operators to update their skills. This would inevitably create a dangerous gap between production and the market, resulting in major investments being made in vain. Aligning production and training is essential to ensure synchronised timing, a fluidity of the market that paves the way to success.

“This is also the task of SMART BUILDING EXPO” - continues Baldin - “which aspires to promote the harmonious development of the market, aligning skills and innovation, and has always acted to bring all the interests and all the components of the supply chain together. This is what makes training one of the most qualifying elements of the event, not so much based on an abstract idea of development, but on the needs that emerge from the representatives of the different aspects of this ever-changing universe; in other words, thanks to the involvement of the industrial world, the artisan world and the professions, which always find plenty of space at the Milan exhibition and with which there has been a profitable collaboration for years. The programme for SMART BUILDING EXPO 2021 is currently in the development stages, with some new additions of considerable importance for the sector, but which we aren't yet able to reveal. The Milano Smart City Conference will definitely be back next year, addressing the crucial topic of the contribution of new technologies to urban resilience at a time we all hope will be ‘post pandemic’”.