If you are in the software business then there is most likely a handful of conferences and trade shows every year that are critical to attend and critical to have a trade show booth at. Such conferences will be attended by many of your customers and potential partners and show you definitely need to consider having trade show displays at such an event. This is especially true if you have special purpose software such as one for clinical usage or supply chain management. Not having a booth at such a show can instantly debase your reputation in the industry. Given the importance of such shows it is not simply enough to show up. You will likely spend a good part of your year and have several staff members dedicated specifically towards planning for these events. It is important to really plan through the trade show exhibit and to have a state of the art display and booth fully stocked with collateral and to have demos present that go off without a hitch so as to impress your prospects. Creating a new booth every year is expensive and so you may want to work with a vendor and get trade show exhibit rentals for the various items you need to setup a booth. This will allow you to have a state of the art setup for a much lower price than buying everything outright.