IT shows – added value or just a jolly?
In the current economic climate, Jonathan Westlake asks whether it’s worth taking a trip to that trade show.
The usual round of IT shows is upon us and I’m off to the IT Decisions show at the NEC, Birmingham in late June. I try and make the effort to attend at least one show a year but with the current economic climate are they worth it?
Let’s reflect on the perceived value first. Regardless of the show theme, various software/service and hardware vendors will on hand. Various workshops will also be available. Most shows for non-exhibiters are free and so from a knowledge acquisition/updating point of view the benefit can outweigh the cost of travel/a day away from the office.
Rather than suffering from internet information overload, a show can give you an opportunity for an old fashioned get together and for a bit of face to face advice. Are there any others reasons which justify attending an IT show? In my opinion the implicit reason for attendance is to cut through the latest IT jargon and that’s from someone in the industry!
Recent evidence indicates that small/medium enterprises are baffled by technology and choices… so many terms! So the show can provide a useful forum to combat this confusion. One topical term is ‘cloud computing’ and this pervades the IT Decisions show I will be attending. Interestingly research by GFI Software (May 2010) has also shown that UK IT software vendors are severely overestimating understanding of cloud computing in SMEs. Their research highlighted that the degree of understanding of cloud computing terminology is considerably lower in the business sector than in the IT security sector – 62 percent of senior business decision-makers have never heard of cloud computing.
My top tips if you do intend to attend a show.
Plan for a long day! Plan the workshops you wish to attend. Plan the vendor stands you wish to attend. Above all avoid aimlessly walking around the whole show. Go with a purpose, what do you hope to find out about? However, if you cannot attend an IT show and are looking for independent guidance then I recommend the excellent guides available from the UK Government-funded e-Skills website (reference below). The site includes a useful Cloud Computing introduction!
References:
http://www.itdshow.com/ITDecShow.html
www.gfi.com
