Discussion Den
Gain insight into your current IT infrastructure challenges and ask questions on your agenda
With a strong focus on the high level business challenges and issues that end-users are facing surrounding the key IT infrastructure concerns, you can attend these sessions and get really involved!
Speaking companies include IBM, Capgemini, British Airways, The IACCM, Oracle, EAT, CW500 Club, Aurora Fashions (owner of Oasis, Karen Millen and Warehouse), The Corporate IT Forum, Headshift, Women In Technology and The Open Group.
Day One – 22nd September 2010
TBC
IBM
Facilitator:
Ms. Angelica Mari, Editor, CW500
Panellists:
Mr. Rene Batford, Head Of IT, EAT
Mr. John Bovill, CIO, Aurora Fashions
British Airways
14.00 – 15.00 IT As A Profession And A Career - How Can You Succeed?
The IT profession offers many different career opportunities and great rewards but how can you make the most of your IT career? How can you develop yourself into that well-rounded technology professional that is considered for the new opportunities, cutting edge projects and promotion chances? The theme for this discussion den session is essentially 'achieving in the IT profession’ and we are bringing together a panel of successful technologists who will share their own IT career experiences and reveal to you their top tips for managing your own IT career to bring you career success.
Ms. Maggie Berry, MD - womenintechnology.co.uk
Panellists: TBC
Day Two - 23rd September 2010
11.00 - 12.00 Business Transformation – Is Cloud Simply Tactical Cost-cutting Or Can It Provide Strategic Business Benefit?
The IT industry, and its strategic business clients in the C-suite already expect much by embracing Cloud in their business, but much of the activity is tactical today. The next wave of business transformation will be enabled by a new breed of IT Strategic Partner, those who embrace the strategic benefits & value of Cloud in the form of Platform, Software and Business Process as a Service.
Strategically, business leaders want more from Cloud than just cheap alternatives to their servers, they want business transformation; improved speed to market for products & services, significant business efficiencies in operations and improved methods for embracing a demanding consumer base - All at a significantly lower price, enabling massively flexible business processes without upfront IT investment.
By 2015 strategic suppliers embracing cloud will deliver rapidly assembled low-cost business processes to clients. This new supplier will be offering composite business processes with SLAs not about systems & network availability, but perhaps ‘claim processing time’ and with commercials based on the price for transactions in the process such as ‘cost per claim’? IT systems will no longer be the currency of discussion between business and the supplier, it will be entirely business process focused. This discussion will therefore consider how strategic leaders can plan a strategic business-oriented roadmap, embracing ‘cloud’ as a useful business strategy to outcompete their markets.
Facilitator:
Mr. Karl Deacon, Chief Technology Officer, Outsourcing Services, Capgemini UK
12.30 – 13.30 Do’s and Don’ts of Supplier Relationship Management
This panel discussion will provide useful advice on some of the pitfalls and best practices in SRM, including a look at:
• What is the essence of SRM?
• What are the success measures? (How can we tell when it is being done well)
• How do we ensure that the interfaces between our company and key suppliers are at the right levels?
• How do we achieve better alignment with key suppliers? (it’s hard to be strategic with someone who views you as a commodity!)
• What’s in it for WE? Including supplier perspectives of relationship management in the IT industry.
• The impact of advancing technology such as cloud computing how does this impact relationship management? How do we maintain relationships when the market is driving in a commodity direction? How do you deal with relationship impacts of changes in business models?
Facilitator:
Mr. Paul Mallory, VP Development and Training, IACCM
Panellists:
TBC
14.00 – 15.00
Oracle
15.30 – 16.30 Successful Supplier Management - Creating A New Working Dynamic
This session will cover topics including how to categorise vendors and how to make relationships work in practice, with both commodity suppliers and true partners. Particularly with the latter, we all recognise that it’s not just about cost – long-term partners value each other’s participation in their businesses and work proactively to drive change for the other party’s benefit as well as their own. They also engage in regular communications at all levels of the organisation, and don’t just meet when another transaction takes place.
Encouraging innovation is another topic that will be discussed – between the panellists, they will have many interesting experiences of how this dynamic works between clients and their suppliers – or otherwise.
A third area for discussion is how you treat the contract – is it a necessary evil and a backstop to ensure there is some ground for clarity in the event of dispute – or a living document that reflects the relationship formally and gets regular attention to ensure it is current? Many clients pay scant attention to the contract when signed, and in many cases can’t find contractual documents when a comprehensive review is undertaken. Is this a major issue, or a reflection that the documents are worth barely more than the paper they’re written on?!”
Facilitator:
TBC
Panellists:
Mr. Tim Cray, 360° IT Blogger, 360°IT – The IT Infrastructure Event
