VORTEX 2004: Setting the IT Agenda
Executive Producers John Gallant and Geoffrey Moore to explore competing visions for the future of enterprise computing

SOUTHBOROUGH, MA — January 20, 2004—VORTEX, the acclaimed executive conference, is expanding its focus in 2004 to examine the next era in the evolution of the information technology industry. Executive Producer John Gallant, editorial director of Network World, will be joined by Geoffrey Moore, best-selling author of such influential books as Crossing the Chasm and Inside the Tornado, in creating a forum where industry leaders reveal competing visions for the future of enterprise computing and top I.T. executives discuss and debate their merits.

From Oct. 4-6, 2004, the most influential CEOs, CIOs, investors, entrepreneurs and press will gather at the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara, CA, to hammer out the new agenda for the enterprise. According to Gallant, VORTEX 2004 comes at a time of profound change for the I.T. industry, as a new model of truly Web-driven computing takes shape and the most powerful players struggle for ownership of the enterprise.

"At every layer of enterprise computing, there are tectonic shifts as business processes move to the Web and computing resources become more virtualized," Gallant said. "These changes cannot be overlaid on existing architectures indefinitely. A new architecture must emerge. But what will it look like? Which companies will define it and what role will startups play in this future? Those are the questions VORTEX 2004 will explore."

With his unique insights on innovation and the technology marketplace, Moore is the ideal co-producer for Vortex 2004.

"What is unique about 2004 is that the technology sector is simultaneously working to consolidate and stabilize around the gains from Internet-enabling the enterprise stack, while at the same time laying the groundwork for a future Web services-enabled stack," Moore explained. "This is giving rise to competing visions of the 'future of the stack,' and one of the goals of VORTEX is to give CIOs and industry leaders as many perspectives on this future as possible."

An IDG Executive Forums conference, VORTEX was launched in 1998 by Ethernet inventor and 3Com founder Bob Metcalfe and won industry acclaim for its exploration of the convergence of the Internet, IT and media industries. Since 2001, under the direction of Gallant, VORTEX has focused on issues and opportunities in the network industry. Gallant has been named best conference host by Conferenza, and VORTEX called one of the "best places to schmooze" by Business 2.0 magazine.

Attendance at VORTEX 2004 is by-invitation-only. If you are interested in attending the conference, visit http://www.idgexecforums.com/VORTEX/register.html to request an invitation. The coveted invitations for this event will be sent out in early August 2004.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Press attendance at VORTEX 2004 is by-invitation-only and is non-transferable. If you are interested in attending, contact Becky Sniffen (becky@mc2pr.net) or Carla Thompson (carla@mc2pr.net). Space for media is limited, so make sure to express your interest early.

About John Gallant
John Gallant is the president and editorial director of Network World Inc. Gallant also guides the content and business development for Network World's online products, and seminars and events programs. As VORTEX Executive Producer, Gallant has earned industry-wide respect for consistently delivering a prestigious and content-rich event. Gallant has been cited by Technology Marketing magazine as one of the most influential people in computer journalism, and as one of the most visionary editors-in-chief by Press Access.

About Geoffrey Moore
Geoffrey Moore is managing partner of TCG Advisors, a consulting practice that provides strategy and core process reengineering services to prominent high-technology companies. He is also a venture partner with Mohr, Davidow Ventures, a prestigious SiliconValley venture capital firm. An accomplished writer and widely acknowledged as a business "guru," Moore's diverse background gives him a depth of knowledge from which he draws as a highly-sought-after presenter at industry conferences and customer events. Moore's specialty is analyzing company strategy, industry structure and market capitalization outcomes through the lens of the technology adoption life cycle, as described in Crossing the Chasm, Inside the Tornado, The Gorilla Game and his latest book, Living on the Fault Line.

About the VORTEX Conference
VORTEX is an executive conference envisioning the year ahead, as well as the new realities and opportunities for the IT industry and the connected economy. VORTEX explores how swirling forces like exploding bandwidth, open source software, virtualized and untethered computing, outsourcing, digital rights management, presence awareness, instant communications, ubiquitous, data-blasting sensors and other dramatic developments are converging to redefine computing and communications. VORTEX explores the people, technologies and issues that will drive - and impede - the pervasiveness and productivity gains from technology in the months ahead. Under the experienced stage guidance of Executive Producers John Gallant and Geoffrey Moore, VORTEX is where the leaders of the post-boom IT business set the agenda for tomorrow. VORTEX is hosted by Network World Events & Executive Forums, the producers of other highly respected industry events such as DEMO® and DEMOmobile®.