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KioskCom goes Dutch for European show

Leading kiosk industry figures are converging on Amsterdam this week for KioskCom's Kiosk Europe 2002 conference and trade show. Self-service applications and kiosk technology are expected to be among the hot-button issues.

June 16, 2002

KioskCom Executive Director Lawrence Dvorchik has been racking up the frequent-flyer miles in recent years, organizing trade shows and conferences and evangelizing on the subject of interactive kiosks.

A fair chunk of those miles have been accumulated on trips across the Atlantic Ocean, where the kiosk industry has gained acceptance through a variety of applications, including job inquiry units, loyalty club kiosks, and self-service airport check-in terminals.

"I have gained an appreciation for the differences between European and U.S. kiosk projects," Dvorchik said. "While many of the underlying questions and issues are similar, the solutions are often different, due to the different cultures."

Dvorchik will have the opportunity to test that thinking out first hand during the Kiosk Europe 2002 conference and trade show, which kicks off on June 18 at the Okura Hotel in Amsterdam.

KioskCom Executive Director Lawrence Dvorchik expects some interesting discussions to come out of the Kiosk Europe 2002 trade show in Amsterdam.

Kiosk industry figures from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean are scheduled to speak at the event, which is expected to draw more than 150 attendees and between 15 and 25 exhibitors. About 300 attendees and 20 exhibitors took part in last year's show, which was held at the Wembley Conference Center in London.

Developing a theme

Kiosk Europe 2002 marks KioskCom's third major European event (a June, 2000, event in Berlin attracted about 150 attendees and 17 exhibitors). Dvorchik said a theme has not been developed for this year's event, even though KioskCom's Web site is touting Kiosk Europe 2002 as focused on "Leveraging Interactive Kiosks & Self-Service Terminals to Supplement Service & Information Delivery."

"I am certain (a theme) will develop, as it usually does based upon the attendees questions and needs," he said.

At last year's show, software and hardware both were among the main topics. Panel discussions on respective days brought together executives from NetShift Software Ltd., Netkey Inc., and Kudos Development Group (software) and ePOINT Ltd., Elo TouchSystems Inc., 3M Touch Systems Inc., and NCR Corp. (hardware).

The only panel discussion scheduled so far for this year's show is on June 19, when officials from NetShift, Netkey, and IBM will moderate a session on the kiosk industry's technology and advancements. Among the items to face scrutiny are the availability of technology and gauging how best to reach customers with current technology.

An issues-oriented event

Among the speakers that will discuss industry trends at this year's KioskCom Europe event are industry veterans such as Summit Research Associates President Francie Mendelsohn, Kiosks.org Association Executive Director Craig Keefner, and NetShift Vice President of Marketing John Purcell.

Kiosk deployers will also take center stage during the two-day conference. Guy Browes, project manager for the UK employment service Jobcentres, will provide an update on the agency's 9,000-strong network of job employment search kiosks. Initial deployment was finished in the spring, and Browes will discuss program updates and the factors that go into a kiosk deployment.

Other end users expected to talk at the show include Andy Green, general manager of multimedia kiosks for British Telecom, and Barry Wallis, retail development controller for English convenience-store chain SPAR (UK) Ltd.

Dvorchik said this year's speakers bring a wealth of real-life experience to the forum, and are expected to offer prospective kiosk deployers a sense of how to bring a project to fruition.

"This year we have new speakers, highlighting some of the new applications for kiosks," he said. "Logistically, the exhibit hall is more focused, and the attendees are extremely eager to learn from the presenters. Much like at KioskCom 2002 in Orlando in March, they are bringing real issues to the table, and have spent considerable time thinking their kiosk plans through."

Other topics that could come up for discussion include the continued growth of the kiosk industry in Europe, and the impact on the industry of the conversion of most major European currencies to the Euro at the start of 2002.

A new feature of this year's event will be the inaugural European membership meeting of Kiosks.org Association. The industry organization, a sister organization to KIOSKmarketplace, will meet at the end of the June 18 session to discuss its mission and goals. The association conducted a similar meeting March 6 in Orlando, Fla., as part of KioskCom's annual global trade show and conference. About 100 attendees took part in the meeting.