Many Deals Concluded
India Leaves Its Mark at CeBIT 2006

India reiterated its forceful presence at the recently concluded CeBIT 2006 in Hanover with a strong contingent of 52 Indian exhibitors, representing diverse products and services from the Information and Telecommunications (ICT) industry.
A number of Indian companies such as Moser Bear, Wipro, Satyam, B2B Software Technologies, TriVium ICOPE, RGKS Infomedia, Matrix Telecom, Selectronix and Kores India who participate in CeBIT regularly reported having generated good deal of business contacts at the fair.
"Better response than last year" was the general reaction of Indian exhibitors to this year's CeBIT. Descon Limited, a Kolkata based company has signed a deal with Russian Academy of Science for software services at CeBIT. The company has also received high potential contacts from Sweden, Netherlands, UK and Germany. This year Indian companies found much greater response to their products and services also from the newly joined states of the European Union (EU).

States' Participation
Indian participation was organized by Electronics & Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC), New Delhi, in various product areas of CeBIT i.e. software services, security, telecom, BPO and IT hardware. The State governments of West Bengal, Kerala and Karnataka had participated in CeBIT to attract more foreign companies to invest in their respective states.



A delegation from West Bengal, led by Dr. G.D. Gautama, State's Principal Secretary, attended CeBIT 2006.
CeBIT 2006 surpassed exhibitor expectations by a wider margin than ever before in the 20-year history of the event. After years of holding back, all signs pointed to small and medium-sized businesses being back on the investment track. The show's 6,262 exhibitors, including over 3,300 from abroad, reported having closed about 20 percent more deals than last year - a fitting "birthday present" to the CeBIT community during the event's 20th anniversary.
With excellent attendance figures of around 450,000 visitors - with around one-third of all visitors coming from abroad and around 85 percent of them high level professionals , CeBIT has clearly lived up to its reputation as the foremost B2B platform for the entire ICT industry.
The jump of 28 percent in attendance from the Americas was particularly gratifying. The turnout from European countries such as Austria, France and Sweden also experienced an upswing. The figures for German attendance revealed increases from Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Saarland.

Top marks from international exhibitor line-up
With 3,305 exhibitors from 70 countries, CeBIT is the world's most internationalized trade fair of its kind. Taiwan topped the list with 711 exhibitors, followed by the People's Republic of China with 412 firms, and South Korea with 229. In the international exhibitor rankings, the United States came in fourth, with 198 exhibitors. U.S. exhibitors were unanimous in stating that they had generated more promising deals than ever before.

Rich offerings for retailers
The drive to sharpen the focus on specific target groups at CeBIT was crowned with success: "Planet Reseller", the central meeting point for specialty retailers, distributors, system houses and purchasing cooperatives, attracted 15 percent more visitors this year.



"Digital Living" makes successful debut
The youngest addition to the CeBIT family also played a part in making digital dreams come true: Right from the start, the new "tech-emotion expo", with its focus on the latest trends in consumer electronics and home entertainment, attracted around 150,000 visitors to Hall 27 - an outcome beyond all expectations.
International Networking@CeBIT 2006
With an array of over 1,700 lectures held at 36 special displays and forums, 33 conferences and 84 corporate presentations - nearly double the number of lectures given last year - CeBIT also underscored its value as a major knowledge-sharing platform, and one which puts the spotlight on all the latest ICT products, processes, solutions and market trends.

Technology trends
CeBIT 2006 set new global technology trends for the year and served as the launching pad for scores of innovations. Special highlights included mobile TV reception via the two new standards DVB-H and DMB, the HSDPA standard for increased UMTS throughput and Triple Play - i.e. integrated telephony, television and Internet services from the same source. The use of multi-core processors in laptops is set to deliver massive performance capability and prolonged battery life. The launch of the latest-generation "Ultra-Mobile PCs", somewhere between the size of a PDA and a tablet PC, also caused a sensation. In the field of navigation and telematics, next-generation GPS receivers (Global Positioning System) are proving much more reliable, even indoors, in urban high-rise jungles and in forested areas. New multimedia projectors are now so much smaller they can truly be classified as mobile devices and can even be operated on batteries. As a result of the upcoming World Cup soccer tournament, visitors also displayed keen interest in the subject of high-definition television (HDTV).
A further key topic involved the streamlined compatibility of corporate software. The trend is towards flexible, service-oriented architecture (SOA), in which essential functions are organized as services. New technologies grouped under the designation of "Web 2.0" are driving Internet design. In the field of "Auto ID/RFID", exhibitors demonstrated interactive applications that are eminently compatible with existing in-house systems. The trend here is away from insular, stand-alone solutions to open systems. A further focus of CeBIT was on enhanced security for data and systems.
A popular issue at the Banking and Finance sector was the networking of sales, controlling, and production along with the security of electronic transactions. In the public sector, interfaces based on open standards are being designed to promote transparent and simplified processes. Apart from the electronic health card, a voluntary electronic patient card proved a compelling theme for the healthcare sector.
The CeBIT motto "Join the vision" found a strong echo in the form of bustling activity in all 24 exhibition halls.



CeBIT enhances Germany's standing as a high-tech nation
CeBIT once again served as a platform for a fruitful dialogue between the German government and the nation's ICT industry as one of the key drivers of the economy. Chancellor Angela Merkel, a number of federal and state ministers, permanent secretaries, city mayors and other leading political figures took the opportunity to update themselves on the latest advances and trends in the ICT sector, both in Germany and abroad. Some 33 foreign delegations from government and industry also paid official visits to CeBIT 2006.
The next CeBIT will be staged from Thursday, 15 to Wednesday, 21 March 2007 in Hannover.