Virtual Show News

COMDEX relaunched as virtual event

LONDON — COMDEX will make a comeback later this year as a virtual event. UBM, which acquired the brand as part of its acquisition of MediaLive Intl. in 2006, will relaunch COMDEX as a virtual event to be held Nov. 16-17, managed by its Everything Channel business.

At its height, COMDEX was the largest annual show in the industry with 1.2 million net square feet of exhibit space at an unprecedented $60 a square foot. Attendance peaked at 200,000, including exhibitors. For more than 20 years it was as dominant in the trade show industry as it was in the IT industry it served. Its last event was in 2003.

"The original COMDEX died because it stopped serving its core customers,” says David Levin, CEO of UBM.  “We are giving COMDEX a future by going back to its past. Our virtual COMDEX is focused on serving the IT channel, value added resellers, ISVs and all those people and businesses who make up the IT distribution system. Virtual COMDEX works right alongside and complements the other products and services we provide for the Channel and for the wider technology industry.”

Why now? “The timing is right now,” explains Nancy Hammervik, Senior Vice President, Events, Everything Channel. “COMDEX started out as a computer dealer expo with a focus on resellers, dealers and integrators and it became much more than that over time. There’s definitely an untapped market opportunity there. At the same time, we’re seeing an explosion in opportunities in virtual, so we thought it would be exciting to bring this big brand back to its roots and move it forward into the future.”

Hammervik says that although the physical event became too large and difficult to navigate, it offered a wealth of information and resources. The new virtual format, hosted on the InXpo platform, is expected to help make COMDEX easier to manage as well as expand its reach as a global event.

The virtual event will include:

• A Grand Hall of Masters showcasing keynote speakers
• A Conference Hall offering technical, product, channel and business conference tracks
• An Exhibit Hall featuring booths and pavilions from technology vendors
• Sponsored Hospitality Suites for private meetings, briefings and cocktail parties
• A Media Room for registered journalists and industry analysts
• A CRN Test Center offering live reviews and demos of technology solutions