April Road Show – Evening Briefing & Networking Reception

Real-Time Sales Enablement: Helping Sales Develop Opportunities and Deepen Relationships

April 25, 2012
4:00–6:30 pm PT
Hyatt Regency Santa Clara
Santa Clara, CA

(Free for ITSMA members)

Also in:

New York, NY
April 3, 2012

Newton, MA
April 5, 2012

Overview

ITSMA research shows that sales enablement has hit the number one priority for marketers, replacing differentiation and brand positioning. B2B Marketers, feeling the pressure in an ongoing difficult economic climate, are looking to add direct value to the business by generating sales leads and helping sales move prospects through the pipeline and close more deals.

At the same time, marketers need to lower customer acquisition costs and increase sales effectiveness. This means marketers need to shift away from sales support and toward sales enablement. The challenge is knowing where to focus. What are the key things that marketing can do to best help sales? Do they have the right tools, the right programs, the right messages?

Join Jeff Sands, Vice President of ITSMA as he reveals the secrets to improving marketing’s portfolio of sales enablement activities and shares highlights from ITSMA’s 2012 sales enablement practices survey.

As always, this ITSMA Briefing will feature lots of interactive discussion and peer sharing among ITSMA members and guests. It is also a great opportunity for in-person networking with other senior-level marketers from IT and professional services companies.

The Briefing is complimentary for ITSMA members and $95 for nonmembers. Light hors d’oeuvres and cocktails are included.

Lead Facilitator

Dave Munn President & CEO ITSMA Learn More >

Lead Presenter Jeff Sands Vice President and ABM Practice Lead ITSMA Learn More >

Agenda

4:00 – 4:30 Registration & Networking
4:30 – 6:00 Presentation
6:00 – 6:30 Discussion & Networking

Event & Location Information

Event Date: March 23, 2011

Event Time: 4:00–6:30 pm PT

Member price: No Charge

Non-member price: $95

Event Location:

Hyatt Regency Santa Clara
5101 Great America Parkway
Santa Clara, CA

Phone: +1-408-200-1234

Website: http://santaclara.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/

Special Requests: If there is anything we can do to make your participation in this event easier, please complete the appropriate space on the Registration Form or contact Carolyn Jefferson at cjefferson@itsma.com or on +1-781-862-8500, Ext. 121.

April Road Show – Lunch Briefing

Real-Time Sales Enablement: Helping Sales Develop Opportunities and Deepen Relationships

April 3, 2012
12:00–2:00 pm ET
The Roosevelt Hotel
New York, NY

(Free for ITSMA members)

Also in:

Newton, MA
April 5, 2012

Santa Clara, CA
April 25, 2012

Overview

ITSMA research shows that sales enablement has hit the number one priority for marketers, replacing differentiation and brand positioning. B2B Marketers, feeling the pressure in an ongoing difficult economic climate, are looking to add direct value to the business by generating sales leads and helping sales move prospects through the pipeline and close more deals.

At the same time, marketers need to lower customer acquisition costs and increase sales effectiveness. This means marketers need to shift away from sales support and toward sales enablement. The challenge is knowing where to focus. What are the key things that marketing can do to best help sales? Do they have the right tools, the right programs, the right messages?

Join Jeff Sands, Vice President of ITSMA as he reveals the secrets to improving marketing’s portfolio of sales enablement activities and shares highlights from ITSMA’s 2012 sales enablement practices survey.  Also hear from Jane Hiscock, President of the Farland Group and Janis Fratamico, Director, North America Marketing at IBM Global Business Services as they discuss IBM’s new platinum customer program and how they engaged sales and IBM clients to participate.

As always, this ITSMA Briefing will feature lots of interactive discussion and peer sharing among ITSMA members and guests. It is also a great opportunity for in-person networking with other senior-level marketers from IT and professional services companies.

The Briefing is complimentary for ITSMA members and $95 for nonmembers. Lunch is included.

Lead Facilitator

Dave Munn President & CEO ITSMA Learn More >

Lead Presenter Jeff Sands Vice President and ABM Practice Lead ITSMA Learn More >

Sponsor

Farland Group is a marketing services consulting firm with expertise in building customer community strategies and programs. Our deep experience in business-to-business and consumer brand environments, creates opportunities for businesses to engage their customers in new market development, product innovation and service differentiation. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Farland Group brings together expert marketers, writers, consultants and sales professionals to help technology, health and science, financial services and consulting companies create long-term customer engagement and relationship extension programs.

