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Making the deal at CeBIT:
Opportunities abound at world's largest digital technology show
Any purchaser who has made the trek to Hannover for the CeBIT show, invariably comes back with an edge. It might be the discovery of a new supplier partner, the signing of a competitive sourcing deal, or ideas for new projects and ventures. Equally important is the early knowledge attendees gain about where business and consumer technology is headed.
A few days spent strolling the 26 massive exhibition halls gives unparalleled insight into the world of IT, mobile communications, telematics, RFID, printers and consumables, storage devices and electronics.
It’s little wonder more than 480,000 visitors from around the world attended CeBIT 2007, which was held March 15 to 21 in Germany. Few of them came away empty-handed, witnessed by the 11 billion euros in deals signed at the show.
“CeBIT is a concept that reflects global trends in the digital world and forms an annual meeting point for everyone at the cutting edge of that world,” says Jennifer Cooke, Canadian representative for show organizer Deutsche Messe. “Canadians attending CeBIT will find new products to distribute, new companies to represent, solutions for their own operations and of course, international contacts in business and government.”
Cooke says CeBIT is the “most important meeting point” for major industries, service providers, dealers and buyers. More than 6,000 exhibitors displayed their wares at the event, with a primary purpose of introducing new products and solutions to the world market.
CeBIT 2007 saw an increase in attendance of 10 per cent over 2006, which organizers attribute in part to the enhanced conference program. The event is designed to be more than just a trade floor, but a comprehensive learning opportunity, according to Deutsche Messe. The seminar and conference program offered at CeBIT 2007 was the biggest in the history of the show.
“Throughout the industry, CeBIT and its conferences set trends and shape opinions on a major scale. Many a market impulse takes off from the CeBIT show grounds,” Cooke says.
Canada was well-represented at the event, fielding 40 exhibitors from industry and government, including RIM, Cognos, Sangoma Technologies, Laipac Technology and Calgary Technologies.
Digital technology
On the trade floor, one of the major attractions was the Auto ID/RFID Solutions Park, devoted primarily to sector-specific solutions. It was comprised of nearly 100 hardware and software manufacturers. Applications on display included solutions for the pharmaceutical sector (from suppliers to wholesalers and pharmacies), automotive logistics (supply chain management and production control), aviation and consumer goods.
Exhibitors indicated where their efforts would be placed in the years ahead: developing even smaller transponders, reducing manufacturing costs, and improving multi-tag reading functionality (the reliable identification of a large number of transponders).
Both business and private users were also attracted to Linux Park and the associated Linux forum, which featured demonstrations by 40 exhibitors on the array of new options offered by open-source software.
Another much-discussed topic was “software as a service,” or the idea of offering software as an Internet-based service as opposed to conventional client or server-based application programs.
Enterprise solutions
Core topics in the business process area involved better solutions for enterprise resource planning (ERP), enterprise content management (ECM), business intelligence (BI) and customer relationship management (CRM).
For the first time, the show featured an entire forum devoted to CRM. One of the focal points for enterprise applications was service-oriented architectures (SOA), designed to harmonize software with business processes.
SOA makes it easier to integrate the products of different manufacturers, and is also becoming increasingly important for SMEs. For those reasons, the SOA World central information platform made its CeBIT debut.
Exhibitors at the show were also happy to display the latest ideas around energy efficiency—a popular topic this year. Manufacturers appeared at CeBIT to present their solutions for computing centers, offices and home offices.
Exhibits ranged from power-saving circuits and integrated energy-saving approaches, such as switching off unused subassemblies, to “virtualization technology,” which is seen as a source of major potential savings. It involves running multiple virtual machines on a single computer, so different server sessions can be displayed on the same machine.
The result is optimal use of the capacity provided by current multi-core processors, and significant cost savings. Redundant configurations may be used as a cost-efficient way to provide a high level of fault tolerance for multiple-server sessions.
Navigation mania
The skyrocketing navigation sector took up nearly all of Hall 11 this year, with displays of the latest navigation, traffic and fleet management products.
One of the systems featured was a 3D viewer, which allows drivers to navigate confidently through complex situations. Also on show were maps for cyclists and hikers in need of off-road navigation. The trend continues toward the integration of more functions in navigation devices, such as travel guides and music/video players.
Location-based services provide information on local sightseeing attractions for travellers passing through the area, or show the location of the nearest hotels and restaurants.
Among the various telecom providers there was a clear migration towards “everything over IP.” The IPcentral@CeBIT forum in Hall 13 was exclusively devoted to this topic. For the first time, the one-stop shop concept included mobile phones, in addition to landline telephony, Internet and TV.
Attendees learned how the use of VoIP (voice over IP) creates opportunities for new functions such as parallel ringing, enabling a caller to reach several mobile and fixed terminals at different locations under the same number. New coding techniques providing previously unattainable voice quality in comparison with traditional landline networks were also on display.
The IPTV area displayed systems that utilize the benefits of bidirectional communication, and services such as VOD (video on demand), individual film trailers, and a web-based video recorder.
More mobile
CeBIT also devoted substantial space to mobile data communications, which according to the exhibits, is becoming better, faster and increasingly affordable, thanks to lower prices and flat-rate packages.
Visitors at this year’s CeBIT got a first look at downlink data rates of 7.2 mbps. The new UMTS acceleration system known as HSUPA (high speed uplink packet access) now offers a five- to tenfold increase in data rates for uplinks from a mobile phone to a base station.
For the familiar GSM network, there were also demonstrations of EDGE Evolution technology, boosting increased downlink data rates of 1 mbps. The high data speeds have the potential to serve as the basis for an array of new services, such as video and music downloads.
CeBIT also offered visitors a preview of the next generation of mobile networks: Within a few years, these are set to achieve nationwide coverage, offering data rates of up to 100 mbps—a speed that was previously possible only with cable-bound connections.
There was also keen interest in displays of mobile TV technology. Along with transmitting conventional TV programs, the products on display ranged from special transmitters designed for mobile receivers to individually downloaded content. Interactivity plays a key role here. For example, users can download background information on a program or live programs, and immediately vote for their favorite candidate.
While the deals signed at CeBIT 2007 continue to settle, attendees, exhibitors and organizers are already turning their sights to CeBIT 2008, scheduled for March 4 to 9. More information may be found at www.cebit.de
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