Consumer Electronics Show Las Vegas

I am going to attend the Consumer Electronics Show, #CES2015, next week in Las Vegas, which causes me to reflect on why. CES has been around for a long time but for me it never carried enough clout to justify going to it rather then certain computer-tech oriented shows. If I wanted the scoop on major consumer technology it would have been COMDEX which I believe has been absorbed by CES and Interop. I fondly remember going to COMDEX in 1981 in Las Vegas and seeing the Xerox Star. Now I did take in CES in the early 2000s in Indianapolis due to my involvement with smart home technology. In my University CIO life I have juggled various Higher Education tech conferences such as Educause or UBTech. However, today my technology appetite is driven by the need to know what consumers will be interested in. Because those consumers are our students whom we need to stay relevant with for what we teach and for what they experience.

This shift of interest to Consumer Electronics has been rapid and strategic. As the computers that we so love to support fade into consumable electronic devices our challenge shifts to adapting our technology support to the technologies that our students use or want to connect to. Innovation for the sake of competitive advantage or student experience is heavily influenced by Consumer Electronics. Look back on our Research Support Services group 2014 projects and it mirrors what was shown at last year’s CES. So bring it on CES and Las Vegas, but for this visit What Happens in Vegas will not stay in Vegas.