Event & Location Information

Event Date: April 3, 2012

Event Time: 12:00–2:00 pm ET

Member price: No Charge

Non-member price: $95

Event Location:

The Roosevelt Hotel
45 East 45th Street at Corner of Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Toll Free: +1-888-TEDDY-NY

Phone: +1-212-661-9600

Website: http://www.theroosevelthotel.com/

Special Requests: If there is anything we can do to make your participation in this event easier, please complete the appropriate space on the Registration Form or contact Carolyn Jefferson at cjefferson@itsma.com or on +1-781-862-8500, Ext. 121.

April Road Show – Evening Briefing & Networking Reception

Real-Time Sales Enablement: Helping Sales Develop Opportunities and Deepen Relationships

April 5, 2012
4:00–6:30 pm ET
Boston Marriott Newton
Newton, MA

(Free for ITSMA members)

Also in:

New York, NY
April 3, 2012

Santa Clara, CA
April 25, 2012

Overview

ITSMA research shows that sales enablement has hit the number one priority for marketers, replacing differentiation and brand positioning. B2B Marketers, feeling the pressure in an ongoing difficult economic climate, are looking to add direct value to the business by generating sales leads and helping sales move prospects through the pipeline and close more deals.

At the same time, marketers need to lower customer acquisition costs and increase sales effectiveness. This means marketers need to shift away from sales support and toward sales enablement. The challenge is knowing where to focus. What are the key things that marketing can do to best help sales? Do they have the right tools, the right programs, the right messages?

Join Jeff Sands, Vice President of ITSMA as he reveals the secrets to improving marketing’s portfolio of sales enablement activities and shares highlights from ITSMA’s 2012 sales enablement practices survey.  Also hear from Jane Hiscock, President of the Farland Group and Janis Fratamico, Director, North America Marketing at IBM Global Business Services as they discuss IBM’s new platinum customer program and how they engaged sales and IBM clients to participate.

As always, this ITSMA Briefing will feature lots of interactive discussion and peer sharing among ITSMA members and guests. It is also a great opportunity for in-person networking with other senior-level marketers from IT and professional services companies.

The Briefing is complimentary for ITSMA members and $95 for nonmembers. Light hors d’oeuvres and cocktails are included.

Lead Facilitator

Dave Munn President & CEO ITSMA Learn More >

Lead Presenter Jeff Sands Vice President and ABM Practice Lead ITSMA Learn More >

Sponsor

Farland Group is a marketing services consulting firm with expertise in building customer community strategies and programs. Our deep experience in business-to-business and consumer brand environments, creates opportunities for businesses to engage their customers in new market development, product innovation and service differentiation. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Farland Group brings together expert marketers, writers, consultants and sales professionals to help technology, health and science, financial services and consulting companies create long-term customer engagement and relationship extension programs.

Agenda

4:00 – 4:30 Registration & Networking
4:30 – 6:00 Presentation
6:00 – 6:30 Discussion & Networking

Event & Location Information

Event Date: April 5, 2012

Event Time: 4:00–6:30 pm ET

Member price: No Charge

Non-member price: $95

Event Location:

Boston Marriott Newton
2345 Commonwealth Avenue
Newton, MA 02466 USA

Phone: 617-969-1000

Website: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bosnt-boston-marriott-newton/

Special Requests: If there is anything we can do to make your participation in this event easier, please complete the appropriate space on the Registration Form or contact Carolyn Jefferson at cjefferson@itsma.com or on +1-781-862-8500, Ext. 121.

Web Briefing

Account Based Marketing: Four Steps to Adopting and Optimizing a Successful ABM Program

March 20, 2012
8:00 am Pacific – 11:00 am Eastern – 16:00 London (Duration: One hour)

(Free for ITSMA members)

Overview

Account Based Marketing (ABM) is a powerful strategy for building deeper relationships with top accounts. ABM helps you achieve long-term influence with your clients, moving you from a vendor to a trusted advisor.  It can also help B2B marketers generate more revenue for their companies.

ITSMA has worked with companies to develop and implement key account marketing strategies for more than a decade. With the ITSMA ABM approach, marketing and sales work side-by-side to look at key business issues facing target accounts, then tailor campaigns to address those issues and fully integrate them into the sales account plan.

In addition to our client work, ITSMA has done extensive research on ABM. We have found that ABM requires a strong partnership between sales and marketing, a commitment to building new levels of relationships with customers, and strong support from sales and marketing leadership. That kind of change takes time and effort.

