"Some heavy-hitters will be at Enterprise Connect to talk about tablets and what they can do for the enterprise," said Knight. "Topics covered will include managing security and policies, how to operate them, on what networks, how to do so in a cost-effective manner, how to support and provision tablets, and, most importantly, how tablets will continue to define the role of applications and the cloud."
Conference Tracks
This year, the event is being broken up into eight main tracks to address key issues facing the enterprise: The Social Enterprise; Unified Communications; Planning/Implementing IP Telephony; Mobility; SIP and SIP Trunking; Video and Collaboration; The Cloud and Virtualization; and Managing Technology, Costs, and People. These eight main topics will help attendees create the experience that is best suited to their organization's needs and interests.
In addition to these tracks, Enterprise Connect 2011 will offer keynote addresses by industry executives and thought leaders; Coffee Talks, Breakout Sessions, Workshops, Deep Dives, and general sessions for information gathering.
Knight is particularly excited about the keynotes, which feature some of the industry's biggest names.
Avaya, Cicso, Microsoft, HP and Skype are all taking the stage during Enterprise Connect 2011. HP and Skype are both new to keynoting at Enterprise Connect this year. Certainly Skype's presence represents the emergence of the cloud and its potential to change how businesses approach enterprise communications. This becomes even more interesting if one considers Skype's video capabilities and its recent purchase of Qik.
The Coffee Talks will also offer a great opportunity for attendees to learn from peers. Apart from the title, there's no presentation. Instead, the Coffee Talks are to be used for those in attendance to share their story about what they've accomplished, what they hope to accomplish, or what sort of problems they've run into. The goal is to foster discussion.
Wrap
"What I'm hoping people will take away is that we are on a fundamental path toward change in enterprise communications and how it is provided," said Knight. "It will be interesting to see just how far some enterprises have come and working out all these problems. It's not something that's going to take place in the future. Many major businesses are already deep into this IP-based migration. Some enterprises are much further along than others."
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
