KEYNOTES

Smart Services, Bright Future

Big Tent Technology Edition: Bangalore
Date: 3-4 November 2009
Location: Indian Institute of Science (IISc)

According to popular theory, the natural evolution of industries and economies includes periods of tumultuous "creative disruption." However, even the most visionary academics and management gurus did not anticipate the back-to-back global meltdowns of the dotcom and financial sectors.

As India and the rest of the world emerges from the "double bubble," the road forward is becoming more clear. Cisco Senior Vice President Howard Charney will discuss the recovery, the urgent challenges - such as productivity, sustainability, security, and the environment - and the potential of rapidly converging services capabilities to transform business, government, and society.

Sleeping with the Enemy - How to Make your CFO your Best Friend

Executive Edition: Mumbai
Date:6 November 2009
Location: Grand Hyatt Mumbai

CIOs struggle to justify budgets and projects with the CFO; this has become more so in the recent times with profits under pressure and the economic downturn. Come to this inspiring talk covering tactics CIOs can use to achieve higher success rates when proposing projects. Arun Gupta's keynote will cover:

• What CIOs need to do to overcome this challenge?
• Some examples of how business cases can be generated
• How to create sustained alignment
• Tactics CIOs can use to achieve higher success rates when proposing projects

A Relook at the "I" in CIO: Information, Innovation, Integration or Irritation

Executive Edition: Mumbai
Date:6 November 2009
Location: Grand Hyatt Mumbai

As business evolves, the role of the CIO is evolving with it - they are expected to not only deliver reliable IT operations on time and on budget, but also to lead IT departments that can make a difference by delivering solutions that contribute to business strategies. Ajay Kumar Dhir's plenary address will examine some of the challenges (merger of software companies, recruitment and retention of skilled staff, virtualisation, unified communications...) and opportunities he is facing. He will also discuss what is shaping his role and driving his agenda in 2009 and beyond: is it innovation, integration, information or irritation?

Give Cloud a Chance

Big Tent Technology Edition: Bangalore
Date: 3-4 November 2009
Location: Indian Institute of Science (IISc)

This talk examines the emerging cloud computing paradigm and its applicability in the enterprise IT space. During the course of 30 minutes, the talk covers various aspects including various cloud computing models, the economics of cloud computing, enterprise workloads and scenarios that can move to cloud and the technology capabilities that a cloud provider must offer to support a enterprise grade computing.

The Business of Technology

Executive Edition: Mumbai
Date:6 November 2009
Location: Grand Hyatt Mumbai

Nicholas Carr argued and raised a storm of debate when he wrote in the May 2003 edition of the Harvard Business Review that "IT Doesn't Matter". He opined that in the early stages technology initiatives created opportunities for forward-looking companies to gain strong competitive advantages. But as their availability increases and their cost decreases -as they become ubiquitous -they become commodity inputs. From a strategic standpoint, they become invisible; they no longer matter.

Information Technology functions may need to transform themselves into business functions in order to add value to the organisation's core competencies.

Given the business transformation that has already been achieved by enterprises, does Information Technology constitute a component of business strategy?

What is the value a CIO brings to the leadership team, given the increased general knowledge about the utility value of technology and increased availability of generic service providers?

How does Information Technology contribute to the bottom line, other than productivity enhancement?

Managing IT in Turbulent Times

Plenary :: Big Tent Technology Edition, Bangalore
Date:3 - 4 November 2009
Location: Indian Institute of Science

Unlike the present downturn, the dot com bust had primarily affected financial investors. However, this one has probably touched each and every one of us in some way or the other. This slowdown will also bring about a positive change in the way we do things, present us with newer opportunities, get us better equipped and, in a way, get us better prepared for the next down-turn.

Has the recovery started? This is anybodys guess. But whenever this happens, the next wave of technology and the next wave of spending on technology will be very different from what we have been witness to thus far.

The focus of this presentation is NOT about managing costs, reducing un-necessary expenditure and the like. These are areas that are probably an integral part of us and our business culture. Instead, the focus is on how we can see much beyond this downturn and work towards a smarter future.

Cloud Computing - Is it Transformational or a Hype?

Executive Edition: Mumbai
Date:6 November 2009
Location: Grand Hyatt Mumbai

In an era of unpredictable revenues, increased competition and a flatter world, Cloud Computing seems to be the logical answer from the IT world. But is it? This session will explore the ability of Cloud Computing to address the requirements of organizations that exist in this changed world and will attempt to separate the hype from reality.

Moving Towards a Virtual Enterprise

Executive Edition: Bangalore
Date:3 - 4 November 2009
Location: Indian Institute of Science

Technology Innovations during the last few decades in the areas of networking and communications, service oriented architecture, virtualization and cloud computing have enabled creation of new paradigms. Businesses can start focusing on the business of business rather than IT of business !!.

What is a Virtual Enterprise? What are the building blocks of a Virtual Enterprise ? How is this going to transform an Enterprise? Does it offer a level playing field for everyone? How has the crisis impacted the change?

Cloud Security Demystified

Executive Edition: Bangalore
Date:3 - 4 November 2009
Location: Indian Institute of Science

Cloud Computing has not only been a buzzword but has also become an important opportunity for every type of business. Financial savings, agility and elasticity, all enabled through cloud technology, are crucial in a fast paced business world. At the same time security incidents in the Cloud have made clear that this new promising technology comes with complexity and security and privacy challenges. What are the security areas that customers and vendors of cloud solutions alike need to pay attention to? How does one assess the soundness of security controls of a cloud provider? By using the research and guidance of the Cloud Security Alliance we will provide a holistic overview of all aspects of security relevant to cloud computing.