In this ITSMA briefing, Jeff Sands, Vice President and ABM Practice Lead, ITSMA, draws from experience and research to identify the four steps for ABM adoption and shows you how to optimize and scale your ABM program for better results.

This Briefing is complimentary for ITSMA members and $195 (€160) for non-members.

Presenter

Jeff Sands Vice President and ABM Practice Lead ITSMA Learn More >

General Information

ITSMA’s Online Briefings offer recent research findings or survey results from thought leaders on a variety of services marketing topics. The Online Briefings can be viewed individually, or in groups composed of people within the same company. The briefings are available anywhere in the world that has telephone service and access to the Internet. A typical program runs 45 minutes followed by 15 minutes of questions and answers. The person making the online presentation speaks into a telephone and advances the visual portion of the presentation via their computer connected to the Internet. At the end of the presentation and at the presenter’s discretion, the listeners are invited to ask questions. Each listener with a question identifies him or herself and is listed in a queue and taken one at a time by the presentation monitor. The monitor also manages the question and answer session by giving each questioner access to the phone line to communicate with the presenter.

This briefing will be administered by BT Conferencing. All participants are required to test their browsers 24-48 hours prior to ensure compatibility. This test can be done by clicking here: Check your system. You will receive a pass code and dial in number three business days prior to the briefing.

Technical Requirements

The technical requirements for this ITSMA online briefing are:

• Direct or dial-up Internet connection of 56Kbps or higher.
• A separate telephone line to access the audio teleconference.
• If participating from your company, ask about your company’s Internet Firewall 48 hours prior to the event. This will enable your IT technician to reconfigure your connections if necessary to ensure access to the Internet portion of the briefing.
• No plug-ins or software downloads are required.
• System Requirements: Windows 2000 or higher, Internet Explorer 6.x or greater, Netscape 7.2 or later. The following operating systems will work with limitations: Windows 98 SE, NT Server or Workstation 4.0, Mac OSX 10.3 with Safari 1.2; Solaris 9 with Netscape 7.0 or Mozilla 1.4, Sun JVM 1.4.2.

Fees and Registration

Aside from the telephone call, the fee for the presentation is complimentary for active ITSMA members, and $195 (€160) per location for non-members.

Note: Registration is on a first-come/first-served basis.

Inner Circle Meeting

Building the Idea Organisation: How Sustainable is Thought Leadership in Client Engagement, Lead Generation and Building Brand Preference?

22 February 2012
6–9 pm London Time
Venue: Greig’s, 26 Bruton Place, Mayfair, London (by invitation only)

Overview

With up to 88% of buyers* now saying thought leadership is critical to their buying decision, and executives searching online for answers, before they have figured out what the problem is, getting—and keeping—buyers’ attention requires the participation of the entire company—not just marketing.

During recent years, thought leadership research, content dissemination and discussion has had plenty to offer the CEO and CMO, but what is the value of thought leadership to the business?

Idea organisation challenges

What do we mean by the idea organization?  ITSMA sees that to be an idea organisation is a strategic challenge for marketers; to lead the transition for the entire company, to transfer one big idea into compelling storytelling, to combine business themes with research and publishing techniques aligned to the buying cycle of your target audience.

Your host Richard Seymour, ITSMA Europe MD, will facilitate a discussion to hear your views, experiences and thinking concerning thought leadership challenges, the impact of on the company and how you can make your long lasting ideas translate into revenue.

Some of the challenges we will consider around the idea culture range from regional differences and internal collaboration (or control) to whether research is integrated into your thought leadership development and dissemination processes, and more;

• Business themes – is your thought leadership focused on selling what you have or meeting customers’ needs?  Have you adequately researched your target audience’s needs?
• Development and dissemination – do you have a proactive editorial calendar process?  Are you disseminating your content broadly enough across channels?
• Centre of expertise – do you have enough resources in place to adequately support your thought leaders? Are you providing enough training to your SMEs?
• Metrics – are there areas of your business that would benefit from more brand recognition? Can you tell when a consumer of your thought leadership is ready to speak to a salesperson?

Putting your reputation on-line

30% of buyers* said that they would be more likely to choose a provider that helped them through the epiphany stage of the buying cycle.  So, if thought leadership is about influencing and engagement starts on-line, then relating customer needs with what the company does and building social connections goes beyond just the marketing function.

It seems marketing’s new challenge is to facilitate the role of Marketing Business Partner inside the organisation, influencing strategic direction and offerings, finding ways to enhance the corporate reputation and helping SMEs keep the customer dialogue alive.  What role do you think thought leadership plays in the future of profitable relationships?

