Interop is an annual information technology conference organised by Informa PLC. It takes place in the US and Tokyo (Japan) each year. 2016 marked Interop's (US) 30th anniversary and throughout that time, Interop has promoted interoperability and openness, beginning with IP networks and continuing in today's emerging cloud computing era.
In August 1986 the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) held the first TCP/IP Vendors Workshop in Monterey, California. This event later became Interop.[1]
The Las Vegas International Telecoms Show is called "the granddaddy of networking shows" because it was created in 1986,[2] a decade before the technology and internet bubble that made it a success.[3] It reached a peak with 61,000 visitors at the 2001 edition, just before the bursting of this bubble, which resulted in a major stock market crash for this sector. This year's event was marked by innovation, and among the major telecom providers, the rivalry between Juniper Networks and Cisco Systems in the Terabit router market, while the so-called "alternative" operators, such as KPNQwest, Global Crossing and Carrier, launched revolutionary offerings in the enterprise market.[4]
After the crash of 2002, the fever has subsided. The 2004 edition in Las Vegas brought together less than 300 exhibitors. The following editions saw a recovery.[5] The organizer of the 2013 edition hopes to increase the number of visitors from 18,000 in 2012 to 20,000 with the presence of 500 suppliers.[6]
Interop Las Vegas was held in May 2011 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Exhibitors included Avaya, Hewlett-Packard, Citrix Systems, D-Link, Exinda, Riverbed Technology and F5 Networks. Notable speakers include Vint Cerf and Mark B. Templeton.
The Tokyo Conference was held in June, 2011. The Mumbai conference was held in September, and the New York conference in October at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.