What you missed at DTW Ignite! 2025
The TM Forum’s DTW Ignite! (DTW) found itself once again in the happiest city on earth, Copenhagen, situated in the peaceful country of Denmark. Compared to prior years, the Bella Center had
taken on a new identity. DTW’s main stage, which hosted the opening keynotes, now found itself in the center of the event in a more open format, allowing for a better, more relaxed, and
accessible experience. All main stages utilized this model, allowing for a quick, embarrassment-free exit if all the Artificial Intelligence (AI) hype became too much to bear.
The event venue was wonderfully appointed, allowing for a mental escape from all things tech and artificial. Large trees, plants and foliage filled the Park Stage and Garden (see Figure 1,
below) areas. Thanks to a glass ceiling, the Park area was illuminated by natural light, absolving the stuffy claustrophobia that can sometimes accompany other trade shows. However, while the
natural environment provided a calming respite from the hustle and bustle of the event, some of the vegetation must have been real, as people appeared to be suffering from indoor hay fever.
Despite the show being located in a suburban corporate playground of swanky hotels, the convention centre, and a golf course, travel into the city centre was 30 minutes away. Copenhagen is well
worth the visit, with amenities galore, incredible food and arguably the kindest people in all of Europe. The city is also incredibly clean, energy-conscious, and feels very safe, especially
with the streets being filled with sunshine for so long during the summer.
Previous DTW events were hosted in the fall, meaning jet black cold evenings following a long day at the event, making the motivation to explore Copenhagen a somewhat difficult task whilst being
located on the outskirts of the city. Andrew Coward, GM of Software Networking at IBM, remarked upon this, saying that the event would have been better if it were located in the city center, as
it was in previous years in Nice, France. TM Forum made a great decision to host the event in June this year, though, taking full advantage of Copenhagen’s epic long days, which stay light from
four o’clock in the morning to eleven o’clock at night.
The event was blessed with exceptional weather, which brought with it the hazards of being blinded by light. Depending on where you sat, you had to maximize your screen brightness just to see it.
The Media Village had now been moved from the previous year’s air-conditioned halls to this area, so there were a lot of overheated journalists frantically typing away under the baking Danish
sun. Thankfully, this was mitigated to some extent by a never-ending supply of Coca-Cola served by pleasant TM Forum staff.
Nik Willits, CEO of TM Forum, opened with a Keynote (see Figure 2, next page), referring to the ‘code red’ he had cautioned the industry during the keynote of DTW 2023. His nod to the previous
DTW referred to the industry’s vulnerability as it must keep up with an ever-evolving landscape whilst being weighed down by decades of legacy technology. But the vibe shifted to a positive
note as Willits went on to share his sentiment that the telecoms industry is seizing upon the AI opportunity and delivering upon the promise of transformation, “we’re not just talking about
autonomous
