I was always of the opinion that trade shows can be hell if you don’t know what you’re looking for, so it’s an eye opener to learn that some people are happy to expend their shoe leather casually browsing myriad stands in search of anything and nothing in particular.

There is method in this seeming madness; it’s always a good idea to get acquainted with the latest technology, for instance. And tricking a sales person by feigning a lack of interest may even lead to a good deal.

Even so, I imagine that most visitors to this week’s Storage Expo show will have a very clear idea of the technologies and products they are interested in.

Storage Expo is one of the best examples of the new breed of IT trade show that appears to be thriving by focusing on a specific technology. Gigantic, all-encompassing stadium events have all but disappeared – CeBit being the single exception, in Europe at least.

And less is definitely more. Simpler, more compact events that cram as much relevant technology as possible into a smaller space are finding a ready audience among hard-pressed IT managers with money to spend, but little time in which to spend it.

Whether they are window shopping or not, few IT professionals have the inclination or the stamina to spend more than a day at a trade show. Which is where size matters again, because the laws of geography suggest that the less foot-slogging distance vendors can put between their booths must translate into a higher, or at least more concentrated, number of punters passing their way before eyes glaze over and the bar beckons.

martin_courtney@vnu.co.uk