CeBIT 2015: China in Germany

Wednesday morning after the tiring week of CeBIT, in the warm coziness of the Minsk office, it’s time to look back and conjure up the memories from the previous week's amazing technological trade-show. 

Having never been to Hannover before, I was expecting it would be no way different from a bunch of other small cities spread across Germany. Alas! Every March the city becomes an immense international playground for digital innovation, which sends an impulse all around the world, transforming the global IT domains, and leaving practically no question unanswered. 

Though let us stick with the agenda and set off from Minsk. Before getting over to Messe the team of Gurtam made the whole way from Belarus to Germany by car, racing through the hectic autobahns, with relatives and friends anxiously tracking our speeds via the Locator. For me, that was a whole lot of adventures with a great team and amiable atmosphere.

It goes without saying that my anticipation was mixed with despair since lots of organizational issues were placed on me this time: the booth assembling, communications with builders, internet providers and so on and off. Together with the constantly escalating anxiety of how I, being a team assistant myself, would be doing the sales for the very first time. "I haven’t' sold a single Wialon in my life! How do I manage this once?" The soothing feeling came together with the warmth, sunshine and the age-old buildings of Hannover mixed with the new modern facades. The narrow streets and the beautiful spring in the air all gave confidence - there a fascinating week ahead! 

Always being lured to the Far East, I was happy to find out that CeBIT 2015 was dedicated to the bonding of the German-Chinese economic and trade relations, harnessing the potential for the better cooperation between the Far East and West. 

A glance at what is happening in China can provide valuable insight, for China is viewed as the Internet market with the highest growth potential. Evidence of this was provided by former English teacher Jack Ma – an impressive keynote speaker at the CeBIT Opening Ceremony – who noted that 14 years ago he used to come to CEBIT without a booth but inspired by a dream, which should always be chased. Now his Internet platform Alibaba long ago outpaced Amazon and eBay in terms of sales. Other policy makers and high-caliber speakers, together with Angela Merkel, who marked this event with her presence, also spoke about the unique benefits of this phenomenal IT show. 

Inspired by the grandeur of the Expo, we made our way to Gurtam booth, located in Hall 13, through the fuchsia pink umbrellas by Deutsche Telekom and various other tech-stuffed platforms. Finally, there came the Gurtam booth, located right in the center of the “telematics force”, with all the keynote FMS players standing side by side with us for all other 5 days. During this time, I was extremely grateful to colleagues and the company for giving me the chance to try myself out in the role of a salesperson. The distinctive feature of Gurtam has always been this great level of trust, bestowed to each and every employee. And here comes my first customer, a Chinese hardware manufacturer, requesting more information about the "Ultimate GPS tracking solution" we were showcasing at the Expo. I wasn't lost, I was clear and focused, and helped by the colleagues, I did my best. And here comes the exchanging of business cards to mark another, hopefully effective, partnership. The days were filled with constant talks about the latest IT trends, and forward-looking business discussions with partners, showcases of product innovations from all over the world by different solution providers. The team was ready and willing to give me a hand in all my beginnings and I had a terrific chance to meet the partners, which earlier were familiar to me only by names in their invoices and billing plans. Now behind every company there’ll be a face with a name and their unique professional history of setting off with Wialon. It goes without saying that Gurtam Booth was always filled with customers, multi-business, and multi-national, with different visions and regional approaches. Though something to never forget will be the partner dinner, when in a German restaurant, surrounded by partners from countries of Serbia to Sri-Lanka, the whole place was singing the popular Russian "Kalinka", making me feel so home and welcome. 

This gave me a clear feeling that home is where the heart is, and my heart’s singing together with Gurtam!