International research firm Gartner is gearing up for its crystal ball-gazing emporium again as it prepares for the ITxpo conference to be held in Cape Town in August.
Debra Logan, Gartner Research VP and research director, says the theme will be "a look towards the year 2010" as it is fixed in the South African mind as the year in which SA will host the World Soccer Cup.
"We are also, in our own way, celebrating 10 years of democracy in SA and so we are trying to make the conference less North American-centric and more relevant to SA," she says.
Complementing the major theme will be three sub-themes of outsourcing, IT and corporate governance, and security.
"Outsourcing will continue to be a major driver for SA, especially if prices here remain lower than in other places, and it seems they will," Logan says.
She says many South African corporate executives have asked for more information about IT and corporate governance, as it remains a hot topic in this country and abroad.
"Security remains a perennial concern for all corporations and so that issue will be addressed substantially," Logan says.
This year`s speakers will include several who are already well known to the local ICT community, among them Nick Jones, VP and research fellow, Gartner Research; Frank Buytendijk, VP and research director, Gartner Research; and Kimberly Harris, VP and research director, Gartner Research.
Clem Sunter, chairman of Anglo American`s Chairman Fund - the mining corporation`s social responsibility fund - will be the keynote speaker this year.
One of the new speakers, French Caldwell, will lead one of two workshops, called "the Digital Pearl Harbour", that will address disaster planning and recovery exercises.
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