CeBIT 2010: Laying foundations for future business growth

This year’s CeBIT conference has exceeded all expectations, with companies reporting 30% more business leads at their stands throughout the conference. Furthermore, this year’s conference has laid the foundation for business growth in the upcoming months.

A successful CeBIT 2010 has laid the foundation for business growth in the months ahead. “Over the past few days we have seen proof positive of CeBIT’s strength and vitality. With an enhanced concept for next year’s event, we will be setting the stage for further growth,”” commented Ernst Raue, the Deutsche Messe Managing Board member in charge of CeBIT, at the closing press conference. “”The 2011 show will feature an even sharper focus on all the right themes, thus making it even more appealing to new target groups and helping us consolidate our lead over the competition,”” Raue continued.

The enhanced event concept for 2011 revolves around four user-centric pillars chosen to reflect the underlying currents in today’s ICT industry and to put a bright spotlight on the digital sector’s enormous innovative potential. “”CeBIT pro”” will address professional users, “”CeBIT gov”” will target government and the public sector, “”CeBIT lab”” will be home to international research institutions and universities, and “”CeBIT life”” will cater to prosumers and the techno-savvy consumer. “”Consumers are indeed a vital part of the value creation chain in the digital sector. Many innovations in the professional domain are triggered by prosumers and consumers who effectively serve as trendsetters and innovation drivers,”” remarked Raue. Cloud computing, for example, is being embraced by the consumer crowd and is thus taking the stage as a major growth market for ICT professionals.

“”In designing the next CeBIT, another first will consist of major involvement on the part of various user groups, whose input will enrich the event by means of dedicated committees set up by Deutsche Messe,”” explained Raue, adding: “”The idea is to strategically draw on all available market expertise so as to even more closely align the world’s biggest ICT tradeshow with the markets it serves.””

“”The premiere of the CIOcolloquium group shows the way forward for a more user-centric CeBIT,”” Raue added. This network of Chief Information Officers from leading German enterprises represents an annual ICT purchasing power of 40 billion Euros, and had its own pavilion at CeBIT for the first time in 2010.

CeBIT 2010 exceeds expectations

CeBIT 2010 significantly exceeded the expectations of participating firms. “”CeBIT 2010 has been very impressive,”” declared Raue, adding: “”There has been a truly infectious sense of enthusiasm here in Hannover over the past few days. We are witnessing the start of a substantial reduction in investment backlog,”” he continued. Numerous companies reported up to 30 percent more business leads at their stands than last year.

Visitors came to CeBIT with specific ICT projects in mind, and had clearly done their homework before arriving in Hannover. Projects initiated at the event represented a total investment volume of over ten billion Euros, reported Raue. “”CeBIT 2010 has turned aspirations of growth into concrete business orders. The industry has weathered the crisis and is now back in business,”” he declared.

4,157 companies from 68 countries exhibited at CeBIT 2010.

Through Friday, average daily attendance at the show was up three percent year on year. The trade visitor ratio remained unchanged at more than 80 percent. One in every five CeBIT visitors was from outside Germany. A slight decrease in attendance from America was offset by larger numbers from Asia in 2010. European attendance was on a par with last year’s high attendance rates.

The event also successfully reinforced its profile as an international economic policy platform. “”Apart from being the digital sector’s most important trade fair, CeBIT has also become the world’s leading ICT convention,”” Raue noted, pointing to a 21 percent growth in attendance at the CeBIT Global Conferences. “”The growing competition for knowledge is boosting the level of interest in our conferences. This is clearly part of the reason for the presence of over 100 economic policy delegations from Germany and abroad at this year’s CeBIT,”” he commented.

As this year’s partner country, Spain played an outstanding part in CeBIT 2010, Raue declared, sending more than 100 exhibitors to the event. According to Raue: “”Spain’s performance here has definitively established it as one of Europe’s leading ICT nations.””

“”CeBIT Sounds!”” made a highly successful debut. “”It struck a real chord in the marketplace. CeBIT Sounds! is clearly going to be part of the mix at future exhibitions as well, building a bridge between the music industry and the ICT sector,”” Raue predicted.

The concept of integrating corporate events into CeBIT was also termed a success. For the first time, SAP staged its “”SAP World Tour”” customer event in tandem with CeBIT. “”We see this method of participating at CeBIT as a promising model for the future. In 2011 we hope to give more businesses the opportunity to use the power of CeBIT to boost the success of their own events,”” said Raue.

According to Katja Mehl, Marketing Manager of SAP Germany: “”Moving our SAP World Tour customer conference to CeBIT has helped us generate more leads among customers and potential customers at CeBIT this year. And a comparison of SAP World Tour 2010 with last year’s customer conference, held as an independent event, shows we attracted around 50 percent more attendees. We will be looking into the relative costs and benefits of this new format over the next few weeks.””

ICT enterprises responded enthusiastically to the enhanced concept for CeBIT 2011. As Raue puts it: “”New customers have expressed an interest, while existing customers have reconfirmed. Several CeBIT 2010 exhibitors have already inquired about negotiating a multi-year contract.””

The next CeBIT will be staged from 1 to 5 March in Hannover.

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