A dispiriting HIMSS09

OK, folks, you're probably going to consider this a controversial position, but I'd argue that this year's HIMSS was something of a downer compared with the shows I've attended in prior years.

I admit it, I had something of a cold and probably didn't throw myself into things the way I usually do, but even so, there was something about this year's event that lacked a certain je ne sais quoi.

Maybe it was the relatively slow pace at the booths, which have been completely mobbed in prior years. I know if you're a vendor, you'll probably tell me that your booth was overrun by customers waving $100 bills, but if that was happening I didn't see it.

Another yawn factor was the proliferation of similar-looking booths scattered across the show. In fact, everyone and their brother seemed to be running their own bar and handing out free drinks. Whether that's a fun move, or sheer desperation depends on the eye of the beholder, but in my mind, it felt a bit tawdry.

To make things more amusing, we of the media apparently weren't supposed to take pictures of these colorful booths, as an older guy from RISARC said who, my instincts told me, would have loved to call security simply because I wanted to get closer to his company's product. This doesn't smack of vendors who are confident about their systems, and that never makes for a good show.

So, OK, what about the technology itself? Well, I didn't personally see anything that gave me a super wow factor, though the show remains huge and there's much to be seen that I surely missed. All told, given the impending IT stimulus funding, an overall climate favorable to IT investment and an economy that seems to be improving, you'd expect to feel some of the electricity in the air at HIMSS09, but somehow I missed it.

Let's hope the pace picks up next year when the real money for IT investment starts to flow back into the market. If not, those parties next year may be even more of a bummer. - Anne

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