Until recently, enterprise IT leaders have been cautiously adopting social media tools and consumer technologies, but in a piecemeal approach that has created disparate, siloed processes and inefficiencies. There are also concerns about wide-scale corporate adoption due to worries about security risks, architecture provisioning, “BYOD” (Bring Your Own Device) requirements and unrealistic user expectations. Yet the potential business benefits of IT consumerization can improve the customer experience, boost user productivity and collaboration, and drive revenue growth. In this session, you’ll hear from Chris McGugan, Avaya’s vice president and general manager, emerging products and technologies, about how IT and telecom leaders can conquer the challenges of social and consumer technology adoption in the enterprise.

As our companies begin their journey toward a more intelligent and adaptable enterprise, the four technologies playing the most significant roles will be cloud, social, mobile and big data/analytics. The transformative business power of these four have already set in motion a series of outcomes that will redefine the CIO's role and ultimately reshape your IT organizations. As the Global Chief Research Officer of IDC, Crawford will offer the latest research perspectives on these fast-evolving trends as he explores the role of IT in enabling creative new business approaches. He'll also discuss how the IT workforce is likely to change in response to this era of IT consumerization.

Cloud technologies are creating an inflection point where many enterprises must at least consider hosting alternatives for even the most mission-critical websites and applications. And while cloud may be available for everyone, it is not the best choice for everything. In this breakout session, Rackspace Hosting will demystify the cloud by sharing how enterprise customers are adopting cloud computing for various types of applications. Learn how a hosted solution can enable your organization’s innovation by cost-effectively overcoming the challenges of scaling, availability and performance. Rackspace will also share information about OpenStack™, a game-changing open-source cloud platform designed to foster the emergence of technology standards and cloud interoperability.

Against a backdrop of dramatic workplace changes fueled by mobility, cloud and the influx of consumer devices, the relationship between CIOs and their strategic suppliers is also evolving. The goal is ultimately to turn a sales transaction-based relationship into a collaborative partnership that creates business value on both sides. But how does such an ideal situation develop? How can IT organizations encourage greater vendor participation in deploying new and emerging technologies while managing less established industry providers? How do both sides establish the kind of trust necessary between real partners? Our panel of IT leaders and industry experts will share their insights on this challenging subject, along with some practical suggestions and actionable ideas.

The rarity of CIOs taking a seat at the corporate board table is an unfortunate reality today, despite the strategic importance of technology, risk management and business process change. Yet there are encouraging signs of opportunity as current and former CIOs become directors at companies such as Fossil, Thermo Fisher Scientific, FedEx, WellPoint and -- most recently -- Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, which appointed former CIO Louis Gutierrez to its board. A widely respected local IT leader who served twice as CIO for Massachusetts and managed Harvard Pilgrim's IT turnaround a decade ago. Gutierrez also serves on the board for the New England Health Exchange Network. In this closing keynote, he'll explore the transition from IT management/leadership to corporate governance, the essential role of community professional networks, and the value of professional mission over the arc of a leadership career.