In what is traditionally a shoulder-to-shoulder mad dash for giveaways, the opening night of RSA was more reminiscent of the last day when most of the people are already homebound. Forget trying to determine who isn't here this year, but consider which companies won't be here in 6 months as witnessed by their dotcom-bomb spending patterns.
Because I always buy a full conference delegate registration for RSA, I am left out in the Moscone lobby area waiting for the expo floor to open. In years past, the crowd waiting in line for their free food and drinks on the Monday night open has looked more like a giant herd of cattle. This year, you could have popped a tent; BBQ'd, and setup a tennis court. The cavernous rooms didn't stop there. Once the floor opened, lines at the bar were nil and corridors were congestion free.
History repeats itself time and time again. Here is a hint, want to know who will be bought in 2009? Just look around at the show floor and take inventory of which vendors are spending like they didn't learn anything about the dotcom bomb days. Which vendors bought bigger booths? Which are giving out free stuff without asking for anything in return? Don't feel pity for the small vendor booths on the perimeter, go congratulate them for spending within their means.
See you at the show!
Comments (1)
RSA booths are booked 12 months ahead of time - exhibitors are asked to book next years show during this show. As a result, most showfloor commitments reflect the economic outlook as of April 2008.
What you don't see is the companies who cancelled their 2009 commitments, of which there appear to be many.
Posted by Xcon | April 22, 2009 12:01 AM
Posted on April 22, 2009 00:01