If you're a reality TV fan, you're going to love the special keynote presentation we're putting together for the upcoming NetWorld+Interop conference in Las Vegas.

In our "Survivor: Las Vegas" session, I'll be joined by an all-star cast of Network World columnists and test experts as we talk about which companies and technologies will thrive in the enterprise IT environment of tomorrow and which ones you - the buyers - will cast away.

The keynote panel is based on CBS' popular Survivor television series, and - as the show's motto states - we'll argue about which companies and technologies can outwit, outlast and outplay competitors to dominate the next generation of enterprise computing.

There will be no shrinking violets here: Panelists and audience members will vote off the providers and the technologies that just don't have the moxie to survive in your IT shop. They'll tell you who's smarter, faster and more wily, and who's too slow, too weak and too worried about the installed base to survive the major changes ahead - changes that include the virtualization of computing, storage and networks, and the move to services-oriented applications.

I'll be joined onstage by Paul McNamara, news editor and author of the 'Net Buzz column, and his back-page mate, Mark Gibbs, writer of our popular BackSpin and Gearhead columns. Also, we'll have Johna Till Johnson, who pens our Eye on the Carriers column, and Network World Lab Alliance stalwarts Joel Snyder, founder of Opus One, and David Newman of Network Test.

IT infrastructures and applications are changing rapidly - changes we're documenting in our New Data Center supplements - and you need to know which players and products will evolve and which will be left behind. My panelists cover the broad landscape of enterprise companies and technologies, and they won't be shy in telling you who's in a good position and who's at risk. You'll glean a wealth of information that will help you place smarter budget bets on strategic vendors and technologies.

We'll look at companies and products in the major program areas for the NetWorld+Interop conference. Those include: wireless; security; VoIP and collaboration; network infrastructure/services; performance; and data management/compliance.

We're slated for 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 4. If you're not already booked for the conference, you can sign up here.

Who will stand tall? Whose torch will be extinguished? Share the fun and share your thoughts at "Survivor: Las Vegas"!