Q: What do you think are going to be the hot trends this year
A: As we said also in our press conference in November, it could be Convergence. Convergence of all these related industries and fields. So there is no more limit between B2B [business-to-business] and private use. That has been a long time critical issue of CeBIT. CeBIT handles only the industry sector, only business to business. But nowadays is it not possible to draw clear cut between industries and private consumer electronics.
For example CES and IFA are now getting stronger and stronger, our competitors. They handle every segment. For example CES is only known as a Consumer Electronics Show. IFA too, covers only products like house TV sets, amplifiers, cooking machines, refrigerators. In CeBIT we didn't have such household electronics. But nowadays, for example cellular phones, we can use cellular phones for business and for private entertaining and for everything. Another example, TV sets, with TV you can do your business, get all your information.
Q: From your experience has CeBIT been a good place to make international business deals
A: It has been for the last 21 years. CeBIT has been a part exhibition and was organized for the first time right after the second World War, in 1946. So now it's a 61 year old trade fair. It's the world's oldest trade fair. So we had at the time only one annual trade fair in April covering IT, covering heavy industries, covering automobiles, covering office machines. And the mother fair Hannover Messe cannot cover all industries at one time in one place so we divided. At the time we had CeBIT which stands for Center for Bureau of Information and Telecommunication Technology. Of course we have CeMHT, and some other kinds of things. Hannover Messe is the mother trade fair.
Q: Do you think that Korean companies are on top of the convergence trend
A: I think that in the meantime we have cellular phones, we can see TV, we can hear the music, we don't need any more digital camera.
Q: Is there anything else you'd like to say about CeBIT
A: There are three important factors to make a show famous. One, prosperity -- good businessmen, good product. Two, well-organized entertainment. Well-organized presentation business-wise, but also very proud and well-organized well-entertained. And third, for famous shows there is a world-wide gathering point for travelers. So you can lose your purse, so there must be good things about it.
