CeBIT enhancements for even sharper focus 2014

HANNOVER, GERMANY: By gearing CeBIT specifically to the needs and objectives of its business clientele while at the same time creating closer tie-ins between the show's exhibition and conference programs, the organizers of the world's leading IT event have their sights firmly set on new growth.

"We aim to more strongly leverage CeBIT's core strengths by means of targeted enhancements," said Oliver Frese, the managing board member at Deutsche Messe responsible for CeBIT. "The event is being placed on a ‘100 percent business' track - exactly in line with the wishes of our customers."

In recent years, CeBIT had steadily strengthened its position as the world's leading IT event for the B2B sector, Frese added. The percentage of trade visitors at the fair has risen continuously, reaching an unprecedented 82 percent in 2013. Every third trade visitor at this year's fair was a top-level manager. 60 percent of the visiting professionals from over 100 countries said they were not planning to attend any other IT event in 2013. These facts and figures were largely responsible for the very high level of satisfaction expressed by this year's exhibitors, the majority of whom gave the show top marks for the number and quality of new business leads it generated.

Regarding its future development, Frese said: "CeBIT is already the world's leading IT business event and conference for professionals, and we are committed to reinforcing and enhancing this position." This commitment will be clearly evident at next year's show. "In the interests of greater clarity and transparency for visitors and exhibitors alike, the show will feature eight overall topic clusters. We will also be extending the show's offerings for specific target groups and strengthening its rich conference program."

In departure from CeBIT's previous four-pillar approach, the topics covered are being re-assigned to eight clusters chosen to reflect the market as viewed by the decision-makers involved in today's digital business processes: Enterprise Resource Planning & Data Analysis, Enterprise Content Management, Web & Mobile Solutions, IT Services, Security, Communication & Networks, Infrastructure & Data Centers, and Research & Innovations.

The eight topic clusters will be complemented by special offerings for specific target groups. The Global Sourcing Area for Devices & Accessories, for example, will provide full coverage of all the components, peripherals and end-user devices of interest to purchasing agents and resale professionals. The Planet Reseller showcase remains the first port of call for buyers, wholesalers and retailers.

The solutions needed by government and the public sector in general will continue to be featured within the Public Sector Parc. Recruitment initiatives aimed at IT job seekers and career starters - such as the TectoYou program which premiered at this year's CeBIT - are also on the agenda, next time with a significantly enhanced format.

Next year's array of CeBIT Global Conferences will feature a total of over a thousand seminars, lectures and in-hall forums, and these will be promoted and staged in an even more clearly structured and easy-to-navigate way. "For many years, now, CeBIT has been the world's biggest IT conference event. We aim to build on this strength by emphasizing all the right topics and bundling them for maximum impact," said Frese.

CeBIT will also be geared more closely to all the hottest megatrends in the sector, which will be selected in consultation with top vendor and user experts. This new approach will spark valuable discussion on other important topics above and beyond the show's official keynote theme as chosen each year, and together with the conference program, CeBIT will be underscoring its virtues as a global hub for mindsharing and knowledge transfer.

The fair's greater business-only focus will also be reflected in its scheduling: "CeBIT will still be staged in March to give companies an added boost at the outset of the new business year. But the new run of the show will be from Monday through Friday," explained Frese. The dates for CeBIT 2014 are Monday, 10 March, through Friday, 14 March.

Deutsche Messe will also be significantly enhancing its services for CeBIT visitors in 2014. Next year's 60 euro charge for single-day admission ticket will also cover free WLAN use throughout the CeBIT showgrounds, as well as free use of cloakroom service at the entrances.

Dr. Dieter Kempf, president of the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and the New Media (BITKOM), welcomes the fair's sharped focus on business professionals and the measures being implemented in pursuit of this objective: "We strongly support these efforts to take CeBIT to the next level. The show's ‘100 percent business' focus will open up fresh growth potential for our members while leveraging the show's core strengths. For the exhibitors, some of whom spend several million euros on their CeBIT showcases, the changes will mean a greater return on their trade fair investment."

Jan Geldmacher, CEO of Vodafone Global Enterprise and chairman of the CeBIT Exhibitors' Committee, shares these sentiments: "We are delighted with Deutsche Messe's commitment to involving us as exhibitors in the ongoing development of CeBIT. This approach ensures that the fair's content and structure continue to closely reflect the needs of all exhibiting companies."