Show business

It is that time of the year again.

GITEX Technology Week is almost upon us and the entire region is in the process of dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s on their plans for the IT super-show.

Over the last month, as a part of the team at ITP that works on the event, I have been speaking and interacting with this year’s exhibitors to understand their reasons for being at the show, what they hope to achieve, and, if it they have been a part of the show before, what kind of return on investment they have got and hope to receive from this year’s show.

Everyone of the companies that have been at the show before are back because they had obvious benefits to report from the last time they were here. In fact, there were more than a few companies that have opted out of exhibiting at some of the other big IT shows (including the likes of CEBIT) to invest their resources in just GITEX. They believe that with the Middle East booming as it is, and the recent restructuring of the exhibition, GITEX delivers much more on promised potential than any other global show.

The fact that the show is growing from strength to strength is also evident from the presence of a lot more new companies in the five-day exhibition. More international firms, and ones which have minimal or no presence in the region, are a part of GITEX this year. These companies have every confidence that through GITEX they will be able to meet both potential partners, as well as customers from the region, who can provide them an adequate foothold to grow from.The appearance of smaller firms in a growing economy is almost always an indicator of a market that has grown beyond the conventional solutions offered by bigger vendors (the first stage of IT investment) and is demanding the niche and particular solutions that are necessary for the next stage of growth. Such solutions are often better provided by the smaller firms of the IT sector, and their larger presence at this year’s GITEX serves to give a rather accurate picture of the market’s strength and growth.
We at ITP, as official publisher for GITEX Technology Week, will be covering many of these small firms, and what they can offer to regional enterprises, in the event daily, GITEX Times. You can also check out stories on them in more real time, on our dedicated GITEX website .

This year’s show promises to be as interesting as its predecessors, if for different reasons. Join us there as we find out more on what the show has to offer.