End Of An Era: Comdex 2004 To Be A No-Show

"It was the hallmark IT event in the IT industry for two decades," said Tech Data Chairman Steve Raymund. "But in the last couple of years its importance has dwindled. It's essentially been a convenient calendar item for some people to get together outside of Comdex. I haven't been inside the show for years."

Raymund said the logistics of navigating Las Vegas Comdex crowds hurt the show. And, he said, Comdex remained too general as the industry took on more vertical focuses. "People are finding [targeted vertical shows] more relevant," he said.

But Frank Vitagliano, IBM's vice president of worldwide distribution channels, said Comdex still was a significant event. "Even though over the last couple of years the show has become less important, what hasn't changed is that all the industry people and contacts that you have to deal with or want to deal with are still there," he said. "The problem for Comdex is that it's become an off-show[-floor] event."

MediaLive, Comdex's current owner, announced last week it was canceling the 2004 show but said it will return in 2005. An advisory board of vendors has been formed to help guide it, the company said.

id
unit-1659132512259
type
Sponsored post

"While we could still run a profitable Comdex this year, it does not benefit the industry to do so without broader support of the leading technology companies," said Robert Priest-Heck, president and CEO of MediaLive. "In order to give the advisory board the time and opportunity necessary to partake in the redesign of Comdex, we thought it best to postpone this year's show."

Comdex was launched in 1979 by Sheldon Adelson, then-owner of Interface Group, Needham, Mass. He came up with the idea for the show after reading an issue of Computer Systems News, a former CMP publication that later spawned CRN. The event's acronym originally stood for Computer Dealer Exposition.

Adelson grew Comdex into a worldwide franchise before selling it in the mid-1990s to Softbank for $867 million. At the time, Comdex attracted more than 200,000 visitors.

Industry executives expressed nostalgia upon hearing of the cancellation of the 2004 show. "An era has passed," said retired IBM channel executive David Boucher. "It's like not having the Super Bowl."

ROBERT FALETRA contributed to this story.

----------------------------

CRN 2004 HALL OF FAME TO GO ON

While Comdex 2004 has been canceled, CRN's Industry Hall of Fame, which in recent years has become the premier Comdex event, will take place Nov. 16 at the Computer Industry Museum in Mountain View, Calif.

"Hall of Fame has and continues to receive very strong support," said Robert Faletra, president of CMP Media's Channel Group. "In just the last few years we have had Michael Dell, John Chambers, Jeff Raikes and Jim Manzi in attendance. As such, we will be mov- ing forward with what is the premier awards event in the industry."

This fall's Hall of Fame will be expanded into an all-day event with some 50 industry VIPs and 250 top solution providers attending.