NetWorld+Interop 94 in Makuhari

The end of July is not the best time to be putting on a trade show in Japan, especially not way out in the bubble-economy ruins of Makuhari. Everyone, especially those in the computer industry, is pretty much burned out by the end of July and looking f orward to the comatose month of August. It's a great time to learn new software and install new hardware toys to be played with in the coming winter months.

This year, however, a lot of relaxation plans had to be postponed because of yet another trade show on the calendar. NetWorld+Interop 94 Tokyo (usually referred to just as Interop -- the NetWorld part gets lost in the hype) was the first show of its ki nd in Japan. Vendors from all over Japan and the world (mostly the US) showed off the latest in networking technology. These are the people who are building not only the main part of the Information Superhighway, but those building the on- and off-ramps a s well.

Trouble on the net

There are several Interop shows held each year in several countries around the world, but the Interop is not like your typical, run-of-the-mill computer industry show. What makes it unique is that every exhibition booth is wired together on what is cal led the shownet (aka the InteropNet). The rather complicated task of hooking virtually every sort of modem and router together is far from easy. In fact, the entire thing was assembled in a warehouse in Oakland, broken down and shipped to Japan, and reass embled at Makuhari.

A show-net may be a difficult thing to put together, but if your business is making hardware like routers or front-end software to handle corporate e-mail traffic, the capability to demonstrate to prospective customers how your product actually functio ns under real working conditions is nice to have. As many of the exhibitors at this year's Interop learned, however, network problems can occur. One reason is that, as with any "temporary" wiring set-up, show-nets are know to always be a little "flakey." But another reason why the net was sometimes down was the unfortunate fact that some hardware, not really up to the job, was used for what might be deemed purely political reasons.

To anyone who knows how Japan works, this is not surprising. But several exhibitors who came to Makuhari in the hope of selling their wares were not at all pleased with the net's downtime. While roaming around the exhibition hall area the evening after the first day of the show (the traditional time that engineers from all the exhibitors are scurrying around, fixing what was broken or didn't work during the first day), I met a group of Japanese engineers who claimed that the certain routers were causin g the problems. "The network will be fine as long as we unplug the Fujitsu stuff," one engineer told me. "But that would make Fujitsu upset." Anyway, enough bugs seemed to have been worked out of the system and the network functioned enough of the time so that nobody tried to organize a lynch party for the show organizers.

The show

The show itself was informative and had a far greater attendance than one might have imagined for an event held an hour from central Tokyo at the end of July: slightly over 40,000 visitors, according to show organizers ZiffDavis. Just about everyone of importance in the networking business in Japan was there or was in some way represented.

Microsoft was out in force, exhibiting all of their products at what seemed to be the biggest booth at the show. Loud music and flashing lights were everywhere, and presentations and shows were almost continuous. (Magic shows and mime performances were especially popular; could that be a Freudian-based commentary on how manufacturers and the public really view networking?) Cabletron had a neat virtual reality demonstration that required people sit down and wear a Star Wars-like VR helmet. The demo was interesting, but it was really nothing more than a new way of showing off a slick PR video. Still, it attracted a lot of attention, which was its purpose.

This being the first Interop show in Japan, many of the bigger companies did not opt for humongous booth space. Budgets for trade shows and promotions are tighter than they used to be, and many companies are understandably taking a wait and see attitud e. [An attitude that the advertising sales staff of the magazine has come up against often, as well.--Ed.]

The workshops were just as interesting as the exhibits. Globe-trotting Internet expert John Quarterman of Texas Internet Consultants was there, with all sorts of facts and figures on what is going on in the Internet universe. One of the numbers John sh ot out that seemingly went over heads of most Japanese participants was the fact that Japan currently has about the same per-capita Internet node rate as Ghana.

The show was terrific if your company is interested in putting together a network hub or needs software to run an a-mail system. One type of company that was not as well represented as participants might have hoped, though, was the big international co mmercial electronic mail and end-user Internet providers. ViTel was there, along with Nifty-Serve, AT&T Spin, and a few others. But most of the really big commercial e-mail providers from overseas, like MCI and AT&T Mail, were notably absent (even though they have thousands of users in Japan).

The future

The overall impression of NetWorld+Interop Tokyo 94 was that we are witnessing the dawn of the networking revolution in Japan. The big problem, though, is that many Japanese corporations -- top-heavy from decades of socialist hiring policies -- are in the unenviable position of having to come to grips with the fact that computers actually make people more efficient. If you have any inherently inefficient people around, they quickly show up like blips on radar once computers are introduced to the equati on.

There is a consensus among the powers to be in Japan that something has got to be done about getting the country up to speed with the rest of the developed world in terms of telecommunications. But an awful lot of middle-management, already terrified b y the economic downturn, may fight this new business tool tooth-andnail if they think their jobs are at stake. The next few months will be very interesting. The heat

The only real problem with the show that everybody complained about was the temperature. Mix together some of the hottest temperatures on record; a large enclosed area filled with people (over 5,000 on the floor at any given time); heat-producing equip ment like computers, modems, and routers; and the hot air from hundreds of salesmen -- the result is something approaching a convection oven. The Makuhari Messe air conditioners were just not up to the job. The booths that drew the biggest crowds were th e ones that were giving away free drinks and hand fans.

Somehow, though, the heat was appropriate. The competition in the networking industry is just beginning to heat up and, considering that virtually everyone in the civilized (i.e., the computer) world will eventually be wired together, the networking bu siness is probably going to be the hottest money-making opportunity to hit Japan in a long time.

The acid test has been passed, and the show pronounced a success by all concerned. The next NetWorld+Interop is scheduled for July 17 to 21, 1995, in the same place. Estimates are that it will be twice the size of this year's show. Plan to come, but do n't forget to dress lightly and bring your own canteen.