Thank you all - sponsors, analysts, members of the press, keynoters, partners, attendees, speakers, friends, colleagues and the TMC team. ITEXPO West 2009 was one of the best events TMC has ever put on thanks to your support.
I will be collecting my thoughts for a while and will have more to report soon.
After an introduction for me, Dr. Don Brown, a true communications visionary and veteran began a presentation at ITEXPO West 2009 which asked where the value was in communications. He explained CEBP and unified communications were terms made up by marketers and he didn't really like the term buddy list either.
In a matter-of-fact manner, he explained where the problems in communications were. One example were the problems associated with processes in a company - they are not automated and they are not easily repeatable and they need to be improved.
He explained his company's mission is to make these processes more efficient and productive - the same way they apply technology to the contact center using skills-based routing (referring to the way a call is directed to the most appropriate agent based on a skill like knowledge of hotels in Hawaii.) He called the idea an all in one process automation platform and I get the feeling we will be hearing a lot more about this topic in the future.
Dr. Don has keynoted many TMC events and this was certainly his best presentation ever - he was enthused and excited about what his company is doing. So am I
He is worth billions and he still works as hard as anyone I know. He travels the world and closes business. He actually said selling things turns him on. It shows - the companies he has started are some of the most successful around. I hope to have a fraction of his energy at his age.
Based upon the crowd here at his address and the focus by audience members on every word Terry is saying, it seems we picked a great keynoter for this event. Here is a clip of Terry speaking and the crowd shot of who was there.
His went on to share UC best practices and shared what he believes you should look for when buying new communications systems.
Here is a brief video of the the presentation and the crown in attendance.
NORWALK, CT- August 31, 2009 - Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) today announced that their editorial and conference teams have completed final preparations for this week's ITEXPO West 2009 at the L.A Convention Center in Los Angeles. The conference and EXPO, being held for the 20th time since its launch in 1999, features a robust conference program, keynotes by industry leaders and visionaries, and networking opportunities where buyers and sellers can meet and forge relationships.
ITEXPO officially opens Tuesday, September 1 with a full-day of conference sessions, workshops, keynotes, and a networking reception.
The ITEXPO exhibit hall is open during the following hours:
Wednesday, September 2: 4:00pm - 8:00pm
Thursday, September 3: 11:15am - 5:00pm
TMC also reported that all dedicated hotel room blocks at the Westin Bonaventure, the official show hotel, have completely sold out.
"The hotels are sold out, pre-registered exhibit hall attendance is up over 2008, and the exhibit hall is filled with companies displaying some of the most innovative communications technologies. All elements are pointing toward a terrific event," proclaimed TMC CEO Rich Tehrani.
Tehrani added, "And what's most exciting is that the registration figures that are trending ahead of last year suggests that companies are ready once again serious about investing in technologies that can help be more productive. It appears that buyers and sellers are once again poised to gather in L.A. to close deals, form partnerships and develop new relationships - the hallmarks of the ITEXPO experience."
Highlights of ITEXPO West 2009 include:
In addition to the educational and networking opportunities, attendees have the chance to win a brand new Jeep, an iPhone, Slingbox, or HP Netbook.
Visit www.itexpo.com for more information or to register for ITEXPO West 2009.
Contact Information:
I just found a new blog - Seamless Enterprise which is sponsored by Sprint and recently did a roundup of the seven best blogs in communications. Thanks to Mark Ivey for picking two TMC blogs out of seven.
Here are the non-TMC blogs on the list.
If you want to know which TMC blogs made it please check out the entry for yourself.
We are heading into ITEXPO with one day to go and today I got great news from my team who all arrived safely in Los Angeles and are busy preparing the Los Angeles Convention Center for the best ITEXPO ever. The good news? The preregistration for Avaya's social networking kick-off event is over 3X greater than last year's Avaya conference so far. Either this is an indication of the interest in social networking or there are more people coming to the show. Hopefully it's a bit of both.
My weekend in Los Angeles has been great... I have spent time with many relatives - at least 100 and counting. Yes, I have a huge family.
As always, we are looking forward to welcoming you all to what promised to be a great show - full of collaboration tools, videoconferencing solutions, IP communications tools and more. Moreover, there are new areas of the show such as Smart Grid, M2M, 4G and WINOG which I just can't wait to learn more about.
Then there are open source certifications (Digium/Asterisk, Fonality/Trixbox) on all the important flavors of open source communications solutions.
