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Glitz, Not Techno-Babble Marks Atlanta Communications-Technology Show Jun. 8 (The News & Observer/KRTBN)--ATLANTA--The crowd is captivated by gaudily clad performers undulating on stage as synthesizer music pulse and colored lights wash over them. Towering above, a clown demonstrates a daring feat of balance atop a tall stack of chairs. And this is just the warmup act. A few paces away, a platoon of Alcatel employees in peach-colored shirts waits to snare members of the entranced crowd and talk about ... DSL broadband service and optical-network solutions. Huh? The nuts and bolts of Internet and telephone network gear like Alcatel`s may be inscrutable and boring to the uninitiated. But at Supercomm 2000 -- a communications technology trade show that has drawn 60,000 people from around the globe -- a carnival atmosphere reigns. Companies jockeying for the attention of prospective technology buyers use any and all gimmicks. Other entertainment includes sand sculpture, bicycle tricksters flying off ramps, and a ragtime band. Those taking it all in range from representatives of small communications companies in Alabama to an engineer from Nouakchott, Mauritania. Among the 800 companies showing off their wares are large technology employers in Research Triangle Park like Cisco Systems and Nortel Networks, as well as smaller companies like Tekelec and Pliant Systems. In five halls encompassing 450,000 square feet, these companies have set up elaborate booths staffed with teams of sales and marketing people easily identified by their uniforms: golf shirt with company logo, tucked neatly into black or brown slacks. At each booth, they swing into action, expertly describing what, exactly, those rows of metal boxes with hundreds of protruding wires do, and why no one else can compete with their "robust, reliable and scalable solution." Strictly speaking, consumers have nothing to relate to here. But the routers, switches and voice-over-Internet Protocol devices on display are the building blocks of new information infrastructures that phone companies and Internet service providers are introducing. With such equipment, companies like BellSouth and AT&T plan to sell wireless devices that can play full-motion video, offer free calls over the Internet, and make Web sites deliver amazing services with no waiting time. "Most of the people that I talk to here are [communications] carriers, and they understand this stuff," says Peter Marconi, a vice president for Lucent Technologies. He is showing off a terabit router that moves Internet data at very fast speeds. "But earlier, we had a whole contingent from Russia, and I had to figure out how to explain it for the translator." For Alcatel, a French networking company that employs 1,400 at its Raleigh office, the show is an opportunity to tell prospective customers about its new products in the network arena. "We`re on a collision course with Cisco," says Jay Fausch, a senior marketing director for Alcatel`s Raleigh office. The fanfare of Supercomm is fed more by the competition among the companies than the technology. The promise that the new technological solutions will create great wealth is constantly hammered home. In a slickly produced video at the Nortel booth, viewers are told that the unfolding Internet economy will be worth $3 trillion in the coming years, but only for those equipped with powerful networks. If companies buy Nortel`s products, they can build "a relationship so positive that customer satisfaction doesn`t begin to describe it," a suave screen personality says. Then "you can get a piece of that $3 trillion pie." "The most important reason we`re here is the customer," says Clarence Chandran, president of Nortel`s Service Provider and Carrier Group. While technology giants like Cisco, Lucent and Nortel dominate the show, most of the booths are occupied by lesser-known companies battling to create awareness. Many are only a few years old and have yet to make serious money, so the stakes are higher. So they have stand-up comics, actors and musicians to raise the showmanship to new levels, to attract customers and investors. Net.com, a network management company based in Freemont, Calif., assaults competitor Redback Networks of Sunnyvale, Calif., with a band pitching products to the tune of "Love Shack," a pop hit by the B-52s. "Redback -- you`re under attack," the performers sing, informing the crowd that Net.com has "a vision to make you lots of money." Oki Systems hired Terri Turco, a Broadway singer, actress and 10-year veteran of trade show performances, to deliver the gospel of its Internet telephone service device. "We offer a fully integrated, end-to-end solution for PBX switches," she says with authority before throwing T-shirts and cards that allow free long-distance calls into the crowd. "You have to learn about the technology and deliver it with personality and humor," she says later. At Pliant Systems, marketing vice president Craig Swinn has a softer sell. Pliant offers phone companies devices for regular telephone service and high-speed Internet access. Swinn and his sales team calmly explain their products to passersby. Even as consumer-oriented dot-coms without revenue begin to bite the dust, optimism for the smaller infrastructure companies is well-founded, says Lucent`s Marconi. "I don`t think these guys are desperate. This is a revolutionary time." By Dan Egbert To see more of The News & Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.news-observer.com. (c) 2000, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. Mfg MH |
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| Autor (Datum des Eintrages): | MH120480 (09.06.00 15:24:09) |
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