Cebit 2010 - English version

Having skipped attendance of Cebit in 2009, I decided to have a “light version” this year. I only went to Hanover on the last day, which was dubbed “family day” since it was the only day children were allowed to enter the fairgrounds. My son, who is nine years of age, was happy to come with me this time. He wasn’t exactly the only child around, so the atmosphere was a little less business-like and most people were in weekend mood.

The sun was shining brightly on the fairgrounds, but the air was cold. The newly fallen snow was on the grass between the 26 halls, only 18 of which had been filled, this year, creating a fairy tale mood. We were given small presents all the time, small sweets and cookies, and a big queue formed at one booth which offered free popcorn. Some companys were giving away high-end pens and stainless steel water bottles, and we reached a climax at the IBM pavillion where people were handing out a cuddly Linux penguin. So we were soon in an even better mood.

I had some interesting talks with reps of IT security companys, the Federation of the German IT industry BITKOM and a few contacts doing Africa business. The Google booth really was ridiculous and the political discussion on data storage law at the Heise stand was cut short by the fact that my son had had enough of boring adult talk by then.

Whether Cebit will be able to continue like this, every year, is open to debate. Exhibitor numbers dropped again, this year, by about 10 per cent compared to last year, and I don’t think people in general were in an upbeat mood. But perhaps my perception was skewed, since obviously business on Tuesday through Friday probably was much more brisk than on a Saturday.