"It's just this industry," said KioskCom's Lawrence Dvorchik the day before, trying to explain to his neophytes why attendance jammed in at the end, instead of building slowly as it does for the European shows in their experience. "You are dealing with a lot of very intelligent, very creative people who have a lot to do, and often don't get around to thinking of shows until the end."
IMP got into the events business in 2003, producing Ad:tech—another JD Events license—and Business Continuity, a program devoted to risk management. After JD Events bought KioskCom in 2005, two IMP principals attended the April 2006 Las Vegas show and agreed to produce one in London.
KioskCom also produces or licenses shows in New York City and Dubai.
So many U.S. players in the self-service space are here, one could easily forget the locus is not the Mandalay Bay. Analyst Francie Mendelsohn is on the docket to speak, and from among the several U.S. companies here to fish for business, Bob Ventresca, the director of marketing for Netkey, was lumbering about in search of a screwdriver to set up a kiosk, not to mention in search of clients.
"We're hear to further establish our brand name and evaluate how best to serve the marketplace," he said, taking advantage of a stiff stool in an adjacent empty stand—what booths are called here—to wait for set up to finish in his. "We believe the market is underserved when it comes to software, especially when it comes to large-scale projects."
Ventresca, like many others watching for opportunities overseas, perceives movement in the market.
"There is enormous transaction in Europe for self-service in transportation and the automation of governmental functions," he said. "I think maybe they're still behind us in adoption, but banks and financial institutions are really starting to come online, and retail is an emerging market."
Evidencing his belief, representatives from the U.K.'s five largest retailers—Tesco, Arcadia, Kingfisher, IKEA and Debenhams—are on the attendee list.
