Trade shows gird for battle in Vegas

When the Comdex trade show opens in Las Vegas next week a competitor will be a short cab ride away. Jupitermedia, a research and events company, is launching a rival show at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, and it is making no secret of its ambition: to run Comdex out of town.

Jupitermedia announced plans for its show in February, taking advantage of financial uncertainty surrounding Comdex organizer Key3Media Group, which had filed for bankruptcy protection the same day. While Comdex faced criticism for becoming a sprawling, unfocused event that did not meet the needs of buyers and sellers, Jupitermedia promised a more intimate gathering focused specifically on enterprise IT.

On the eve of its show, called Computer Digital Expo (cdXpo), it has signed up around 50 exhibitors and a speaker roster that includes Peter Blackmore, head of Hewlett-Packard's server group, and Darl McBride, chief executive of The SCO Group. It expects to attract about 6,000 visitors to the event. That would be only a tenth of the crowd Comdex hopes to draw, but still a healthy start for a show in its first year, according to Alan Meckler, Jupitermedia's chairman and chief executive.

"We've created a show which we think addresses all the ills of Comdex. People want smaller, more focused events," he said.

Some exhibitors apparently agree. The Canadian government, which has been a Comdex regular in the past, will this year set up its pavilion at cdXpo instead, to showcase about 20 Canadian IT vendors. It declined to discuss its reasons for switching. IBM, BEA Systems and SAP America will also be at cdXpo. Some companies, like IBM, will have a presence at both shows.

Pointing to Comdex's falling attendance -- the show expects about 50,000 visitors this year, down from 125,000 last year -- Meckler predicted its rapid demise. "When trade shows start to shrink, and shrink rapidly, they don't come back, and I think that's what we're seeing here," he said.

Despite his bluster, Comdex is by no means beaten. Key3Media emerged from bankruptcy in June, changed its name to MediaLive International. and announced its own plans for a smaller, more focused event for enterprise IT users. It cut the number of exhibitors by a half from a year ago and is being selective about attendees for the first time, to ensure a better class of visitor.

It also moved its headquarters, from Los Angeles to San Francisco, to be closer to the heart of the IT industry, and installed a new management team that includes former members of CMP Media, an experienced media and events company. Its usual lineup of speakers will be there, including Microsoft's Bill Gates, Sun Microsystems's Scott McNealy and Siebel Systems's Tom Siebel. Dell, which has been absent from the show for six years, has returned.

In short, Comdex has seen the error of its ways and has rebuilt itself as a new type of show, said Eric Faurot, the show's vice president and general manager.

"This is year one of the new Comdex. It's back to basics -- understanding how to connect the right buyers with the right vendors. We will only allow companies on the show floor that have products for the IT marketplace. You won't see any car companies or massage chairs," he said.