May 15, 2006

CeBIT 2006 a shot in the arm for ICT sector

• Exhibitor expectations exceeded
• Million-dollar deals signed
• Global stage for trendsetting technologies
• Excellent attendance despite inclement weather

CeBIT 2006 surpassed exhibitor expectations by a wider margin than ever before in the 20-year history of the event. The buoyant mood triggered by favorable industry forecasts during the run-up to the show continued to brighten as CeBIT progressed, culminating in many million-dollar deals. After years of holding back, all signs pointed to small and medium-sized businesses being back on the investment track. The show's 6,262 exhibitors, including over 3,300 from abroad, reported having closed about 20 percent more deals than last year — a fitting “birthday present” to the CeBIT community during the event's 20 th anniversary.

With excellent attendance figures of around 450,000 visitors, unrivaled international appeal for an ICT event — with around one-third of all visitors coming from abroad — and an extremely high rate of professional attendance (around 85 percent of all attendees), CeBIT has clearly lived up to its reputation as the key B2B platform for the entire ICT industry.

The jump in attendance from the Americas was particularly gratifying. Attendance from North America was up 28 percent, and attendance from South and Central America even went up by 38 percent. The turnout from European countries such as Austria, France and Sweden also experienced an upswing. The figures for German attendance revealed increases from Bavaria, Baden-Wurttemberg and Saarland, while adverse weather conditions led to fewer visitors making the trip to Hannover from Hamburg, Berlin und Brandenburg.

This year more than ever before, CeBIT proved a strong magnet for decision makers. Attendance by professionals with purchasing authority or involvement in purchasing decisions jumped from 77 percent last year to 80.4 percent this year. CeBIT also underscored its role as a place where deals are done, with some 50 percent of all trade visitors stating that they had come to Hannover with specific investment plans.

eBIT gives the sector a real boost

Exhibitors at CeBIT 2006 were delighted with the run of the show. “The positive mood inside the halls was quite palpable”, noted BITKOM steering committee member Harald Stober. “Hardware manufacturers, software providers and telcos have outdone themselves with innovations. This has given the trade fair a substantial boost”, added Stober, who went on to point out that the motivation to invest was particularly strong among professional users. Exhibitors also gave high ratings to the new showcases devoted to RFID, telematics and eHealth, as well as to the show's very international make-up.

op marks from international exhibitor line-up

With 3,305 exhibitors from 70 countries, CeBIT is the world's most international trade fair of its kind. Of all exhibiting European nations, Great Britain was the frontrunner, with 189 firms, followed by the Netherlands, with 112, and Italy with 84 firms. The mood among the show's European exhibitors was notably positive. They praised the caliber of its attendees, as well as the strong turnout from As060706acific, Arabia and Eastern European regions. Numerous European exhibitors hold CeBIT to be the premier showcase for their sector, and reported doing good business.

Despite drastic reductions in subsidies for trade fair participation, around 290 Central and Eastern European companies exhibited at CeBIT this year. The echo from their ranks was also positive, with special praise going to the high degree of traffic by qualified professionals and the number of new leads generated.

Turning to the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan again topped the list with 711 exhibitors, followed by the People's Republic of China with 412 firms, and South Korea with 229. Exhibitors from Asia-Pacific pronounced themselves extremely satisfied with the run of the show, indicating that CeBIT had served as an ideal platform on which to reach new and existing business partners from around the world. Since their main focus this year was on tapping the European market, all Taiwanese market leaders were on hand to present their products more prominently and expansively than last year. They widely declared CeBIT as being a “must”, with no other tradeshow capable of matching its performance.

The 412 exhibitors from the People's Republic of China — up again by a full 100 over last year's participation figure — were also pleased with CeBIT, widely confirming that the show is their “gateway to Europe”. Satisfied comments were also fielded from participating Korean firms.

In the international exhibitor rankings, the United States came in fourth, with 198 exhibitors. U.S. exhibitors were unanimous in stating that they had generated more promising leads than ever before, with top grades also given to the international nature of the visiting public. Expectations for brisk post-show business are widespread among US exhibitors.

CeBIT puts wind in the sails of SMEs

Once again, some 250,000 visitors came from small to medium-sized enterprises or firms employing no more than 499 people. This means the SME sector is one of the most major groups of CeBIT visitors. Around 10,000 visitors came from the skilled trades — more than double the figure for last year.

The CeBIT SME Forum in Hall 5 recorded 30 percent more visitors — an indicator of increased willingness to invest on the part of SMEs. The rise in international visitor traffic was particularly gratifying, with a marked increase in forum attendance from Eastern Europe. The topics of customer relationship management, mobility and security attracted a high level of interest, and transnational cooperation and tailor-made funding options for European investment initiatives were particularly hot items. The quality of business contacts also rose substantially, with company owners, CEOs and other management staff making up 75 percent of all visitors to the CeBIT SME Forum. The guided tours proved to be especially popular, with participation up 40 percent over the previous year.

ich offerings for retailers

The drive to sharpen the focus on specific target groups at CeBIT was crowned with success: “Planet Reseller”, the central meeting point for specialty retailers, distributors, system houses and purchasing cooperatives, attracted 15 percent more visitors this year. Another plus for the event's target audience was far greater participation by exhibitors from abroad — up 40 percent over CeBIT 2005.

