Following a successful trip to Hannover in March this year, Internetrix Managing Director Geoff McQueen was committed to exhibiting at CeBIT Australia. While a smaller event compared to the mammoth German show, CeBIT Australia still attracted more than 30,000 visitors (up 7% on the year before) to see 734 companies exhibit (up 22% on 2005). This month, Geoff reports on the event, its highlights, and the response to the launch of Internetrix Gravity.

After visiting the mammoth German CeBIT event in March, exhibiting at Sydney was like coming home in more ways that one – the surroundings were familiar, the accents were familiar and even some of the faces were familiar. While a smaller show, CeBIT Australia is still very impressive, with more than 700 exhibitors displaying their software, hardware or technology services to the 10,000 or so visitors a day who streamed into the Sydney Exhibition and Conference Centre at Darling Harbour.

Launching a new product at the event meant the lead up period – short notice to start with thanks for international commitments – was even more pressed than normal. To the credit of the team, we managed to put on an outstanding display and successfully launch Gravity 2.0, the newest version of our award winning task and workflow management system.

The response to from the hundreds of people who visited our stand throughout the show was exceptional.

CRM is still a hot area of interest for many businesses, and Affinity's approach with automating and centralising client communications certainly pushed some buttons for people frustrated with their clunky, desktop based, and high maintenance databases.

Workflow and project management were also strong areas of interest for the people we spoke to. Many visitors – mostly directors or senior managers – reported challenges with keeping their teams coordinated and getting an accurate picture of company progress. Gravity's ability to build coordination and collaboration quickly and easily certainly got a lot of interest and attention.

Other areas of the show capturing the imagination of visitors was the continued application of VoIP. While technically proven some time ago, manufacturers and software developers are now embracing VoIP with much more energy, resulting in an explosion of devices and tools which allow users to talk on the phone via the internet.

Another highlight from the event was the inaugural Excellence in E-Government award, which was announced at a gala dinner at the show. Internetrix, in conjunction with Shellharbour City Council, was a finalist for the award thanks to the leading eDA application, built on Gravity. While we didn't come away with the prize – congratulations to the ACT for their online driver education program – watching a live performance from Jimmy Barnes in all his ear stretching glory was a highlight; it's incredible that someone who's been singing like that for so long is still so good at it.

The outcome from the show has been exceptional. While it is still early days, we have well over a hundred new leads and relationships, some of whom will be getting this newsletter for the first time. In response to some of the most "pressing" interest, our team have been busy preparing proposals, setting up trials of Affinity and Gravity for interested parties, and generally responding to the great interest, which even included a feature article in the Sydney Morning Herald last Saturday.

If you didn't get to make it to CeBIT, but you'd like to find out what all the fuss is about – specifically with respect to Affinity and the Gravity launch – don’t hesitate to contact us.