CeBIT brings forward tomorrow:CeBIT'95, Hannover, Germany, 8–15 March 1995

Convergence is a buzzword increasingly used to describe the development trends seen in the various sectors that make up the information technology industry. Participants in this industry are seen as new age architects of an epoch‐making era where not only telecommunications but also entertainment technologies converge into computer products. In turn, these seem destined to impact on every sphere of life: commerce, education, communication, medicine and consumer electronics. Martin Bangemann, the European Union's Industrial Affairs, IT and Telecommunications Commissioner, believes that ‘the new information society is reshaping most of the basic aspects of our economy and society. Several technologies have now reached the state where their applications will deeply affect our lives.’ Hannover's vast annual CeBIT show displays solutions to just about every task that can be supported by a computer. There are other major IT events in Europe, such as SMAU, which is held in Milan in September, but CeBIT's scale is unmatched. This year some 6000 companies from 57 countries exhibited in 21 halls covering 314 000 square metres of space. CeBIT's success reflects the size of Europe's markets for IT products which were valued at $95 billion in 1994.