ALKHOBAR, 21 October — Last week, the biggest IT show in the region was held — GITEX Dubai. I was there for the entire week and saw a significant number of decision-makers, senior vendor representatives and governmental delegations. I did some excellent interviews which will be appearing in coming weeks. I only purchased four meals for myself in six days, which gives some idea of the number of invitations on offer during the show. For me, my attendance at GITEX was extremely useful and I achieved every one of my objectives. However, I question whether that means that the show was an overwhelming success.
The fact is that for the majority of exhibitors at GITEX, every dollar and dirham of their show budget had already been spent or irrevocably committed by Sept. 11 and so the decision was made that show would go on. I applaud the exhibitors. They got out there on the stands, smiled and worked themselves nearly to death. True, it was in self-interest. I did feel sorry though for the stands that I passed day after day where I never saw a single visitor. How those people will justify the show’s expenses I don’t know. Exhibitors commented that they saw lower than expected numbers of visitors from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.
Microsoft had indisputably the most popular stand at the show. Huge crowds were always on hand for their seminars. I was picking up a photograph from their media representative when Microsoft’s greeters began giving out free canvas bags from the main reception area at the front of the stand. There was a stampede. People were pushing and shoving to get a bag that couldn’t have been worth more than SR10. There were fewer freebies available at the show this year so maybe people were more desperate for some sort of souvenir.
In my informal discussions with exhibitors, software vendors seemed to have done better at this GITEX than hardware vendors. Businessmen were looking for ways to do more with the equipment they had rather than throwing everything out and starting over. Scalability, reliability and compatibility were on everyone’s lips when discussing hardware. After-sales service and warranties were also being taken seriously. Hardware vendors were less than upbeat about business prospects. One vendor representative gave this specific scenario. He said:
“Last year at GITEX I dealt with 40 visitors daily. Twenty of those actually knew something about my product in advance and we found that one-quarter of the visitors from the show later contacted us with serious business inquiries. This year I still saw 40 visitors daily but people were making general inquiries and serious decision-makers were in very short supply. If five percent of our visitors contact us after the show to do business it will be a miracle.”
The majority of IT vendors admitted that companies were in a wait and see mode. Some senior managers at IT firms, especially those based in Europe and the United States, did not come to Dubai, citing security concerns. Several of those who did come told me that they had been nervous about the trip. They stated that the perception in the West is that the Gulf region is a dangerous place to visit. That made me ill. Even now, Dubai is one of the safest places on the planet especially for businessmen.
I feel that it is time for companies to change the idea of what they will achieve at a show like GITEX. If companies come to the show with the main purposes of networking and education then they will probably do well no matter what the current business climate. If a company with networking as an objective convinces four major IT managers to go on a dinner cruise with them around Dubai for three hours, then they have done very well. They had three hours to bend those managers’ ears in an intimate setting. That is something they would never be able to do during the normal business day. If a company can help people understand what a technology such as IP telephony is, and what its business uses are, then they have a chance for future sales. But to think of GITEX as a venue where deals are made is unrealistic.
While my previous comments have been about GITEX as a trade show, there is also a Computer Shopper show held at the same time. I was extremely unhappy about a trend that I saw at this year’s Shopper. Several major vendors advertised products at very low prices but those items either quickly sold out or where unavailable directly from the show. This is similar to what in the West is called a “bait and switch” sales technique and it should be illegal. Just as efforts have been made to insist that products sold at GITEX are genuine, there should be a regulation that advertised products must be available or the vendor is fined or closed down. If such a regulation is not enforced then the show loses credibility.
For next year, I would like to see the GITEX organizers working with companies to create more seminars on technologies at work. Sponsoring a portion of the show where companies or developers of emerging technologies could exhibit, paying a reduced fee, would also inspire interest. There were many female university students at this year’s show and they were all anxious to meet women who had successful careers in IT. Companies should be encouraged to bring their top women executives to GITEX and perhaps a forum could be arranged where they could speak.
I’d like to end with a personal message to the decision-makers in the Kingdom. Many, many people asked me to direct them to the Kingdom’s pavilion at GITEX. We didn’t have one. Are we determined to remain just consumers of IT? Why can’t we support fledgling IT companies like other nations do? I saw some young, dynamic Saudi IT entrepreneurs at GITEX and they were all working to enrich the economies of other countries. Isn’t it time that we created an environment that would give our best and brightest an incentive to achieve success at home?
