METAmorphosis Africa 2004 conference showcase draws IT industry-leaders as sponsors

META Group, a leading provider of information technology research, advisory services and strategic consulting, has announced the sponsors for METAmorphosis Africa 2004.

The company`s annual flagship conference will take place at Caesars, Gauteng, from 4 to 6 May 2004. Compuware Corporation SA, T-Systems South Africa, Unisys Africa, SAP Africa, MTN and Microsoft have signed up as sponsors for what is set to be one of SA`s premier IT conferences of the year.

Aimed at leading C-class executives and other IT professionals who realise the critical importance of running IT as a business that can effectively respond to the new economic and social realities of today`s global marketplace. To remain financially aligned and viable, enterprises must learn how to evolve into an adaptive organisation - one that works to map IT capabilities, costs and goals to those of the business.

In addition to its sponsorship, Microsoft will sponsor and manage an interactive Internet facility at the conference offering delegates the ability to stay in real-time touch with their enterprise. The Interactive Internet Facility will enable more than 400 conference delegates and event staff to access their corporate networks with full mobility. The service offers high value to senior executives who need real-time access to critical corporate business systems, including e-mail and text chat, while at METAmorphosis Africa 2004. Delegates will be able to use their time at the event more efficiently, by accessing the public broadband network free of charge at multiple LAN points located in the showcase area.

"The conference also features an exhibition area where these leading companies will showcase their products and services for the adaptive organisation," says Eric Cowling, marketing manager for META Group.

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The prime co-sponsors, Compuware and T-Systems, will have featured 30-minute presentation adjacent to the showcase area. Prime, platinum and gold sponsors will have representatives participate in panel discussions aligned to the breakout tracks. These presentations will complement the content presented in over 40 breakout sessions and workshops which will drill deeper into key topics and provide delegates with more "how to do it" best practices to help overcome the challenges associated with building an adaptive organisation and optimising IT framework.

"METAmorphosis Africa 2004 will provide the actionable guidance business leaders need to become an adaptive organisation - aligning IT capabilities, costs and goals with those of the business. Organisations must also be able to sense and respond to change - good or bad - across the entire organisation, truly intertwining business and IT goals and disciplines. Although the basic concepts of being adaptive are well defined, the significant impacts on the underlying architecture, infrastructure, economics, sourcing and performance are not well understood, leaving many organisations wondering how best to take action," says META Group senior vice-president and director Karen Rubenstrunk.

METAmorphosis also offers attendees the chance to meet one-on-one with analysts, the intimate setting of breakout seminars, and a timely and topical research agenda geared toward senior IT and business executives. Breakout sessions were carefully chosen to best match the needs of attendees and help them get the most value out of the conference:

* Infrastructure
* Operations and business continuity
* Integration, development and Web services
* Outsourcing and professional services
* Risk, security and compliance
* Enterprise applications and business performance
* Information management: content, collaboration and analytics