A sure sign of the times

Like many others, I'm not at Interop this week. At first I was thinking it was just me, but as I've heard from others, quotes like "This is the first Interop I haven't attended since 1995", I realized there is definitely a significant impact the economy is having on how many people are at the show this year. With Twitter updates, live floor webcams, event photos on Flickr, chat rooms, Interop TV and blog updates from the show floor, maybe there's not even a need to go this year.

As someone who's attended Interop since 1992, it's certainly strange not to be there this year. While the predictions on whether tech shows will survive remain mixed, there I'll always have a soft spot for Interop.

InterOp 2009: Big Networking in the Recession

InterOp, networking's largest tradeshow is underway this week in Las Vegas. But, with the world recession looming big, there's one big question. In the midst of a recession, will buyers actually show up?

InterOp is coming at a challenging time for vendors and their users. In addition to the world recession, tradeshows themselves are on a major decline, impacted not only by the recession, but fears of swine flu, in a time where buyers are moving increasingly to the web to research products and do self training.


According to Network World:

Despite the recession or perhaps in spite of it, there is no shortage of news and speakers scheduled for the event. If the early hype from the conference organizers is any indication, the winds of change – in terms of buyer sentiment – might be picking up.

A survey of over 900 pre-registered attendees released this week by the conference organizers reported that only 20 percent of attendee IT budgets will decrease in comparison with 2008, while 42 percent claimed that they budgets will increase over 2008.

If those numbers turn out to be true, 2009 might not be such a terrible year for IT after all. Then again, we're nearly halfway through the year now, and we all know how positive (or not) the economy has been so far.

So keep your fingers crossed, and let's watch for the reports on how InterOp turns out this week.

RSA Conference kicks off on somber note

This week is the start of the RSA 2009 Conference in San Francisco. It's notable as one of the premier security tradeshows in the industry. Network World published an article today, stating it will feel smaller this year than in years past due to the current economy. As they state:

One telling sign of the times: RSA Conference is extending free passes worth more than $2,000 to 25 individuals described as "victims of corporate downsizing … who lost their jobs due to the economic environment."

If you're in the area, and you're interested in security, it's worth a visit to see the latest products. The show runs through Thursday at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

InterOp Vegas

Either you love or hate conferences and the associated exhibition floor. But for those of you that enjoy the going to talk to vendors and grabbing the occasional tchotchke, next week's InterOp show in Vegas is one that anyone in networking is sure to be familiar with.

I started attending InterOp shows back in 1991, and the show has certainly come a long way since then. The show reached its peak (in terms of size) back during the dot com boom, and hasn't really regained the exhibition size it once had, so this year's show is at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Even on a smaller scale, InterOp remains one of the important shows to keep track of what's happening in networking, and to a smaller degree, network security.

It's no surprise then that many key proxy vendors will be displaying their wares on the show floor, and some will probably have interesting announcements around their products. I'll keep tuned and let you know any interesting tidbits I see or hear about as a result of InterOp.