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CeBIT (Centrum der Büro- und Informationstechnik; German for "Centre of Office and Information technology") is the world's largest computer expo. Since 1986 it is held each spring on the exhibition ground in Hannover, Germany, and is often regarded as a barometer of the state of the art in information technologyFact: date=March 2009. With an exhibition area of roughly 450,000 m² (5 million ft²), over 6,111 exhibitors and more than 755,000 visitors in 1995, it was larger than COMPUTEX and the no-longer held COMDEX. In recent years both the number of visitors as well as exhibitors dropped significantly; by 2008, the CeBIT expo attendance was at 495,000 . In 2009 it took place from 3 March to 8 March 2009. The CeBIT is organized by Deutsche Messe AG.

History

CeBIT is the world's largest trade fair showcasing digital IT and telecommunications solutions for home and work environments. The key target groups are users from industry, the wholesale/retail sector, skilled trades, banks, the services sector, government agencies, science and all users passionate about technology. CeBIT offers an international platform for comparing notes on current industry trends, networking, and product presentations. Deutsche Messe AG has organized CeBIT in Hannover each spring since 1986. About 6,000 exhibitors from around 77 countries and some 495,000 visitors from all over the world attended the last CeBIT in 2008.

Throughout the past 20 years, thousands of suppliers and users from all over the world have come together every year in the early spring at CeBIT in Hannover, Germany. Looking back, the birth of CeBIT on 12 March 1986 was the outcome of a long and complicated decision-making process. The computer industry had become a key feature of the HANNOVER FAIR and had contributed to its unique status as the world's biggest trade show for capital goods. However, the computer exhibitors were having to contend with an increasing number of non-specialists at their stands.

At the peak of its success at 1995, the CeBIT housed 6,111 exhibitors and had more than 755,000 visitors. At the same time it had become less attractive to professionals, as one third of the total attendance (218,000 visitors) were non-professionals. Trying to "reprofessionalized" the fair, Deutsche Messe AG decided to organize a spin-off, the ultimately short-lived CeBIT HOME.

Growth from 1950 to 1984

By the late 1950s the "office equipment industry" (as it was then called) already ranked as the third largest exhibitor group at the HANNOVER FAIR. The Fair reflected the "electronics boom" in the 1960s and provided the launching pad for numerous technological highlights. In 1965, for example, Heinz Nixdorf (who was later to become one of Germany's best known entrepreneurs) presented his legendary 820 universal computer. In 1970 Deutsche Messe AG underscored the importance of office equipment at the HANNOVER FAIR when it opened the new Hall 1 adjacent to the northern entrance of the exhibition site. This massive building complex consisted of three levels: an underground garage with parking space for 2,000 exhibitors, a ground-floor exhibition hall covering a total area of 70,300 square meters, and a roof level with 750 prefabricated business suites. In 1984 Hall 1 found its way into the Guinness Book of Records as the "world's largest single-storey exhibition hall".