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IT World 2000-Comdex India, Dec 6-9 in New Delhi

Did you know that in 2000 alone there have been nearly 20 shows! The IT World 2000-Comdex India show was one more; probably the last of the year. However, many participating companies appeared to have backed out at the last minute because of a simultaneously held PC show in Mumbai. I question the wisdom of holding two shows simultaneously at opposite ends of the country? The Mumbai one was sponsored by MAIT (Manufacturer's Association of Information Technology), a hardware association. And the Delhi one by NASSCOM. Neither it appears can agree on anything. And it was the IT-aware visitor who remained the loser.

The Delhi show didn't offer much for the consumer, unless you discount the mouth-watering products displayed by ZD Net India, titled GenI. Except for visitors looking for business deals, there wasn't much happening except a chance to hang-out and enjoy the sunshine.

I for one think the era of the single, mammoth IT show is over. We are now going to see lots of regional shows. Each catering to the two largest buyer segments: corporates and those who have recently acquired a PC. And if you need any more information, the Internet can help. Most large multi-national IT vendors have become web-savvy. Several like LG, HP and Compaq have e-commerce enabled portals in India. Others like Dell and Sun have a strong user following. And no longer need to actually participate.

Getting back to the Delhi show, associated with show events received more media attention than the actual show itself. These events were the PC World's Techies Awards show and the ZD Net India GenI event which had Baba Sehgal rapping to the masses. The less said about conferences at the event the better. Most ran empty. I think the rates at Rs 14,500 for 3 days were way too steep; especially since the conferences were being held at the main venue.

The exhibition organizers had combined three events: IT India-Comdex, Network India and Convergence India into one event. And it showed. It's hard to cover cable TV, networking and general IT. And the actual show was extremely disappointing from a consumer angle. Yes, there were people handing out flyers. But these were for business software and services. The multimedia CD-ROM vendors were present, but didn't really seem to be trying to sell their product.

Unlike previous years there was no launch day festivities. The show started quietly. And while the organizers were being a bit condescending on Day 1, this attitude had changed by Day 3. Now they were begging you to visit. Also unlike previous years, the event was restricted to just one large hall; originally built to house the Soviet Union's presence at trade fairs of yore. This now included the exhibition area, the conference area and the pre-conference registration.

Visitor registration was a lackadaisical affair. Even registration forms were in short supply. And all the while bits of the ceiling drifted down. Hasn't anyone told the Trade Fair Promotion Organization that asbestos is unhealthy. The exhibition brochure was pathetic. It listed companies in no particular order. And several participants weren't even listed. Or had been switched around. And we have lamented before, in the absence of a regular press pass, we were denied entry to the press area. Still, but for a free refreshments and lots of gossip this didn't have much going for it.

Another interesting, perhaps chauvinistic aspect of IT India used be the girls wearing short skirts and tight blazers; inappropriate perhaps for the December chill but a great look nevertheless. Not so this time round. The ladies were causally self-dressed and very laid back in their approach. Most were taking this an a holiday with pay. And oh horror! The gangs wandering the venue purporting to be students just seemed there to ogle the girls and engage in 'time-pass'. It was the week of the PMTs (Punjabi-medium types)!

So was there anything interesting? I guess the GenI display from Jasubhai Digital-ZD Net India. This displayed 20 different 'sexy' hardware toys. These ranged from the visually stunning Apple PowerMac G4 aka the Cube. To a collection of watches that doubled as MP3 players, personal organizers, GPS or combined several of these features into a single product.

There were also digital cameras, MP3 players, Compaq's iPag and HP's eVectra. And the centre of the display, perhaps appropriately had a couple of robotic dogs, including Sony's Aibo. They were not animated. And in shades of Bangalore IT and previous shows, all the goodies were sealed behind plate glass. Just see, no touch. There were also plenty of hostesses hovering nearby. But most had been hired for their looks. They didn't even say anything and appeared an platoon of robotic mannequins.

But for pure business, the show didn't disappoint. There were businessmen, and women aplenty inspecting that various offerings. Making deals. And presumably going away unhappy. We saw four distinct streams of business. The first and foremost were those looking for new products from the Pacific Rim states. Taiwan had a complete display to itself. And companies had a variety of hardware items, from the usual motherboards and cards to memory, USB extenders, modems, and network hubs and switches.

The second stream was service providers like VSNL, MTNL, Software Technology Parks and Global Infocomm (not to be confused with Global Electronic Commerce Services). Global Infocomm is planning ICE Super marts that combine a PC superstore with a Cyber Cafe. They had a cafe working at the event. However, it was really crowded. Mostly young girls and boys catching up on email for free!

The last stream was small business that were offering web-services, server space, horoscopes and selling magazines. The last was large distributors like Rashi Peripherals and Typhoon who had braved MAIT's diktat and decided to display at Comdex instead.

I was especially impressed by a Bangladesh company, Micro Electronics, who were displaying a range of spike busters, voltage stabilisers and two UPS. The latter were in 500 VA (Rs 2500 ex-Dhaka) and 1 kVA (Rs 3400 ex-Dhaka). Either way the pricing is really competitive, and unless the reseller is so foolish as to add a 50% margin, both products can beat many Indian ones on price. They are planning to enter the Indian market soon.

G Menon
[email protected]

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