IT Forum premieres 1st seminar in series featuring UK speaker

The first meeting of this group will take place on Tuesday October 5 (during GITEX) with a talk by Luis Leamus, Senior Vice President of META Group, on the business value of IT.

Dr. Hanif Al Qassimi, vice-president of Zayed University said: "The IT Forum plays an important role in promoting information sharing in a knowledge-based economy, where the proper planning and deployment of IT is essential not only for businesses to compete, but also to survive. Zayed University and its Institute for Technological Innovation believe that proper collaboration between academia and the business community creates a dynamic environment that enables sharing of best management practices. This will benefit the region's growth in this area."

The IT Forum founding members, who represent a cross section of international and local businesses, academia, and government organizations, felt that aligning with an event as high-profile as GITEX would give the seminar exposure above and beyond the Forum's original reach within the Emirates and provide access to its "thought leadership," for GITEX attendees from across the GCC. The founding members come from ADWEA, AME Info, ADNOC, CISCO Systems International, Dubai e - Government, Dubai Internet City, Dubai World Trade Centre, IBM, META Group Middle East, and Zayed University.

The speaker has been brought in specifically for the event from the UK: Mr. Luis Leamus, Senior Vice-President of META Group, who has more than 20 years of experience in the global IT industry in business development, marketing, financial analysis and strategic planning. He is a leading authority on IT implications of mergers/acquisitions, global governance models, and integration strategies.

The event is a taster for IT Forum membership: there is no fee for the morning session at GITEX, but delegates must be in senior management or CIO level positions and register online at www.zu.ac.ae/iti/itforum. Seats will be available on a first-come first-serve basis. A more in-depth session will be held in the evening at the ZU-ITI training facilities at Dubai Internet City for IT Forum members and their guests only, with a reception to follow.

Dr. Abdullah Abonamah, Director of the Institute for Technological Innovation, commented: "Our goal is to help business and IT executives recognize the impact of enabling information technologies not only in their own organization, but in the society at large. In the knowledge economy, IT touches all aspects of an organization - it is woven through the organizational fabric."

The IT Forum welcomes interest in its seminars from all qualified members and senior management professionals across the GCC. Memberships are offered at the Corporate Gold, Silver or Associate levels. Members receive significant benefits above and beyond seminar involvement, including a listing in the membership directory.