Introduction from the Chairs
AT THE CROSSROADS, Surviving the Shakeout in the Information Age

During the 1930s, at the height of the industrial age, the great depression was a Darwinian event that changed the face of industries forever. The great depression caused a shakeout that occurred eliminating many players that were riding the wave of investment without having the business efficiency to survive the downturn. While the downturn of 2000 hasn’t matched the great depression (yet), there are parallels that can be drawn in predicting which companies will survive the information age shakeout.

In the automotive industry during 1924 there were 108 companies manufacturing automobiles in the United States, and by 1927 there were only 44 companies left. 1929 was the last great year of the automobile boom, with production at a peak of 5.3M units, a level that would not be surpassed again for 20 years. The shakeout that had been pressing for 5 years occurred with the great depression, when auto production went from 5.3M units to less than 2.4M units, a 55% drop in a single year. By 1936, the ‘big three’ (Ford, Chrysler and GM) held 90% of the US car market.

What differentiating strategies did these survivors employ that enabled them to endure the downturn and dominate the upturn? Quite simply, they produced what consumers wanted using innovative and efficient methods, by leveraging assembly line production methods, standardising on components, and structuring innovation. Those companies that perished were employing methods of craftsmanship, rather than production.

Today we are at the crossroads of the information age. Those companies that choose the path of craftsmanship in IT will fail, and those companies that choose the path of efficient production will succeed. Enterprise architecture is the design activity that enables IT organisations to move from one-off craftsmanship to assembly line production of information products that meet the customers’ requirements in the most efficient way.

In fact, the companies that survived and thrived succeeding the great depression were those companies that were not only efficient, but also innovative. These two qualities are not mutually exclusive. The key to being both efficient and innovative lies in having efficient innovation processes and to direct them with a singularity of purpose to the innovations that are most valued by their customers.

Richard Buchanan Vice President & Director, Enterprise Planning & Architecture Strategies META Group

Brian Burke Vice President International Enterprise Planning & Architecture Strategies META Group

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 Who Should Attend

	CIOs and Chief Architects responsible for translating business strategic vision into pragmatic IT delivery programs.
	Senior Business Strategists, Chief Operating Officers and LOB managers who demand efficient, pragmatic investment programs and want to insure cross-functional integration.
	IT implementers, Project and Program Managers and Systems Quality Engineers responsible for adhering to architecture guidelines and interested in influencing standard setting activitiess.

Whether you are responsible for business or IT success, this conference will provide you with pragmatic tools for thinking, models and frameworks for analysis and decision making, and insight into the real world best practices of the most agile organisations on earth.

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This is the only international event completely dedicated to the concept of adaptive enterprise architecture. The conference includes full-day pre-conference workshop, as well as general sessions with world-class practitioners, commentators, and technology providers.

Two Full Day Workshops to Choose from!

Workshop 1: The Core Concepts of Adaptive Enterprise Architecture
Jumpstart your architecture efforts and eliminate the barriers to success by attending this rapid fire, highly interactive workshop conducted by META Group. You will learn how to define and implement enterprise architecture as a sustainable, creative strategy driven process which emphasises not only “how” to create adaptive computing systems, but identifying “what” needs to be architected to deliver true business strategic value.

Workshop 2: Architecture Programme Maturity Assessment
IT organisations must continually assess architecture maturity to identify opportunities for improvement and eliminate barriers to success. META Group analysts will demonstrate how to assess key performance indicators, measure program performance over time, prioritise architecture investments to generate the greatest return, and implement a structured planning process to attain improvement goals.

Conference:
As part of the conference proceeding, informative, thought provoking keynote presentations will be supplemented by breakout sessions as well as networking and vendor sponsored activities. Sessions will be organised across the following general tracks::

TRACK 1:	Architecture in the Real World
TRACK 2:	Architecture Around the World
TRACK 3:	Architecture Tools & techniques

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 CONFERENCE CO-PRODUCERS

Bottom-Line Guidance for IT and Business Transformation
META Group is a leading research and consulting firm, focusing on information technology and business transformation strategies. Delivering objective, consistent, and actionable guidance, META Group enables organisations to innovate more rapidly and effectively. Our unique collaborative models help clients succeed by building speed, agility, and value into their IT and business systems and processes. For more information, connect with META Group at www.metagroup.com.

IRM UK is an international organisation that specialises in strategic IT training for IT & business professionals and managers. Our presenters have superior technical knowledge, teaching skills and a wide range of practical business experience. They are some of the most influential technologists, methodologists and original thinkers in IT and business today.

Noted for the participation of top level decision makers from both the corporate, user and vendor communities, and the lucid analysis of critical strategic and management issues, our events are condensed and rigorous combining technical explanations with management advice and discussions of future directions. Our world class speakers include Roger Burlton, Larry English, Chris Date, Chris Potts, David Marco, Suzanne Robertson and John Zachman.

We are also running the following major conferences in London from 27-29 October 2003:

• INFORMATION QUALITY IMPROVEMENT
• META DATA MANAGEMENT
• DAMA INTERNATIONAL
  

For further detail on our events visit www.irmuk.co.uk.

IRM UK Strategic IT Training Ltd, Bishops Walk House, 19-23 High Street, Pinner, Middlesex HA5 5PJ, UK • www.irmuk.co.uk, e-mail: customerservice@irmuk.co.uk tel: +44 (0)20 8866 8366 fax: +44 (0)20 8866 7966

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