22/07-05   -   Pressmeddelande

IDCs European IT Forum 2005: Transforming Economies and Enterprises Through the Innovative Use of ICT

IT innovation and business transformation are the two main items of the major European IT conference organized by IDC — the European IT Forum (http://www.idc.com/emea/itforum05), which will take place in Paris on September 26 and 27, 2005, at Le Meridien Montparnasse. The event aims to offer to top managers, IDC analysts, economists, and IT opinion leaders a unique opportunity to meet and discuss the needs and future prospects for the IT environment and European and worldwide economy, analyzing in particular European markets trends compared to those in the U.S.

This year the debate will focus on the importance of using technology innovatively in order to transform processes and business models for the achievement and maintenance of high performance and market leadership. The ability to align the core activities in real time to the evolution of a fast-evolving market is becoming one of the most important strategic levers in businesses. From this point of view, this IDC event represents the occasion to highlight how enterprises are going to enhance their productivity and their competitive advantage, passing from a rigid technological infrastructure to a flexible one, that IDC defines Dynamic IT, able to adapt itself to business objectives.

“Businesses throughout Europe have invested less in information and communication technology in recent years, even though the strategic use of ICT has become much more important, both for driving growth through innovation, and for meeting the growing demands of corporate governance and legal compliance. That´s why IDC considers the development of Dynamic IT capabilities as critically important for the success of European businesses in a rapidly globalizing marketplace," said Frank Gens, senior vice president of research, IDC.

Among the keynote speakers at the forum are: Thierry Breton, French Minister of the Economy, Finance, and Industry; Nicholas Negroponte, founder and director of the Media Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Jeremy Rifkin, president of the Foundation on Economic Trends; Luc Soete, director of the United Nations University Institute for New Technologies (UNU-INTECH) and the Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT); Lester Thurow, Professor of Management and Economics, Sloan School of Management, MIT; Peter Weill, director of the Center for Information Systems Research, Sloan School of Management, MIT, and one of the leading experts on the role of IT governance in enterprises; John Gantz, chief research officer and IDC senior vice president; and Frank Gens.

During the event, the "IDC EMEA 2005 Award for ICT Innovation and Business Transformation" aims to recognize outstanding organizations that have substantially improved their competitiveness and business results by applying ICT to product and/or process innovation. Over the following months, members of the expert committee formed by IDG and IDC senior executives and chaired by Frank Gens, will identify a shortlist of projects where the use of information technology has been especially noteworthy for the originality of its conception, the breadth of its vision, and the significance of its benefits. The expert committee will select the award finalists from the shortlist.

Top management from the following sponsor companies will also attend The European IT Forum 2005: Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, SAP, Sun Microsystems, Cognos, Ericsson, Symantec, Foundry Networks, Novell, Secuware, and Xerox.

About IDC
IDC is the premier global market intelligence and advisory firm in the information technology and telecommunications industries. We analyze and predict technology trends so that our clients can make strategic, fact-based decisions on IT purchases and business strategy. Over 700 IDC analysts in 50 countries provide local expertise and insights on technology markets. Business executives and IT managers have relied for 40 years on our advice to make decisions that contribute to the success of their organizations.

IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world´s leading technology media, research, and events company. Additional information can be found at www.idc.com
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For more information please contact:
Francesca Saronni
+39 (0)2 721431
francesca_saronni@it.bm.com