* The Rise of the B2B Social Buyer: Results from the ITSMA How Buyers Consume Information Survey, 2011

To join in this lively executive sponsor discussion and leave with key “takeaways” to consider for your organisation, please email tfahmy@itsma.com or telephone +44 (0)118 9036117.  Members will be charged one credit for one seat from their membership credit account for attendance at this event.

Contact: Tina Fahmy, ITSMA Europe, Member Services Manager, tfahmy@itsma.com or telephone +44 (0) 118 9036117

Training – Virtual Course

The Unique Considerations of Marketing Business Services and Solutions

8 May 2012

Overview

By the end of this 12 week Virtual course, delegates should be able to:

• Evaluate the sophistication of an organisation in designing, marketing, selling and delivering business services and solutions and consider the activities required to develop its sophistication to thenext level.
• Critically review the status of a company’s reputation among its key stakeholders and use corporate branding techniques to create a desired reputation, competitively positioning that company and its portfolio.
• Utilise a range of techniques to create and communicate compelling, differentiated value propositions to customers and prospects.
• Recognise the significance of complex, relationship-based sales processes and the role that marketing can play in developing customer relationships.
• Utilise end-to-end marketing processes applied to key accounts in order to win, grow and defend those accounts and accelerate business results.

This course is available as a unique standalone course for B2B Services and Solutions Marketers who already hold the CIM Professional Diploma in Marketing and can demonstrate the required level of three years industry experience and knowledge.  ITSMA have developed this course with CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing) and delegates will receive the CIM/ITSMA Certificate Award, ‘The Unique Considerations of Marketing Business Services and Solutions’.

Download the May 2012 schedule here (PDF)

Enrol now

To enquire about eligibility, enrolment, or other queries complete this form and we’ll contact you, or email marketinguk@itsma.com or call the UK office on +44 (0) 118 9036117.

To apply for a place on these courses, please download and complete the application forms i) application to study for CIM Academy and ii) Application to Study, and return to us with a copy of your career CV (curriculum Vitae) or resume.

To complete your registration, payment can be made by company purchase order and invoice, or by company or personal credit card.

Contact us

ITSMA Europe, Atlantic House
Imperial Way, Reading, RG2 0TD
Phone: +[44] (0)118 903 6117
Fax: +[44] (0)118 919 7777
Email: marketinguk@itsma.com

More about the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)

The Rise of the Social Buyer

24 January 2012
7:30 am – 9:00 am
Hosted by Capgemini
London, UK

ITSMA members only

Overview

Where do buyers of large B2B solutions get information on solution providers?  For years, the answer was “my peers.” However, according to ITSMA’s 2011 “How Buyers Consume Information” Survey, peers are no longer the most influential source of information for buyers of large B2B solutions.

We are seeing the rise of the B2B “social buyer”, who consumes information voraciously and from a variety of sources, including solution provider sites, online communities and social media. Yet, “traditional buyers” still look to their peers and even to print-based marketing materials first.

What’s a marketer to do? At this Breakfast Briefing, Richard Seymour, ITSMA Europe MD, will share highlights from ITSMA’s latest 2011 global “How Buyers Consume Information” Survey, take a close at the changes in buyer behaviour and consider what this means for your organisation in 2012.

Register here

This ITSMA Breakfast Briefing brings the latest research insights in a presentation and discussion based forum.  Briefings are for marketers of all levels and stages of their career. So, if you are seeing changes in your buyer’s behaviour, this briefing is for you to takeaway and review with your peers back at the office.

To attend, please email tfahmy@itsma.com or marketinguk@itsma.com or telephone Tina Fahmy on +44 (0)118 9036117. Full joining instructions will be provided upon registering. Members will be charged 0.5 credit from their membership account for attendance at this event.

Training – Virtual Course

The Unique Considerations of Marketing Business Services and Solutions

5 December 2011

Overview

By the end of this 12 week Virtual course, delegates should be able to:

• Evaluate the sophistication of an organisation in designing, marketing, selling and delivering business services and solutions and consider the activities required to develop its sophistication to thenext level.
• Critically review the status of a company’s reputation among its key stakeholders and use corporate branding techniques to create a desired reputation, competitively positioning that company and its portfolio.
• Utilise a range of techniques to create and communicate compelling, differentiated value propositions to customers and prospects.
• Recognise the significance of complex, relationship-based sales processes and the role that marketing can play in developing customer relationships.
• Utilise end-to-end marketing processes applied to key accounts in order to win, grow and defend those accounts and accelerate business results.

