Europe’s IT hotspot to be showcased at CeBIT in Hannover, Germany

At a meeting in London on Monday evening, Olaf Lies (Lower Saxony’s Minister of Economic Affairs) and Lord Green (the UK Minister of State for Trade and Investment) appended their signatures to the official Partner Country agreements. In the presence of Dr. Rudolf Adam (Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in London) and Karl-Heinz Streibich (CEO of Software AG), Ulrich Dietz (Vice President of the industry association BITKOM) expressed his pleasure about this partnership: “The United Kingdom and Germany are two heavyweights in the European ICT market. Together the two countries generate sales revenues of €265 billion, equivalent to nearly one tenth of the entire world market. German and British enterprises will benefit in equal measure from the upcoming Partner Country showcase at CeBIT. In particular, SMEs and start-ups can make excellent use of CeBIT in order to get in touch with important international players with a minimum of time and effort.”

Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, UK Minister for Trade and Investment: "I am delighted that the UK will be Partner Country at CeBIT, the world’s largest ICT event in Hannover next March. The UK will have its biggest presence there for many years, covering both trade and investment opportunities. CeBIT offers a global platform to showcase innovative businesses of all sizes from the UK and we will promote our Technology is GREAT brand there. UK Trade & Investment is supporting a national pavilion, a full programme of surrounding events and a British Business Lounge on site. I invite the many German and international participants in CeBIT to meet UK businesses in Hannover."

Compared with last year at the same time, CeBIT has reported an increase in exhibitor registrations. “Our commitment to ‘100 percent business’ and the new sector-centric layout of the show closely mirror market requirements. The response from Asia in general and China in particular has been very positive,” Oliver Frese said in London. At the same time several companies are expanding their presence in Hannover – for example, Samsung and Huawei. Leading printer manufacturers and providers of managed print services will be returning to CeBIT under the umbrella of a new display category dedicated to printing solutions. Kyocera, Epson and Brother have announced that they will be increasing the size of their displays. “Our goal is to enhance the content of CeBIT on the basis of a clear structure and profile. The positive reactions from the IT market indicate that we are on the right track,” Frese emphasizes.

Frese is confident that the number of exhibitors from the United Kingdom will increase significantly. Approx. 150 companies from the UK are expected to take part in CeBIT 2014, three times as many as in 2013. The Partner Country showcase will be staged under the motto “Technology is Great … Britain”. The UK exhibitors will focus on numerous key areas, including smart cities, data science, eHealth, M2M, Internet security and digital media.
“The United Kingdom is an innovative partner with a strong impact on the international ICT sector. In particular, we are looking forward to the many UK exhibitors and their inspirational products and services, as well as visits by high-ranking delegations and fruitful mindsharing on ‘Datability’ as the chosen keynote topic,” said Frese.