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| You be the judge in our Great Debates! |
| 13 May 2008 14:00 |
Some of my favourite sessions at Emerging Trends Symposium/ITxpo are the Great Debates, which all take place on Wednesday. In a lot of ways, they are Gartner Research in action. The analysts take a controversial topic, pick it apart, choose sides, have at it with lively debate and supporting data and draw to a conclusion or two. Not unlike what they do to provide you with the advice and insights you've come to count on. And then there's the kicker … you get to judge the debate, using our live interactive polling. Did one or the other side sway you? Tell the debaters and fellow attendees, before and after the debate, with the polling devices provided … and your results will be displayed live onscreen for the entire audience to see. Unique sessions, unprecedented involvement. We have three in all, taking place on Wednesday in Mare nostrum E&F in the Rey Juan Carlos Hotel.
Great Debate: Does Green Information Technology Matter?
Great Debate: Is This the End of the Road for India and Indian Service Providers?
Great Debate: Should IT Professional Manage All Technology in the Business?
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| Opening Keynote Highlights |
| 13 May 2008 11:00 |
Bold, provocative statements set the tone during the opening sessions of Symposium/ITxpo. CEO Gene Hall and Gartner analysts provided an insightful overview of the issues facing today's IT Leaders – from economic uncertainty to the IT skills shortage to the rise of social computing.
Research Chief Peter Sondergaard pointed out that previous Symposia have highlighted issues, such as economic uncertainty and green IT, that are just now coming to the forefront of the IT mainstream. He also offered some short-term advice. "Get rid of waste and excess within the infrastructure and get it off the books in this quarter or the next," said Sondergaard. The words "Don't panic!" echoed through the crowd, and he added, ' now is the time to prepare for recovery."
The keynote session contextualized today's challenges in terms of the six megatrends: Innovate, Advance, Connect, Globalize, Industrialize and Socialize. We'll be taking a closer look at the megatrends as Symposium progresses.
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| Make new contacts from your Community |
| 12 May 2008 16:00 |
A great way to connect with fellow attendees, Community Meet & Greet sessions create an informal opportunity for you to meet your peers & a relevant Gartner Analyst to your community, discuss shared issues and share best practices and new ideas.
Hosted by a Gartner Analyst, these sessions designed to be completely informal and flexible to allow you to bring up any issues that you wish to discuss.
White boards will be available on the Community signs around the lounge to assist you in your discussions. Please record findings or best practices that you think would benefit your fellow Community members.
We will collect information from the white boards and compile all findings to be posted on the Symposium Communities Online Discussion Boards and within the Post-Event Summary Reports you will receive shortly after the event.
Community Meet & Greet Sessions are listed in the pocket guide.
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| Keynote Preview |
| 12 May 2008 14:00 |
Keynote addresses are a hallmark of Gartner Symposium/ITxpo Emerging Trends and 2008 is no exception. Gartner CEO Gene Hall will officially kick off the event with his opening remarks Tuesday from 9 – 9.15am. Gene will be followed by the Gartner Analyst Opening Keynote at 8:15 AM. This keynote's theme is "Technology-Powered Business Acceleration" and features Peter Sondergaard, Ken McGee, Anthony Bradley, Partha Iyengar, Mary Mesaglio and Darryl Plummer.
Wednesday's keynote at 10.30am is an Innovator Interview with Ilkka Raiskinen, Senior Vice President, Context, Advertising & Emerging Markets from Nokia Corporation. Gartner analysts Nick Jones and Monica Basso will explore how innovation is working for Nokia. How they tap into other people’s innovative technologies and business models. How they involve customers in rapid co-development, and how the CIO’s team supports innovation and the difficulties of using their own company as a testing ground.
At our closing keynote on Thursday at 3pm, Gartner Analyst Jennifer Beck will lead a lively panel discussion with three ‘Digital Natives’, bringing to the Keynote stage university students and newly qualified professionals for the freshest-of-all perspectives on emerging trends and technologies. The future of IT and business lies largely in the hands of digital natives who have been immersed in technology their entire lives, and so are already – and will continue to be – incredibly influential in how we use technology in the enterprise. So it’s only fitting we end the week through their eyes!
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| Symposium Communities: Start networking at the welcome reception tonight! |
| 12 May 2008 12:30 |
With so many attendees at the event, Symposium Communities are designed to help you take best advantage of Symposium/ITxpo as a networking opportunity.
These role based networking groups can assist you to identify the fellow professionals who share your areas of interest. At registration, you will have had the chance to join up to two communities and will have been given ribbons to wear on your badge to help you identify other members of your community.
The many activities arranged for your Communities are detailed in the onsite guides, starting tonight with our welcome reception. Make a point of meeting your fellow attendees in the bar area designated for your Community. Enjoy! |
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| Welcome to Gartner Emerging Trends Symposium/ITxpo 2008 |
| 12 May 2008 12:00 |
We're here! Welcome to Gartner Emerging Trends Symposium/ITxpo 2008. Today is the beginning of what promises to be an exciting event. Driven by our new focus on six megatrends, Symposium/ITxpo will be taking a look into the future and providing you will actionable information, all in the span of five action-packed days.
Start today with our Kick-off sessions. Organize your event schedule with our AgendaBuilder planning tool, available here. Make sure to make time for our special keynote sessions, and consider attending one or two workshops or roundtables.
Be sure to check out the technology powering these emerging IT Trends at ITxpo, which will be open Tuesday to Thursday. There's even time for a little fun – please don’t miss our evening receptions, and Wednedsay nights special event in the Rey Juan Carlos Gardens, for some fabulous food and entertainment!
It's sure to be a great week, so make your plans and make the most of it. Keep checking the blog for the latest information!
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