LONG BEFORE Europe began to show symptoms of the malaise gripping the US economy, the continent's biggest technology fair had already decided to strip down to its essentials and present a sharper image.
This year's CeBIT, the annual high-tech fest in the northern German city of Hanover, is one day shorter than previously, and organisers say it is more efficient and geared to the needs of business.
Hard-nosed trade visitors focused on closing the next deal or making vital contacts need no longer fear being derailed by parties of schoolchildren or families seeking entertainment on a rainy day, according to the new concept of CeBIT. High-tech gimmicks, gadgets and stunts will be largely banished to the show's final weekend, taking a distant second place this year to anti-virus software, hard-disk recovery systems and internet routers.
"The new CeBIT is in place," said Ernst Raue, a managing board member of Deutsche Messe, which organises CeBIT and other German trade fairs. "Our new concept involving a sharper profile, a clearer structure and significantly more content is meeting with a positive response in the marketplace."
CeBIT has lost ground to Berlin rival IFA on the one hand, whose more gadget-oriented August/September fair is increasingly popular with consumers, and US competitor CES (Consumer Electronics Show) on the other, whose annual show has the advantage of being two months earlier.
CeBIT's list of speakers this year was headlined by Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer but his high profile belies the fact that many large companies are increasingly represented at CeBIT by their European or German heads rather than top executives - a possible sign they are preparing for leaner times.
The drive to cut costs is also a factor in making the environment the IT industry's latest favourite topic. Green IT, now de rigueur at major technology events as IT overtakes aviation in terms of its carbon footprint, is the subject of numerous events, round tables and product launches at this year's CeBIT.
Computer makers including Lenovo and Fujitsu Siemens as well as Intel, the world's biggest chipmaker, unveiled energy-saving devices at the show. But the star was a laptop encased in laminated bamboo strips instead of plastic. Taiwanese makers Asus said the result was "both aesthetically pleasing and good for the environment".
The Eco Book was the answer, they said, to the growing concern about the use of plastics. "Bamboo is the most sustainable raw material there is," said Jellent Sun, a senior director. "It grows very fast and therefore we decided to combine bamboo with metal, and leave out the plastic." The resulting laptop is due to go into production in June.
It is the first time in the 36-year history of CeBIT that it has taken on the green theme and it has been met with a mixture of praise and scepticism. Environmental group Greenpeace held its own event where it examined the green claims of manufacturers.
With energy prices soaring and the cost of running a computer server adding about 50 per cent to its purchase price, according to one IDC study, the love of money is at least as important a factor as love of the environment.
"It's bare necessity," the head of Intel's German business told Reuters in an interview. "There are definitely economic grounds for making IT as a whole 'green'."
