A Lot to Learn from Trade Shows

Every day there is a new reminder of the exciting changes taking place in the ICT world. This is true in all aspects of the tech/telecom industry, whether it's news of the latest in a long string of interesting e-commerce startups, a string of significant policy developments, or the launch of a new, high-profile Web site or blog. Though nothing is constant, one thing is clear: As technologies and policies change, business strategies must change around them. 

There are countless ways a successful company makes these changes -- from belt-tightening to increased R&D spending, from adding new products and services to scaling back on products and services that aren't working. But the one consistently effective way to adapt business strategies in the face of such a rapidly changing industry is to manage and maintain relationships. That's something any executive from a company of any size knows -- but I think it also helps explain why, despite changes and momentary setbacks, conventions, trade shows and other chances for face-to-face interaction have remained as ubiquitous and high-profile as ever. Ultimately, trade shows mean opportunity: opportunity to be better informed; opportunity to meet with fellow executives, sometimes C-level executives with significant purchasing power; even opportunity to use lead-generation technologies to measure the precise value of a conference to a company. 

According to the International Association of Exhibits and Events -- the trade group dedicated to trade shows -- "today's trade show attendees are better informed and tend to be higher-ranking executives in their organizations, with greater purchasing and decision-making authority." That kind of change means that the opportunity to make a big sale or a smart purchase is profoundly increased in today's trade show environment.

In fact, it seems that opportunity is the reason there's a convention for every type of business out there. In the past few months TIA staff and I have actively participated in conferences for TelephonyLIVE, BICSI, CompTel, Telco TV, IDEAS 2007, CTIA and VON, and in the next few months we'll be at Mobile Internet World, Globecom 2007 and others.

A slew of alternative business models is popping up: advanced VoIP, all the new mobile commerce and mobile Internet services, even new multifunction handsets are changing the game. This changes the vendor/content/carrier relationship,  which in turn changes aspects of the industry that affect companies and consumers on a daily basis. It's why there are so many different trade shows now, as the players shuffle to find their way through the sea of relationships. 

It's also why NXTcomm remains the industry standard. Next year's show, co-locating with InfoComm June 16-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, is just gearing up. The show released its call for speakers this week, calling on the next generation of thought leaders to share their observations on the ICT industry and what businesses must do to adapt. Topics of discussion may include IPTV, VoIP, WiMAX, IMS, Home Networking, Fixed Mobile Convergence, Software as a Service, Communications in the Enterprise, Infrastructure and many others. It's only at NXTcomm that such a diverse spectrum of topic and business niches all comes together to form a comprehensive whole.

As co-owner of NXTcomm, TIAis fully vested in making the show a valuable resource for attendees. But as an ICT industry member, I'm just as interested in learning from the show itself. I look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas.

Thank you,
Grant Seiffert
President,
TIA