IT set for centre stage at World Economic Forum

World leaders descend on Davos as the event kicks off this week

The World Economic Forum begins today in Davos, Switzerland, and politicians and business leaders are set to spend the rest of the week discussing a vast variety of topics, including the influence of telecoms and IT.

Last year, much of the discussion focused on the benefits and pitfalls of cloud computing. However, it seems that social media is going to grab the spotlight this year.

Many of the technology-focused sessions are asking questions about how social media can be used to drive innovation, how policy needs to be shaped to accommodate it, and how its scale and impact can be increased.

A great deal of attention will also be paid to how increased connectivity in a globalised society is affecting policy. For instance, national security precautions, governance models and resilient supply chains are all set to be discussed.

There is also a session on smarter cities, in which attendees will discuss how technology can shape infrastructure in cities of the future.

Computing will be speaking to analysts covering the event, and will be providing a round-up of the core discussions at the end of the week.