Flying the flag

And, while they may have been dwarfed by these two giants on either side, the South African pavilion certainly stood out. Every afternoon at about four o`clock you could hear the clinking of wine glasses, as the South Africans invited visitors to taste some of the Cape`s finest.

The twelve South African companies at the event seemed, for the most part, relaxed and good humoured - enjoying what for many of them was their first trip to CeBIT.

But that is not to say that the SA companies weren`t there to work. Starting at eight o`clock every morning to prepare for the deluge of visitors when the gates opened at nine, and ending with evening networking functions running late into the night, the schedule was busy.

Somewhere inside all of this, Fundamo`s Ian Rivett (from Cape Town) managed to find time for formal meetings. "It is a fantastic meeting place," he commented. "We are seeing people from places like Iraq, the United States and Russia - all in one week, at one place."

"It`s important to have meetings already set-up with those who you know will be at CeBIT, before you actually arrive here," he tells iWeek, adding that Fundamo cannot expect to receive very much "walker-by" interest.

And the best thing about being at CeBIT? Rivett says the opportunity for Fundamo to gauge itself against other countries around the globe, especially those in the same line of work (mobile payments and mobile banking solutions) is absolutely invaluable.

Helping hand from Holland

While Fundamo developed the applications for MTN`s mobile banking, the yellow cellular operator was nowhere to be seen in CeBIT`s communications halls - despite its vast financial resources, international presence, and expansion drive. None of SA`s big ICT firms made the trip to Europe`s largest technology gathering.

Pilotfish director Adam Shapiro says it makes a lot of sense for his Durban-based company to be one of the 6 200 CeBIT exhibitors, since 70% of its contracts come from overseas. Like the other 11 South African companies in Hannover, Pilotfish benefited from a Department of Trade and Industry initiative that heavily subsidised the travelling and exhibition expenses of the firms it selected to attend.

ePages` Penny Macpherson was making her first trip to the event this year. Her Web-based company, also from Durban, is involved in a Dutch CBI initiative, in partnership with our DTI. CBI, or the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries, is mandated by the Dutch government to encourage exports from selected developing nations, to Europe, she explains.

From a tech-perspective, SA is one of those countries selected by the Dutch organisation, and (like a few other local ICT SMEs) ePages has benefited from mentoring, training and overseas visits like this German expedition - all to give our local players a better understanding of the European markets.

Massive reach

CeBIT is a cosmopolitan affair, attracting almost half a million visitors over the week, from all corners of the world. There is - obviously - a heavy German involvement, but organisations large and small from hundreds of companies converge to punt their products, raise company profiles, and engage with business partners and customers.

In the evenings, visitors would fill the streets of Hannover, as restaurants and bars bust at the seams with the influx of people - short-lived though this festival trade may be.

Back to the conference, and Johannesburg`s Mohammed Badat - CTO of MyVoip Communications - was in awe of the innovation showcased inside the exhibition`s 26 gigantic halls. "Some of the mobile technologies are really, really amazing," he comments.

Badat believes that being at CeBIT will help people get to know the two year-old MyVoip, which received a boost recently, winning a R2.5 million tender for a call centre commissioned by the seven South Western Gauteng colleges.

So, if there are benefits, even for small technology companies, in being part of CeBIT, why don`t more South African businesses do it?

Jaco van Graan, from local security specialists Sensepost, responds that "people may not always be aware of the opportunities available through the DTI - CeBIT is great exposure for relatively small costs".

"If we were to travel here on our own - and not as part of this delegation - it would cost us an arm and a leg; but with the DTI it isn`t so expensive."

Van Graan also believes that being part of a government-sponsored formal delegation gives Sensepost a certain level of credibility when it comes to arranging business meetings.

Sensepost was using CeBIT as a platform to expand its partner network, and get other European resellers, like its Swiss partner Navixia, on board. "Getting partners with local knowledge is the key," he says.

Spin-offs

Vusi Mweli, Consul for Economic Affairs at the South African Consulate, based in the city of Munich, says the benefits of having a good SA representation at CeBIT go beyond just generating technology off-shoring business.

"People from all over the world are asking about visiting South Africa. Though we are exposing these 12 companies, we end up achieving much more than that."

Mweli belives that "people will remember the stand, it will stay in their mind when they come to choosing solutions".

He adds that being at CeBIT is a wonderful way for our local tech-specialists to maintain their innovative edge, in the face of hot competition from other countries` ICT industries.

After just a couple of days at CeBIT, Pretoria`s Trispen Technologies had generated lists of potential business partners from meetings with German and Belgian business chambers. "Our goal is to bring a handful of new partners on board, and to establish and strengthen relationships with a number of companies," beams sales and marketing manager Liesel Prinsloo.

"It`s important to identify those that you think will be interested in what you have to offer, and from there it`s a matter of going to them. You can`t sit around and wait for people to come to you," adds Trispen`s development manager, Gerrie Roos.

Cape-based Candor Technologies has supported CeBIT for almost the event`s entire history. This year was CEO Wido Schnabel`s fifteenth year at the exhibition.

"It`s simply a great way to develop the most number of business contacts in the short spell of just one week," he explains.

And, while Schnabel admits CeBIT has declined in pure visitor numbers over the past few years, he says it is more about the "quality" of the people at the event, rather than the actual numbers through the gates.

"Next to tourism, ICT can be one of our biggest exports - but it needs drive from government. We need more South Africans to be at international events like this."

"We just need to go out there and show what we can do," he adds.