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09 Oct 2008
Channel players came out in force for IP08 earlier this month and claimed the knowledge of the event’s 4,500 end user attendees would ensure healthy returns.
This year marked the first time the event, held at London’s Earls Court, was combined with the virtualisation-focused VM08. More than 100 companies exhibited at the dual show and over 100 seminars were held in six different theatres across two days.
Reseller NextiraOne enjoyed a prominent stand near the entrance and head of marketing Christopher Lewis claimed the event was fruitful for the firm. “We had mixed feelings about how the show went last year,” he said. “But adding the virtualisation side has been good as we have taken a lot of leads from virtualisation and unified communications.”
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A host of vendors boasted a major presence, including BT, Mitel, VMware, Microsoft, NetApp and Avaya, which had a colossal stand near the front of the hall. Another eye-catching feature was the distinctive orange branding, including impressively bright attire, of IP telephony vendor ShoreTel.
EMEA managing director Mark Swendsen claimed attendees were pleasingly knowledgeable. “One of the things we enjoy about this event is that it is a strong end-user event,” he said. “People come equipped and ready to learn and we can point to the return on investment.”
Distributor React Technologies co-sponsored the Wi-Fi Lounge area and managing director Jess Thompson-Hughes revealed he had spent about £10,000 on attending the event. “Most people seem to be here for virtualisation,” he said. “But we have some very good leads through our sponsorship. The quality of leads has been better than expected.”
Georgina Lugger, Cisco vendor manager for communications services specialist Telent, claimed the event was smaller than she had expected, but added: “It is all about the quality. Having a stand is expensive, but the leads we have are very good, so it will pay for itself.”
Roland Stigwood, managing director of network monitoring company Kedron UK, was another exhibitor to praise the crowd’s knowledge. “I have been very pleased with the quality of people,” he said. “We already have projects in place and that is why we do these shows.”
Network performance specialist VAR Phoenix Datacom provided a speaker for the network security and management theatre. Marketing manager Tony Smith claimed the event’s seminars had been well supported. “Most visitors would not necessarily head for us, but we have seen some good quality people,” he said.
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