Dates: 28-29 November 2017 (pre-forum executive briefing 27 November. Venue: The Crystal, London

Investment in U.S. data centers grew to $18.2bn in the first half of this year, more than double the amount spent in all of 2016, according to a new report. The total includes money spent on building or buying data centers.

Blockchain technology, based on cyber-currencies such as bitcoin, is set to strengthen and guarantee the security and intelligence of Internet of Things (IoT) platforms when it comes to sharing data and doing transactions in numerous sectors, industries and services. To analyse and explain the benefits of this two-way alliance, which will drive the digital transformation of the economy, the IoT Solutions World Congress (IoTSWC) will include a monographic forum on blockchain as well as seminars on crypto economics and investment opportunities in businesses that are already using this system. The two sessions will involve 115 experts from 18 countries, notably the founding director of the Bitcoin Foundation, Jon Matonis, the founder of the Blockchain Investors Consortium, Mike Costache; and Erik Beijnoff, the head of business development at Spotify.

The Internet of Things (IoT) offers huge potential for supply chains to improve efficiency, move faster, and cut costs - at a level unimaginable just a few years ago.

In retail, supply chain efficiency is essential. Inventory management, picking, packing and shipping are all time and resource-intensive processes which can have a dramatic impact on a business's bottom line.

Equifax, one of the largest credit reporting agencies, revealed this month that it was hacked back in May, exposing the personal data of up to 143 million people. The data accessed by hackers contains extremely sensitive information like social security numbers, birth data, consumer's names, driver's license numbers and credit card numbers.

As digital transformation enables rapid change in traditional operations, organizations are finding new and more efficient ways to do business.