Wide acceptance of realignment of IT & Business

07.11.2016

Numerous IT providers supported the decision of Messe Stuttgart to merge IT &

Business, DMS EXPO and CRM-expo under the name "IT & Business – trade fair

for digital processes and solutions" in the L-Bank Forum. They see advantages in

raising the profile, the simplification of communication and better possibilities to

represent the benefit of business IT.

Exhibitors welcome the merger of the trade fairs in Stuttgart / Initial key features of the accompanying programme confirmed

Numerous IT providers supported the decision of Messe Stuttgart to merge IT & Business, DMS EXPO and CRM-expo under the name "IT & Business – trade fair for digital processes and solutions" in the L-Bank Forum. They see advantages in raising the profile, the simplification of communication and better possibilities to represent the benefit of business IT. In addition, this year there will also be a comprehensive accompanying programme. The trade fair organiser has already defined the topics and their partners. IT & Business takes place from 29 September to 1 October 2015.

"The positive feedback we received from the exhibitors encouraged us in the
design of the new IT & Business", states Gunnar Mey, Department Director of
Industrial Solutions at Messe Stuttgart. "In the coming weeks we will be rigorously
working on implementing the concept and thus establishing a basis for a
successful trade fair for our visitors and exhibitors."

Statements from leading providers on the realignment of IT & Business:

Tobias Bumm, Press Spokesperson, ELO Digital Office GmbH:
"ELO Digital Office is looking forward to IT & Business in the autumn, as well as its realignment and raised profile. As the focus is now on the solution approach,
customers can be addressed more specifically with their exact requirements. The
relocation to the L-Bank Forum is also an optimal step to give the trade fair the
special setting it deserves."

Miriam Czepluch-Staats (M.A.), Head of Corporate Communication, GFOS mbH:
"We at GFOS are very impressed with the new approach of IT & Business,
and think that it will strengthen the trade fair."

Peter Dibbern, Business Development Manager, PSIPENTA Software Systems
GmbH:
"The name 'IT & Business' accurately sums up what's happening in Stuttgart. In
addition, the standardisation of the brand name strengthens the business
connection of the trade fair and facilitates communication both ahead of and
during the event. The combination of the offers in one hall makes sense, all
exhibitors are ultimately focussed on business customers."

Herwig Diessner, Marketing & Communication Manager of Enterprise Content
Management for the DACH Region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), IBM
Germany:
"The move to stage the previous trade fairs together in one hall in the future and
to focus on user-oriented themes is logical and reasonable. Because companies
are looking for ways to be able to increase their competitiveness, irrespective of
which IT discipline lies behind it. IT & Business is now able to better reflect these
opportunities across all industries and thus represent the benefit of digital
business processes in companies more clearly."

Andrea Grosse, Business Management Graduate (FH), Marketing, ITML GmbH:
"It's a terrible pity that the brand name 'CRM-expo' has disappeared. But we also
see the need for a change and the management team of Messe Stuttgart
presented very interesting approaches. We are looking forward to the large trade
fair hall and the accompanying programme, and hope the visitors and exhibitors
embrace the realignment, because to date IT & Business has always been a very
successful trade fair for us."

Evi Richard, Marketing Manager EMEA, SugarCRM:
"We are hoping the new, clear structure of IT & Business will establish a
transparent and informative platform on the latest trends in IT, but with a
distinctive representation of the individual topics, such as Customer Relationship
Management (CRM). This restructuring of the trade fair(s) offers huge potential
both for visitors and exhibitors to continue to forge a strong position for the
economic region of southern Germany in the areas of innovation and
digitalisation."

Lars W. Steinhoff, Head of Marketing, windream GmbH:
"In our opinion, the amalgamation of the three trade fairs IT & Business,
CRM-expo and DMS EXPO is understandable and logical. An important step
means first and foremost that the entire event will be staged in a single joint hall in the next three years. With a relaunch of the brand 'IT & Business' the opportunity
should now be used to establish an IT event for southern Germany in autumn and
further increase the level of awareness of the trade fair."

Initial key features of the programme
The accompanying programme of IT & Business 2015 will have a stronger focus on the issues of users and thus provide visitors with a good basis for decisions
concerning investments in the and ERP systems will also take place once again. During the CRM live comparisons under the direction of the business consultant Stephan Bauriedel, two system manufacturers demonstrate how they implement modern customer relationship management. Current requirements of the business world in relation to modern ERP systems are the focus of the ERP live comparisons, which the GPS Gesellschaft zur Prüfung von Software mbH initiated.

The topic slot on Manufacturing Execution Systems, Time and Access, supported
by Strategy Communication Lötters, addresses the connection to Industry 4.0, also taking into consideration data security. In the area of time management,
personnel planning in combination with topics such as healthcare management
and work-life balance play a role, primarily with regard to employee recruitment
and the integration of older employees.

The analyst firm BARC broadens its cooperation with Messe Stuttgart. The ECM
analysts are also available as competent contact partners to enhance the CRM
offering. BARC not only has a stand for establishing direct contact with CRM and
ECM experts, but also provides visitors with comprehensive information with a
presentation slot on the trade fair stages on the topics CRM and ECM. Additional
half-day orientation workshops round off the offering.

The European MINT Convention takes place parallel to IT & Business at Messe
Stuttgart – a congress with an accompanying exhibition for young professionals,
HR managers and decision-makers, as well as initiatives from throughout Europe, particularly in the areas of mathematics, information technology, science and technology (MINT). With the positioning of the guest event in the surrounding
area of the trade fair for digital processes and solutions, Messe Stuttgart confronts
the problem concerning the lack of skilled professionals, especially in information
technology. Exhibitors and visitors of both events benefit equally from this.

The Stuttgart-based SharePointForum also coincides with IT & Business on 30
September. Questions such as "Does SharePoint expire and does the future lie in
solutions such as Office 365?", "How is SharePoint used in the cloud?" and and
"What trends are current?" are addressed here. In addition, renowned
medium-sized user companies report on their experiences with the introduction of
SharePoint and Office 365. On the day before there is the opportunity to take part
in a seminar with the motto "SharePoint hands-on. Live demonstration and
inspiration".

About IT & Business:
IT & Business is the trade fair for digital processes and solutions in autumn.
It combines the previous IT & Business, DMS EXPO and CRM-expo in one strong
user-oriented concept in Stuttgart. Visitors obtain practical cross-industry
information to make their business processes more efficient, simple, secure and
cost-effective. With digital processes and solutions from all areas of IT, they
experience key elements for secure competition today and in the future.

For further information, press texts and photos please visit:
www.itandbusiness.de
www.twitter.com/itandbusinessde
www.xing.com/net/itandbusiness
www.youtube.com/itandbusiness