The anniversary edition of the trade journal "IT-Business" will be published on March 22, 2021. Under the title "30 years back to the future", the editorial team at Vogel IT-Medien, based in Augsburg, has put together a comprehensive special edition: On 246 pages, there is a look back and a look ahead with a little patina and glitter on the past 30 years of the eventful IT industry.
Background: The specialist medium "IT-Business" is part of Vogel IT-Medien, which is a 100% subsidiary of the Vogel Communications Group. VOGEL was the first German publisher to become involved in the computer sector. In 1978, the Würzburg-based media company launched "CHIP", the first major European computer magazine. In the 1990s, VOGEL built up a strong segment of B2B media on the subject of computers with Vogel IT-Medien in Augsburg. Over the past 15 years, many market competitors have been lost, and CEBIT no longer exists. However, the market itself has become more professional and more diverse: From Insider to Storage to Security etc. Vogel IT-Medien covers all relevant B2B topics and is still very successful today, and has even grown in recent years - both digitally and with events. With its overall portfolio, Vogel IT-Medien is the leading media house for IT B2B media in the DACH region.
Journalists can request their personal reading copy at pressestelle@vogel.de.
Vogel Communications Group is a leading provider of specialist communication and information with 750 employees and a turnover of around 100 million euros. It is active at 7 locations in German-speaking countries and also internationally with a focus on China. Five complementary communications agencies, three service companies and 14 specialist media divisions from the five economic sectors of automotive, industry, information technology, law/economics/taxes and B2B communications/marketing are bundled under the umbrella of the corporate group. Vogel Communications Group offers 250+ services for corporate communications, 100+ trade journals, 100+ digital platforms and communities as well as 300+ business events per year.
We make our customers more successful through communication - nationally and internationally!
3 questions about 30 years in the IT business
Interview with Werner Nieberle, co-founder and managing director of Vogel IT-Medien
How did it start back then? Wasn't that the first big gold rush in the computer sector around 1990?
Werner Nieberle: We were three students who actually got together precisely because of this gold-rush atmosphere to sell computers to fellow students and SMEs in our region. These were in high demand, but hardly available because at the time there were only a few players such as IBM and Compaq, but they only offered them at very high prices. Our foundation as "Computervertrieb Augsburg" coincided with the time when the first clones from Asia were on sale. For a while, we were busy "getting in on the act" - until the first discounters like Vobis and Escom came onto the market. We then completely reoriented ourselves and decided to publish a magazine for computer dealers instead of dealing in computers ourselves. It was helpful that I already had the relevant experience from my job at the sporting goods magazine SAZ and as publisher of the Augsburg university newspaper. This is how the "EHZ - EDV-Handelszeitung" and today's "IT-Business" was born and came onto the market in time for CeBIT 1991, around 30 years ago.
What is the secret of the success of "IT-Business"? After all, it is still going strong in what has become a very difficult market!
Werner Nieberle: In its eventful history, "IT-Business" has not always been in the so-called "fast lane". The gap in the market that we had discovered did not go unnoticed for long, and so competitors with good connections and brands from the USA came to Germany and gave our trade magazine of the time a real boost. After a lengthy restructuring phase from 1997 to 2001 with a change in frequency and format, rebranding, diversification and digitization, "IT-Business" managed to work its way back to the top and take on a leading role in the rapidly growing IT market. The most important role, however, is still played by our genuine knowledge of the "channel" and the associated consistent focus on readers' information needs. IT-Business" has a clear advantage here thanks to its corresponding congresses and websites, as this means that the editorial team is very close to the latest technical developments and trends and can offer appropriate content and "keep the community together".
Was there a coronavirus effect in the IT media?
Werner Nieberle: As we all know, coronavirus has been a catalyst for the digitalization of business and administration like no other event. The IT sector is therefore certainly one of the beneficiaries of the coronavirus pandemic, as notebooks and routers were suddenly hard to come by a year ago and suppliers and IT service providers have simply earned a "golden nose". The role of our IT media in acquiring new customers has also changed significantly again, as personal visits were suddenly no longer possible for our customers, everything was digital. This caused our digital business to explode with the generation of leads and pushed it to the limits of its capacity. However, this enabled us to quickly and comprehensively meet our customers' need for direct, good industry leads. However, the pandemic posed a particular challenge for our lively event business, which we were initially able to map completely digitally, but then soon realized in hybrid form. We are ideally positioned for the future in this area.