This course is available as a unique standalone course for B2B Services and Solutions Marketers who already hold the CIM Professional Diploma in Marketing and can demonstrate the required level of three years industry experience and knowledge.  ITSMA have developed this course with CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing) and delegates will receive the CIM/ITSMA Certificate Award, ‘The Unique Considerations of Marketing Business Services and Solutions’.

Enrol now

To enquire about eligibility, enrolment, or other queries complete this form and we’ll contact you, or email marketinguk@itsma.com or call the UK office on +44 (0) 118 9036117.

To apply for a place on these courses, please download and complete the application forms i) application to study for CIM Academy and ii) Application to Study, and return to us with a copy of your career CV (curriculum Vitae) or resume.

To complete your registration, payment can be made by company purchase order and invoice, or by company or personal credit card.

Contact us

ITSMA Europe, Atlantic House
Imperial Way, Reading, RG2 0TD
Phone: +[44] (0)118 903 6117
Fax: +[44] (0)118 919 7777
Email: marketinguk@itsma.com

More about the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)

Web Briefing

ITSMA’s 2012 State of the Marketing Profession Address

January 24, 2012   (DATE CHANGE)
6:00 am Eastern – 12:00 pm Central Europe – 4:30 pm India

Also on January 25, 2012
8:00 am Pacific – 11:00 am Eastern – 16:00 London (Duration: One hour)

(Free for ITSMA members)

Note: The same session is being offered at two different times to accommodate our global audience. Choose the session that is most convenient for you.

Overview

In 2010, ITSMA called for a marketing transformation, and marketers have gained ground and delivered wins in numerous areas. In 2011, we’ve seen a need to drive more relevance and intimacy across all of marketing, improving relevancy earlier in the buying process and building more client intimacy after the deal is closed. What does 2012 have in store for marketers? How is the marketing budget changing? How does the rise of the social buyer impact the marketing mix? Do you have the right content and customer engagement programs in place to drive revenue?

In this Online Briefing, Dave Munn and Julie Schwartz will share their views on marketing’s priorities, including new marketing skills, organizational alignments, and investments. Dave and Julie will also share trends and highlights from ITSMA’s 2012 Marketing Budgets & Trends Survey to give marketers insights and recommendations on how to take advantage of the changes that await in the year ahead.

Specifically this briefing will explore such issues as:

• What are the top priorities for marketers in 2012 and how does that compare with 2011?
• What new marketing models, structures, practices, and skills are emerging?
• What is changing most in the marketing mix and marketing staffing?
• How are marketers addressing the rise of the B2B Social Buyer and balancing marketing programs between traditional buyers and the new social buyer?
• How are marketers realizing the promise of data driven marketing?
• Are companies investing in the right thought leadership vehicles to build brand preference, generate leads, and engage clients?
• What are leading companies doing to take advantage of the next wave of opportunity and get ahead of competitors?

This Briefing is complimentary for ITSMA members and $195 (€160) for non-members.

Presenters

David C. Munn President and CEO ITSMA Learn More >

Julie Schwartz Senior Vice President, Research and Thought Leadership ITSMA Learn More >

General Information

ITSMA’s Online Briefings offer recent research findings or survey results from thought leaders on a variety of services marketing topics. The Online Briefings can be viewed individually, or in groups composed of people within the same company. The briefings are available anywhere in the world that has telephone service and access to the Internet. A typical program runs 45 minutes followed by 15 minutes of questions and answers. The person making the online presentation speaks into a telephone and advances the visual portion of the presentation via their computer connected to the Internet. At the end of the presentation and at the presenter’s discretion, the listeners are invited to ask questions. Each listener with a question identifies him or herself and is listed in a queue and taken one at a time by the presentation monitor. The monitor also manages the question and answer session by giving each questioner access to the phone line to communicate with the presenter.

This briefing will be administered by BT Conferencing. All participants are required to test their browsers 24-48 hours prior to ensure compatibility. This test can be done by clicking here: Check your system. You will receive a pass code and dial in number three business days prior to the briefing.

Technical Requirements

The technical requirements for this ITSMA online briefing are:

• Direct or dial-up Internet connection of 56Kbps or higher.
• A separate telephone line to access the audio teleconference.
• If participating from your company, ask about your company’s Internet Firewall 48 hours prior to the event. This will enable your IT technician to reconfigure your connections if necessary to ensure access to the Internet portion of the briefing.
• No plug-ins or software downloads are required.
• System Requirements: Windows 2000 or higher, Internet Explorer 6.x or greater, Netscape 7.2 or later. The following operating systems will work with limitations: Windows 98 SE, NT Server or Workstation 4.0, Mac OSX 10.3 with Safari 1.2; Solaris 9 with Netscape 7.0 or Mozilla 1.4, Sun JVM 1.4.2.

