SIB-IT 2009: Bigger and Better

The traditional Computer and Office Equipment Show (SIB), a key event for marketing computer hardware and solutions to professionals and the general public, could it be a victim of its own success?

This year-on-year growth led the organizers to hold the 2009 edition, from September 30th to October 4th, not at the Charguia fairgrounds, but at the Kram Exhibition Park.
A change of location is coupled with a new name: the International Show of Computer, Office Automation and Information and Communication Technologies (SIB-IT 2009).

The reasons behind this move are multiple, the main one being the controversy surrounding the event's organization. An organization deemed deficient, which provoked criticism, sometimes virulent, from the media and professionals. As a reminder, the SIB, a victim of its success, gradually established itself as the main commercial event dedicated to new technologies in Tunisia.

A dizzying success, which attracted more than 100,000 visitors, despite entry fees twice as high as those usually in effect for other Charguia shows.

The increasing number of exhibitors, with more visitors, stands overloaded with computer hardware and accessories, sometimes poorly arranged, quickly put pressure on a show with insufficient space.
The cramped conditions, noise pollution and poor ventilation quickly led to visitor and professional exasperation, transforming the computer festival into a nightmare, both inside and outside the venue, with insufficient parking and huge traffic jams around the show.

This situation, these complaints, pushed the Ministry of Telecommunications to act and facilitate SIB's move to another location, more suited to the event, the Kram Exhibition Park.

A decision also dictated by security imperatives: the Charguia SIB, due to its cramped conditions and the proliferation of haphazard electrical connections, was not immune to the risk of fire, a scenario deemed catastrophic for a crowded place lacking sufficiently wide corridors for the safe evacuation of thousands of visitors.

The change of name and location also reflects the sector's desire to give the event a better brand image, to distinguish it from that of a large fairground market selling computer odds and ends. Efforts to give the show a new concept will focus on content, giving it prestige as a leading show for new technologies in their broadest sense.

The new show, which will be two and a half times larger than the old one, will be divided into two distinct areas: one for the general public (10,000 m²), the other for professionals (5,000 m²). The show will also see greater involvement from the Ministry of Telecommunications which, with the help of the Tunisian SSII Chamber (Infotica), aims to organize a Maghreb forum on ICTs, punctuated by a series of seminars, workshops and B2B meetings, to stimulate contacts and business within this sector. The show, which will have larger premises and parking spaces, could set a new attendance record this year, with over 150,000 visitors expected for the 2009 edition and nearly 130 exhibitors having confirmed their presence by September 8th, 2009, with 95% occupancy rates for Halls 1 and 2 in Kram.

Sami.B

Published September 17, 2009

Posted online September 25, 2009

African Manager