The Irish Internet Association Annual Conference, May 12th Aviva Stadium

In May 12th the Irish Internet Association will hold Open for Business: The IIA Annual Conference 2011 in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

The programme for this key industry conference on May 12th in the Aviva Stadium has been finalised. It features among others  

• Richard Bruton T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation;
• Dylan Collins, Founder, Jolt Online Games;
• Josh Holmes, Architecture Evangelist, Microsoft;  
• Constantin Gurdgiev, Macroeconomist, IBM;
• Louise Phelan, Senior Director, PayPal;
• Tim Willoughby, Local Government Computer Services Board;
• and many more.

Commenting on this unique internet business event, Joan Mulvihill, IIA CEO said, “To acknowledge thebreadth of our membership we have created two conferences in one: the morning plenary sessionsfocus on Irish businesses who are consuming, commissioning and using technology to achieve their business goals while the afternoon focuses on those who are creating and crafting technologies for them as well as workshops for both.”

The term ‘conference’ is being taken literally by the IIA! 

con·fer·ence (kOn’for-ens)

n.1. a. A meeting for consultation or discussion. b. An exchange of views.

The theme ‘Open for Business’ was chosen to reflect an open ethos of sharing and communication – an authentic conversation for all internet stakeholders.

The optimisation of new technologies is key to staying open for business. The internet is the recognised driver in growing sales, managing risk and reducing costs.

Being ‘open for business’ is key to economic recovery and knowledge and skills must be in place to deliver. The morning panel discussion will assess the scale of the current skills deficit in delivering a smart economy.

However, to technologists the meaning of OPEN is entirely different and at times sparks opposing views  as ‘Open’ typically refers to open source or open data.

The possibilities for an open government, facilitated by technology will be examined with case study presentations from Fingal County Council and an examination of the issues from Tim Willoughby, Assistant Director of the Local Government Computer Services Board. This is a unqiue opportunity for government bodies and web developers to engage in an open conversation in the hope of kickstarting change.

In parallel, throughout the day, breakout sessions will be run allowing delegates to hone in on particular topics – from cloud computing to digital marketing and ecommerce – ideal for all business owner/managers. The morning breakout conversations will be on the topics of Open (data/source/government).  The plan is to share ideas and garner a collective view on key industry issues so that this conference is part of an overall process for progress.

The complete programme is detailed below. If you would like to interview any of the speakers or IIA CEO Joan Mulvihill please contact IIA Communications Manager Roseanne Smith at roseanne@iia.ie or 087 222 3614.

The programme includes a full day of plenary sessions as well as parallel break-out sessions and clinics.

• 8.30am Registration
• 9.00am Chairperson Address Maeve Kneafsey, IIA Chair
• 9.15am eCommerce Keynote address: Louise  Phelan, Senior Director Global Customer Services & EU Merchant Services at PayPal
• 10.00am Entrepreneurship Keynote address “Being an Internet Entrepreneur”
  Dylan Collins, Founder, Jolt Online Gaming and 2010 IIA & Enterprise Ireland Net Visionary
• 10.45am Q&A
• 11.00am Break
• 11.15am Panel Debate “Have we the smarts?” (a critique of Ireland’s skills deficit for a smart economy)
  – Colm Greally (Mobile Entrepreneur, DigitalReachGroup)
  – Theo Lynn (Director LINK Research Centre and Industry Engagement, DCU)
  – Constantin Gurdyiev (Economist)
  – Paddy Cosgrave, Dublin Web Summit
• Panel Moderator – Ann O’Dea, Editor in Chief, Business and Leadership
• 12.15pm Keynote Richard Bruton, T.D. Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation
• 1pm Lunch
• 2.15pm Board Address, “Open for Business” Maurice Mortell, IIA Board & CEO, DataElectronics
• 2.30pm Open Source – Josh Holmes, Microsoft “Deep Fried Open-Source”
• 3.00pm Keynote Address, “Open-Data for Open-Gov” Tim Willoughby, Assistant Director, Local Government Computer Services Board
• 3.30pm Q&A
• 3.45pm Break
• 4.00pm Panel Debate Report from conversation break-out leaders
  – National Digital Research Centre – Amy Neale
  – Irish Software Association – Sean Baker
  – Neil Leyden, Winner of Your Country, Your Call.
  – Dublin City Council – Peter Finnegan, Director International Relations & Research
• 5.30pm Close