Fees and Registration

Aside from the telephone call, the fee for the presentation is complimentary for active ITSMA members, and $195 (€160) per location for non-members.

Note: Registration is on a first-come/first-served basis.

Web Briefing

ITSMA’s 2012 State of the Marketing Profession Address

January 25, 2012
8:00 am Pacific – 11:00 am Eastern – 16:00 London (Duration: One hour)

Also on January 24, 2012 (DATE CHANGE)
6:00 am Eastern – 12:00 pm Central Europe – 4:30 pm India

(Free for ITSMA members)

Note: The same session is being offered at two different times to accommodate our global audience. Choose the session that is most convenient for you.

Overview

#Marketing2012

In 2010, ITSMA called for a marketing transformation, and marketers have gained ground and delivered wins in numerous areas. In 2011, we’ve seen a need to drive more relevance and intimacy across all of marketing, improving relevancy earlier in the buying process and building more client intimacy after the deal is closed. What does 2012 have in store for marketers? How is the marketing budget changing? How does the rise of the social buyer impact the marketing mix? Do you have the right content and customer engagement programs in place to drive revenue?

In this Online Briefing, Dave Munn and Julie Schwartz will share their views on marketing’s priorities, including new marketing skills, organizational alignments, and investments. Dave and Julie will also share trends and highlights from ITSMA’s 2012 Marketing Budgets & Trends Survey to give marketers insights and recommendations on how to take advantage of the changes that await in the year ahead.

Specifically this briefing will explore such issues as:

• What are the top priorities for marketers in 2012 and how does that compare with 2011?
• What new marketing models, structures, practices, and skills are emerging?
• What is changing most in the marketing mix and marketing staffing?
• How are marketers addressing the rise of the B2B Social Buyer and balancing marketing programs between traditional buyers and the new social buyer?
• How are marketers realizing the promise of data driven marketing?
• Are companies investing in the right thought leadership vehicles to build brand preference, generate leads, and engage clients?
• What are leading companies doing to take advantage of the next wave of opportunity and get ahead of competitors?

This Briefing is complimentary for ITSMA members and $195 (€160) for non-members.

Presenters

David C. Munn President and CEO ITSMA Learn More >

Julie Schwartz Senior Vice President, Research and Thought Leadership ITSMA Learn More >

General Information

ITSMA’s Online Briefings offer recent research findings or survey results from thought leaders on a variety of services marketing topics. The Online Briefings can be viewed individually, or in groups composed of people within the same company. The briefings are available anywhere in the world that has telephone service and access to the Internet. A typical program runs 45 minutes followed by 15 minutes of questions and answers. The person making the online presentation speaks into a telephone and advances the visual portion of the presentation via their computer connected to the Internet. At the end of the presentation and at the presenter’s discretion, the listeners are invited to ask questions. Each listener with a question identifies him or herself and is listed in a queue and taken one at a time by the presentation monitor. The monitor also manages the question and answer session by giving each questioner access to the phone line to communicate with the presenter.

This briefing will be administered by BT Conferencing. All participants are required to test their browsers 24-48 hours prior to ensure compatibility. This test can be done by clicking here: Check your system. You will receive a pass code and dial in number three business days prior to the briefing.

Technical Requirements

The technical requirements for this ITSMA online briefing are:

• Direct or dial-up Internet connection of 56Kbps or higher.
• A separate telephone line to access the audio teleconference.
• If participating from your company, ask about your company’s Internet Firewall 48 hours prior to the event. This will enable your IT technician to reconfigure your connections if necessary to ensure access to the Internet portion of the briefing.
• No plug-ins or software downloads are required.
• System Requirements: Windows 2000 or higher, Internet Explorer 6.x or greater, Netscape 7.2 or later. The following operating systems will work with limitations: Windows 98 SE, NT Server or Workstation 4.0, Mac OSX 10.3 with Safari 1.2; Solaris 9 with Netscape 7.0 or Mozilla 1.4, Sun JVM 1.4.2.

Fees and Registration

Aside from the telephone call, the fee for the presentation is complimentary for active ITSMA members, and $195 (€160) per location for non-members.

Note: Registration is on a first-come/first-served basis.