DUBAI, 27 September 2005 — Yesterday morning began with the Internet going down for three hours in the media center at the Dubai World Trade Centre. It seemed ironic that the media covering the region’s largest IT trade show should be thrown into a mad search for connectivity, but there we were, on the show floor stealing time from the exhibitors to access our e-mail and send out early reports.

Gitex is supposed to be an exhibition that displays the newest, greatest, most wondrous stuff that the IT industry has to offer. In reality, Gitex is more of an IT circus with exhibitors presenting their wares in a sideshow atmosphere, with everyone scrambling to get attention.

From the moment the visitor enters the exhibition, the noise attacks. On stands in every hall, mini shows and animated displays are in progress. The volume is cranked up to the maximum on every speaker on every stand. Young women in fetching attire call out in silvery tones, encouraging visitors to come and see what they have on offer.

Games are popular with many exhibitors. All through Gitex, visitors are urged to spin the wheel and kick the ball. Cards are handed out sending visitors on technology walks, similar to scavenger hunts. Get the card stamped at nine different stands and the chance to win a laptop is the prize.

Gitex was first held back in 1981. The show was made up of just 46 exhibitors and 3,000 visitors attended. In this, the 25th anniversary of the exhibition, there are 1,163 exhibitors, up 24 percent from last year. The number of exhibiting companies has also increased to 2,724 with 61 countries represented. There are 24 national pavilions and the net area for the event is 30,227 square meters. Dubai World Trade Centre is expecting 120,000 IT professionals to visit Gitex 2005.

It sounds like every possible IT company in the region is at the event and it’s true that there are new exhibitors annually. Computer Associates and Symantec have direct representation on the show floor this year, unlike last year when they were both represented at Gitex indirectly through partners.

Other companies, however, take the strategy of avoiding commitment of a substantial portion of their marketing budget to a Gitex stand. TechData used to participate in the show but now they hold a huge party instead the first night of the event. All their industry contacts are invited to come and relax, and if a little business is discussed, well, that’s just fine. Hitachi Data Systems is directly represented at another exhibition, Storage World, but at Gitex they depend on a partner for representation.

EMC doesn’t do the show and Mohammed Amin, EMC’s regional manager, said: “As EMC is the leader in a niche segment of information management solutions we believe our marketing budget for the region is better spent on direct customer-facing events. GITEX does draw important customers that EMC executives network with to demonstrate our various technologies in a more intimate environment like our office or VIP dinners.”

Whether it’s a good strategy to exhibit at Gitex or not is something that each vendor’s marketing manager must decide. Even with the large number of visitors, to get a return on investment from Gitex can still be challenging. And that’s where the dancers and jugglers come into the picture. It’s a must to get people to the stand before they can be sold on your offering. The IT business is a high wire act and Gitex has more than three rings to host some amazing performances. We’ll bring the best acts to you on this page next week.

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