Retailers relished the opportunity to check out this major consumer electronics showcase featuring some 1,300 exhibitors on 100,000 square meters of display space.

“Digital Living” makes successful debut

The youngest addition to the CeBIT family also played a part in making digital dreams come true: Right from the start, the new “tech-emotion expo”, with its focus on the latest trends in consumer electronics and home entertainment, attracted around 150,000 visitors to Hall 27 — an outcome beyond all expectations. International Networking@CeBIT 2006

With an array of over 1,700 lectures held at 36 special displays and forums, 33 conferences and 84 corporate presentationsnearly double the amount of lectures given last year — CeBIT also underscored its value as a major knowledge-sharing platform, and one which puts the spotlight on all the latest ICT products, processes, solutions and market trends. The European Commission chose CeBIT 2006 as the venue for launching comprehensive public debate on the risks and opportunities of RFID from the vantage points of government, society and industry. Various national pavilions and international cooperation exchanges were staged under “Global Networking Initiatives@CeBIT 2006” . The “ International CeBIT Summit” held the day before CeBIT opened, drew around 200 CEOs and CIOs from global ICT players.

CeBIT enhances Germany's standing as a high-tech nation

CeBIT once again served as a platform for a fruitful dialogue between the German government and the nation's ICT industry as one of the key drivers of the economy. Chancellor Angela Merkel, a number of federal and state ministers, permanent secretaries, city mayors and other leading political figures took the opportunity to update themselves on the latest advances and trends in the ICT sector, both in Germany and abroad. Some 33 foreign delegations from government and industry also paid official visits to CeBIT 2006.

eBIT broadcast all over the world

Media interest in CeB IT 2006 shot up considerably, particularly in terms of broadcast coverage. For the first time, TV shows dedicated to CeBIT were broadcast on the four Sundays prior to the show. The show's top themes were presented in a business symposium. Germany's TV2 channel (by ZDF), resumed live broadcasting following a break of a few years, producing daily shows of various formats onsite. TV companies from Eastern Europe, in particular, but also from Asian nations treated their viewing public to the latest advances and future trends in the ICT industry. In addition, almost all German television companies and countless public and private radio stations filed reports on daily happenings straight from the CeBIT showgrounds.

The number of visitors, exhibitors and journalists paying virtual visits to CeBIT also experienced a major upswing, with the number of online hits recorded during the event topping last year's figure by more than 25 percent. Exhibitor and product searches proved particularly popular — accounting for around 60 percent of all page impressions — along with the online Fair Planner tool. With more then twice the number of hits, live broadcasts also drew a lot more interest . The CeBIT Opening Ceremony, alone, was viewed by around 110,000 people on the Internet.

The online services offered at www.mobile.cebit.de were enhanced this year for the benefit of mobile phone and handheld users. Thanks to the new functionality offered by Deutsche Messe AG, users enjoyed 24/7 online access to exhibitor listings and up-to-the-minute event schedules. This service proved to be a huge success, leading to over 30,000 page impressions.

Technology trends

CeBIT 2006 set new global technology trends for the year and served as the launching pad for scores of innovations. Special highlights included mobile TV reception via the two new standards DVB-H and DMB, the HSDPA standard for increased UMTS throughput and Triple Play — i.e. integrated telephony, television and Internet services from the same source. The use of multi-core processors in laptops is set to deliver massive performance capability and prolonged battery life. The launch of the latest-generation “Ultra-Mobile PCs”, somewhere between the size of a PDA and a tablet PC, also caused a minor sensation. In the field of navigation and telematics, next-generation GPS receivers (Global Positioning System) are proving much more reliable, even indoors, in urban high-rise jungles and in forested areas. New multimedia projectors are now so much smaller they can truly be classified as mobile devices and can even be operated on batteries. No doubt partly, but not only, as a result of the upcoming World Cup soccer tournament, visitors also displayed keen interest in the subject of high-definition television (HDTV).

A further key topic involved the streamlined compatibility of corporate software. The trend is towards flexible, service-oriented architecture (SOA), in which essential functions are organized as services. New technologies grouped under the designation of “Web 2.0” are driving Internet design. In the field of “Auto ID/RFID”, exhibitors demonstrated interactive applications that are eminently compatible with existing in-house systems. The trend here is away from insular, stand-alone solutions to open systems. A further focus of CeBIT was on enhanced security for data and systems.

A popular issue at the Banking and Finance sector was the networking of sales, controlling, and production along with the security of electronic transactions. In the public sector, interfaces based on open standards are being designed to promote transparent and simplified processes . Apart from the electronic health card, a voluntary electronic patient card proved a compelling theme for the healthcare sector.

The CeBIT motto “Join the vision” found a strong echo in the form of bustling activity in all 24 exhibition halls.

The next CeBIT will be staged from Thursday, 15 to Wednesday, 21 March 2007 in Hannover.