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New ITxpo Layout Makes Solution Buying Easy, Efficient
Friday, 21 March 2003
Like a new play in tryout before the Broadway opening, ITxpo Marketplaces have wowed the out-of-town crowds and are now ready for prime time.
Nine Marketplaces will be unveiled beginning Monday during Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2003, in San Diego. Marketplaces are themed exhibit areas on the show floor that aggregate IT solution providers by specific market. Marketplaces feature exhibits, hands-on technology demonstrations and presentations by Gartner analysts and suppliers. The nine market areas include:
Application Development/Internet Platforms and Web Services
Application Integration and Middleware
Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing
Portals, Content and Collaboration
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Supply Chain Management
Enterprise Systems Management
Security
Sourcing
Wireless
Also new to the show floor are six Global Partners – Citrix, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, SAP, Sun Microsystems and Unisys - industry-leading solution providers whose product offerings and sphere of influence span multiple Marketplaces. These companies represent Gartner Events' most strategic exhibit partners worldwide, bringing value to our conference community through breakthrough technologies and innovative exhibits.
The Gartner Events management team, which organizes Symposium, tested the Marketplace concept at ITxpo last fall in Orlando. It proved to be a winner, says Kathy Foreman, group vice president and general manger of Symposium/ITxpo.
The Marketplaces are designed to enable productive buyer/seller transactions and to offer a convenient forum for dialogue and information sharing right on the show floor. With attendees typically trying to cram several seminars, analyst One-on-Ones and keynote sessions into their busy days, they often feel pressed for time to scout out potential technology solutions to bring back home.
Feedback from the three Marketplaces tested in Orlando show that suppliers and potential buyers liked the new approach. Suppliers reported more sales and qualified sales leads, and ITxpo attendees appreciated the chance to efficiently browse those market areas most relevant to their companies' needs.
According to David Hope-Ross, Gartner research director and head of the ERP and Supply Chain marketplace, "Marketplaces are an ideal way to let serious-minded buyers do one-stop shopping."
Michael Gomez
Gartner Staff
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