Six Degrees Group (6DG) today announced that it will bring together leading lights from across the IT industry at an event for senior IT professionals examining the challenges facing IT departments in 2013 and how technology can be seen as a weapon, rather than viewed as a cost drain.

Registration for this event is open to any mid to enterprise sized organisation looking for ideas and information on strategic IT initiatives for 2013 and beyond.

Alistair Mills, CEO, Six Degrees Group, comments, “In today’s difficult economic climate, it can be easy to view investment in technology as a drain on a business. However, case studies show that those businesses demonstrating growth are actually using technology as a weapon of differentiation, business change and building sustainable competitive advantage.

He continues, “The seminar, ‘Technology is a Weapon, Not a Cost Centre’, will look at the key trends that are emerging in convergence, with the virtualisation of datacentres, networks, storage, computer and communications all leading to new methods of working and managing technologies.”

Speakers include:

Keynote Presentation – Joe Baguley, chief cloud architect, VMware

Joe is one of the best-known visionaries in the IT sector, working for the innovative firm that pioneered the virtualisation movement. Virtualisation started with servers but now impacts storage, networks, datacentres and desktops, with its influence felt across the whole ICT sphere. Joe is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, addressing audiences worldwide on technology trends. His keynote will focus on how to sync IT and business, including how using the cloud can become a strategic weapon in a business’ armoury, and how the Software Defined Data Centre is at the heart of everything.

Market Trends Presentation – Campbell Williams, group strategy & marketing director, 6DG

Campbell has presented at global technology events for many years, including two United Nations events, and has addressed audiences from 90 countries on a variety of topics. In this seminar, he will be exploring diverse areas including:

• Why are there more Internet connected devices than people on the planet?
• Why will some Marketing Directors have larger technology budgets than IT Directors?
• Does the speed of light matter to your business?
• Who is hosting what, where are they hosting it, and why?
• Everybody is looking at virtualisation and cloud, doing IP telephony and WAN optimisation, yet very few are combining these initiatives?
• How is the social landscape going to affect the business landscape?
• What’s a “multi-service port” and should I want one?
• What does the 2012 to 2020 technology timeline look like?

Converged Communications - Nigel Moulton, Avaya, director CTO Office EMEA

Nigel Moulton has over 20 years of experience in the Telecommunications and Internet industries. His presentation will add unified communications into the mix, examining why comms is often the missing link. Moulton will question the fact that IT and telecoms are still handled differently, and look at what virtualisation means in a UC environment. It will explore mobility, the challenges of real-time communications, how multimedia will inevitably change how we interact, and why the next generation will expect video to be imbedded into working practices.

Closing Thoughts: How Do We Get There – Alastair Mills, CEO, Six Degrees Group

Alastair is an award-winning entrepreneur, business leader, and the CEO of Six Degrees Group. In this closing presentation, he’ll summarise proceedings, look at the steps that are necessary to get there, assess what “the supplier of the future” may look like, and provide some brief information about Six Degrees Group, before we finish with lunch.

For more information on this event and to book a place, visit http://www.6dg.co.uk/event/customer-seminar

About Six Degrees Group

Six Degrees Group is a privately owned managed data services provider serving UK mid-market customers. The Group has converged services portfolio – including data centre, connectivity, voice and cloud offerings – designed to help companies meet the challenges of a connected, always-on world.