LOUISVILLE, Ky. - (Business Wire) IT Business Edge, the professional online community for business technology decision makers, is taking the concept of “delivering leads” for advertising clients to a whole new level. The company’s new line of events will gather hand-picked IT executives from across the country and put them up at a four-star resort for three days, where they will meet exclusively with IT vendors to discuss technologies crucial to their businesses. The first of these invitation-only events, the IT Business Edge Midmarket CIO Forum, will gather about 100 IT executives at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando, Florida, March 14 to 16. Unlike conventional conferences and seminars, each IT Business Edge event will be invitation-only, with attendees pre-qualified based on their purchase-decision-making power and individual fit for that specific event. While the first event will focus on technology needs and solutions for companies with 100 to 1,000 employees, future events will focus on individual technology and solution categories.
Launching under the guidance of Charles Badoian, former global vice president for program management at Gartner, the events will facilitate information gathering and relationship building – with both peers and vendors – in small-group and one-on-one settings. During more than 15 years launching successful global events, Badoian managed numerous successful executive summits, including Gartner’s well-known Midsize Enterprise Summit, Energy & Utilities Summit, China Sourcing Summit, Global Sourcing Summit, Healthcare IT Summit, Project & Portfolio Management Summit, Print & Imaging Summit, and the Symposium Invitation Program.
“Traditional conferences, with random networking opportunities on the show floor or over the buffet table, are essentially dead,” explained Badoian. “Attendees need immediate value for each executive’s time investment that those traditional events cannot deliver. IT Business Edge events are designed to provide information, build relationships and deliver results so all attendees go home with the answers they need.”
“For vendors, IT Business Edge events are more like well-organized sales calls than a conference or tradeshow,” continued Badoian.. “All attendees are pre-vetted, so they will be exactly the individuals vendors want to talk to from within the participants’ organizations.”
Each pre-qualified event invitee will receive roundtrip air travel to Florida, ground transportation to and from the conference resort, hotel accommodations, meals, receptions and a golf outing. During the day, event participants will attend a series of boardroom meetings that include 10 to 12 of their peers, hosted by a vendor sponsor who will drill down into current solutions and upcoming products that fit attendee needs. A typical session would include a case study presentation and discussion with solution users, best-practices and tips, and interaction with senior vendor executives for specific product information and pricing. The schedule will also include presentations by analysts and other industry experts.
“Our events model is a natural extension of the evolving IT Business Edge leads business,” said Phil Branon, president of IT Business Edge. “Our established online business puts IT vendors in touch with a highly targeted audience through the promotion of vendor-sponsored content, while our events literally put sales executives from IT vendors at the same table as pre-vetted purchase decision makers from top prospect organizations. We believe sponsors and attendees will both benefit immensely from this approach.”
For more information on IT Business Edge events, or to register for consideration to attend the IT Business Edge Midmarket CIO Forum, visit MidmarketCIOForum.com. Senior technology executives interested in applying for an invitation can also contact Hilary Badoian at 502-415-7597, extension 101. Companies wishing to sponsor upcoming IT Business Edge events should contact Bill Tobey at 502-415-7597, extension 103.
About IT Business Edge
Published by Louisville-based NarrowCast Group, LLC, IT Business Edge delivers an intelligent approach to business technology information that is focused, personalized, thorough, practical, concise and current. The site allows technology decision makers to gain up-to-the-minute analysis of evolving issues and strategies, solve problems with the help of peers and industry experts, and choose cost-effective approaches for their business IT needs. IT Business Edge combines expert opinion and research culled from more than 3,000 sources (technology publishers, vendors, analysts and associations) with a moderated professional community of business IT decision makers. The company’s events business provides innovative ways for vendors and hand selected IT decision makers to nurture information gathering and building of peer relationships in small group and one-on-one settings. To join the IT Business Edge community, visit www.itbusinessedge.com. For partnership or advertising opportunities, contact advertise@itbusinessedge.com.
IT Business Edge
Jeff Yocom, 502-515-6461
jeff.yocom@itbe.com
or
For IT Business Edge
Jim Hughes, 323-397-7077
pr@itbusinessedge.com
