Plenary Session

Building a Global IT Infrastructure

This is a developing agenda. Details of individual sessions and presenters are being added as they become available.

As network-centric computing takes hold, customers are building global infrastructures to deploy their critical applications so that they can work closely with their business partners and with their customers. The Open Group is reflecting this trend by pushing forward with the implementation of the IT DialTone, our collective vision of an emerging standard as ubiquitous as the telephone. This plenary session will provide a snapshot of the challenges we face together as customers and suppliers. Attendees will discover where we are, where we’re going and how they can influence that direction.

Monday 26^th January
Time	Session	Description
08:45	Introduction Joseph de Feo	Welcome Opening comments and time for questions and answers.
09:30	The Market for IT DialTone Randy Perry Director of Communications Consulting, International Data Corporation	IDC has undertaken research which essentially evaluates the marketplace for the IT DialTone. The ultimate product of this study will be an IDC White Paper on the Value of Investing in a defined set of products, technologies and standards that used together will provide levels of security and reliability, specified against business requirements, that can provide solutions both inside the enterprise and encourage the use of more mission critical activities across the public Internet. The study addresses four key issues: Clearly define how corporate IS defines intranets today Identify all the costs associated with implementing an intranets-based strategy Calculate average cost savings and near-term returns-on-investment Identify the perceived benefits and barriers to moving to the public Internet This session will reveal what IDC has discovered in their recent research into customer needs for a global infrastructure.
10:30		Coffee
11:00	IT DialTone Progress Report Mike Lambert	Report on progress made during 1997 on turning the IT DialTone concept into reality including: the IT DialTone Architecture the Architecture Board key projects implementing necessary standards and technologies Participants will also find out how they can get involved and how they can influence this development
11:45	Infrastructure is boring (but trains don’t go nowhere without tracks) Speaker John Gavin Marketing Manager BT Global Finance	Infrastructure, the decision to invest, how you manage, use and finance it have always raised fundamental business issues. It gets even worse when you start to consider infrastructure for a business community. Apart from the obvious infrastructure decisions, BT has to make as one of the worlds leading communications companies, it has participated and lead putting in place the infrastructure for a number of communities of interest. The talk will discuss pragmatic solutions to overcome some of the problems which arise and refer to a topical case in question. The PORT Project, where the whole sale finance Community has moved forward to put an infrastructure in place to service its business requirements into the next millennium. This has brought together some thirty key players in the finance market in order to achieve this goal. BT has been a participant from the beginning and will share how the project progressed between groups that contained head on competitors.
12:30		Lunch
14:00	Enterprise Information System Architecture: Deutsche Telekom Strategy and Concepts Speaker Herr. Dr. Karsten Schweichhart Head of Software Strategy and Architecture Development Technologies Deutsche Telekom	Dr. Schweichhart’s presentation will provide insight into the following objectives of the Information System Architecture of Deutsche Telekom: Reduce cost and enhance efficiency of business processes with the objective of becoming the most customer oriented Telco in Europe. Offer new integrated services to customers by integrating telecommunication and information technology. Examples: Telecommerce, Telematics, Telemedicin, Global Learning Strategic Concepts are: Layer concepts covering all IT-Infrastructure Design concepts of components, interface standards, architecture Enterprise Software Bus Use of Standard Software SAP High quality individual software development to create competitive advantage Strategic use of Intranet, Extranet and Internet
14:45	Program Reports	This is the opportunity for members to learn about recent results and current issues in each of the TOG Programs they do not attend including: Dean Adams: Security Martin Kirk: Management Ian Robertson: Transaction Processing Sally Long: DCE Ken Flowers: Desktop John Spencer: Architecture Framework (TOGAF)
15:30		Coffee + Break
16:00	Customer & Software Councils Meetings	The Councils sessions will run concurrently: Customer Council agenda Software Council agenda
17:30	Close
Evening	Reception at hotel

Tuesday 27^th January
Time	Session	Description
09:00	Synergy with Partner Organizations Joseph de Feo	It is clear that cooperation with other industry organizations is critical to success of the IT DiaTone. This session will cover some of the opportunities for collaboration and outline The Open Group’s intentions in this respect. Time for questions and answers.
09:45	The importance of standards to the retail industry Richard Mader Snr VP & CIO, Boscov Department Stores Chairman, International Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS)	Technology is a principal factor in reducing the cost side of the retail business equation. Walmart and other mass merchants have demonstrated that technology can not only reduce cost, thereby offering lower prices to the end consumer, but can also insure the right merchandise is always available which increases sales and customer satisfaction. To compete effectively, medium and smaller retailers need to exploit technology. Standards make this possible by reducing the cost of implementation, thus leveling the playing field between large and small retailers. Richard's talk will describe the type of standards that are required, with a focus on the ARTS Data Model, and Microsoft's OPOS and Active Store initiatives. He will present real examples of the cost impact of standards. Says Richard "I also hope to convince The Open Group that working closely with vertical groups like ARTS does make sense. Different industries may need some identical standards (TCP/IP) and some different standards (Data Models) but all standards require compliance measurement and education. The Open Group can provide a central clearing house for both through vertical groups."
10:30		Coffee
11:00	Jean-François Abramatic W3C Chairman and Associate Director of the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science	An overview of the World-Wide Web Consortium (W3C)’s current program, key activities, their collaborations with other organizations and how they wish to work with TOG
11:45	Ted Hanss, University of Michigan and Director, Internet 2 Program	An overview of the Internet 2 Program, its objectives and progress. An opportunity to find out what Internet 2 is contributing towards the realisation of IT DialTone.
12:30		Lunch