World's largest tech show still relevant
Published: 04 Dec 2006 16:37 GMT
It might be some people's idea of hell but it seems CeBIT, the world's largest IT show, is still going strong.
Dr Sven Prüser, senior vice president of CeBIT, told ZDNet UK that telematics, service-oriented architecture (SOA), security and Microsoft's Vista operating system will be high on the agenda at the show, which will take place in Hanover from 15-21 March 2007.
"The main focus for telematics is in transportation, where costs need to be reduced — especially in the production area. Logistics is the crucial thing on the cost side, and on the quality and service side," explained Dr Prüser.
"The company that can guarantee exact delivery time and exact delivery quantities has an advantage against competitors, namely those from East Asia," he added.
Telematic systems allow companies to track vehicles, and are also used by government agencies to levy road tolls. Dr Prüser believes the advent of Europe's Galileo satellite navigation system will catalyse the telematics industry. It is due to be launched in 2010, and should be a rival to GPS.
"We are very curious about what solutions will be launched [using Galileo]. One aspect is that GPS, at the level we use it as citizens, only works in one direction. It helps you know where you are, but there's no 'backline'", said Dr Prüser. He predicted that Galileo will allow users to send information out to their units in the field, as well as receiving location information from them.
"Galileo is working to add more services including this 'backline', so you can not only say 'Where is my truck?', but also do some maintenance on the machine on the truck," Dr Prüsser suggested.
CeBIT takes place across 26 separate exhibition halls. Next year's show will include an area where SMEs can learn about SOA, while one-and-a-half halls will be devoted to security products.
You can see the full video interview with Dr Prüsser, in which he also discusses why Dell and HP no longer attend CeBIT, on ZDNet UK.





