EMC keeps business leaders well informed
EMC keeps business leaders well informed
It started in sober fashion with a keynote speech about network services on demand, but its conclusion was anything but, with an assortment of stilt walkers, Britney Spears lookalike dancers and a whole host of other colourful characters. In-between all that, the inaugural EMC Inform event was hailed as a great success, with over 1000 delegates flocking to the Sydney Exhibition and Convention Centre.
In addition to the delegates, among which there was over 40 of the country's most prominent CIO's, a host of fellow vendors, including Cisco, Oracle, Microsoft, EDS, McData, KVS, Dimension Data, exhibited their latest technology.
The general consensus among delegates and exhibitors alike was that the show was a great success.
"We've had a really good day. A lot of interest has been generated," Commented Dylan Morison, business development manager, storage networking, Cisco.
"The sheer number and quality of the delegates has been high," added Bjorn Englehardt, Asia Pacific regional director of email archiving specialists KVS. "We have had some very good leads today."
The main focus of the event was information as the key differentiator for businesses and commoditisation of technology.
Graham Mirabito, Director of Products, Services Solutions, Telstra opened the event with a keynote speech about network services on demand.
Later, John O’Neill, CEO of Soccer Australia, and former CEO of the Australian Rugby Union (ARU), talked about the flow of information and its success at the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
International author Nicholas Carr, who sparked great debate in the global IT industry following the publication of his controversial article “IT Doesn’t Matter” in the Harvard Business Review, closed the conference with a keynote address on IT and the corrosion of competitive advantage.
After hearing EMC's ANZ managing director, Steve Redman, make reference to some of the comments attached to Carr's new book, entitled "Does IT Matter", one of which was attributed to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who described it as "Hogwash", Carr delighted the audience by remarking "If Steve (Ballmer) says its hogwash, then you know I'm right."
Steve Redman, managing director, EMC Australia and New Zealand, said the impressive attendance at Inform reflects the improved business sentiment in corporate Australia and signals a fresh focus on information as companies face new challenges such as security and regulatory changes.
“Information is now becoming increasingly critical to businesses as they try to find ways to differentiate themselves from competitors and take advantage of new and advanced applications. More than ever, information and how it is managed and used by businesses will be an important competitive tool in the global economy,” Redman said.
Related Article: