That which is not sustainable is, by definition, unsustainable. Can companies where business and IT remain unaligned, or even poorly aligned, survive the tumultuous 10 years forecasters tell us we have in front of us? Or is a more aggressive effort to bring business and IT agendas together an absolute imperative if the firm you are working at today is still to be around on December 31, 2019?Using the management of one particular resource, energy, as a model, Robert Allender will suggest the types of questions you should be asking, and the types of fresh agendas you should be working towards, if your goal is to be amongst the winners when that date is staring you in the face.

Mr Robert Allender, Managing Director, Energy Resources Management

Change isn't new, but the pace of change in the next ten years is going to be breathtaking. The balance of power is shifting: emerging markets are becoming leading markets. Technology that was hype is becoming business as usual: new service models mean that paying for IT 'as you go' is becoming the norm. Boundaries are blurring: companies are relying more than ever on the expertise and resources of a broad ecosystem spread around the world; not just for labour, but for innovation and competitive advantage too.

In this session, Chris Kimm will show you how IT and communications can help you to prosper in the coming decade, see how cloud computing and shared services can help increase business agility and align capacity and costs more closely with demand. And learn how market leaders are using new applications and tools to successfully master the weak ties of a dispersed workforce consisting of both employees and third-parties.

Mr Christopher Kimm, Vice President, Network Field Operations Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia Pacific, Verizon

As a cauldron of innovation, the Web has transformed the way people work, play, learn and do business; and radically changed service delivery in business, education, entertainment, financial services, and publishing. The convergence of the BET triad (business, education, and technology) has created a perfect storm of mash-ups, leading to new entities such as e-commerce, e-learning, corporatisation of education, and lifelong learning. The fundamental values of the Web – freedom, openness, transparency, collaboration, flexibility, and meritocracy – have also challenged many tradition-bound management principles and practices.

In higher education, the paradigm shift toward Web-centric teaching and learning has led to new educational structures that require new institutional processes, new support services, as well as new skills and pedagogy. By drawing parallels between concepts and skills in research and those in management and technology development, I will briefly describe the evolving role of CIO in the changing landscape of higher education and address the question: “Will the ivory tower survive the electronic village?”

Prof. Chun Ming Leung, Vice President (Technology & Development), The Open University of Hong Kong

Proposition:
"CIOs are now true business technologists properly valued by their enterprises."

Affirmative Team
- Mr. Terick Chiu, Executive Partner, Gartner
- Mr. Sidney Hui, Vice President, Group IT & Business Planning Development, Contempo
- Mr. Patrick Slesinger, Director and CIO, Wallem Services
- Mr Christopher Kimm, Vice President, Network Field Operations Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia Pacific, Verizon
- Prof. Chun Ming Leung, Vice President (Technology & Development), The Open University of Hong Kong

Negative Team
- Mr. Charles Mok, Chairman, Internet Society Hong Kong / Honorary President, Hong Kong Information Technology Federation
- Mr. Michael R K Mudd, Regional Representative, Asia - Pacific, The Open Computing Alliance
- Mr. Robert Allender, Managing Director, Energy Resources Management
- Dr Ispran Kandasamy, Vice President Sales, Enterprise Asia Pacific, CommScope Enterprise Solutions Division