One the foremost challenges for CIOs today is the impact of emerging technologies on IT infrastructure and operations. Desktop management has been an area that has not had significant changes in many years. Virtualization, portability, web-based application development, PC personalization, thin clients getting weightier and other trends in IT are now impacting strategies, processes, technologies and priorities in IT infrastructure, operations and support. So, what is the future in this area? Are we now at the point of the Disposable PC as a reality? Will the future desktop require more labor touches or less? In this meeting, we will examine two levels of strategy: the overview of trends and solutions in this arena, a key vendor's perspective on strategy and rollout, and a view of the realities in current and planned solutions using various technologies to balance meeting user needs and embracing these drivers in practical, cost effective solutions.

Jay Pultz, Vice President and Distinguished Analyst, Gartner, Inc. will provide an overview and analysis of "The Future of Infrastructure and Operations". Business and technology demands on infrastructure and operations (I&O) are growing, and so is complexity. Evolution toward the real-time infrastructure vision continues, driven by technologies like CMDB, run book automation, virtualization, unified communications, software appliances and software as a service. Enterprise operational processes and infrastructure maturity are improving, but have far to go. This scenario is Gartner's roadmap of emerging trends in I&O - and how they impact I&O leaders. Mr. Pultz will examine key issues:

• What demands and trends are leading to dramatic change in I&O?
• How will technologies evolve?
• How should processes be automated to transform I&O?
• How will key I&O leadership roles need to change best to address these future challenges and exploit the new opportunities?

Microsoft, as one of the premiere vendors in desktop solutions, is critical in the strategy and evolution of IT infrastructure and desktop management in many organizations. Joe Austin, General Manager of Customer Experience, Managed Services, Microsoft, will discuss the Microsoft technology roadmap, the evolution of their System Center family of leading IT management solutions that helps you proactively plan, deploy, manage, and optimize your IT environment and how managed services will play a critical role in what is installed on that desktop vs. what is available through the 'cloud'.

Dell is one of the foremost vendors for desktop solutions. Jim Lathan, ASG Technology Specialist, Dell, Inc. has specialized in assisting companies in development and implementation of successful desktop management strategies with the flexibility to meet user needs and successfully incorporate current technologies. Based on his hands on experiences, Mr. Lathan will discuss layering virtualization technologies and IT management strategies to create a true solution that enables users, remote and/or local, access to any service/application over network from any device. He will highlight technologies that enable data center to desktop provisioning, user access, and ubiquitous device access. Time permitting; Mr. Lathan will demonstrate some of the technologies highlighted.

Please join our members at the meeting! The meeting starts at 8:00 AM and ends by 1PM. Brunch and lunch are provided. Pre-registration is required. Meeting logistics including agenda, directions to the meeting place and parking information will be emailed to you after you register. For registration for this meeting, please contact: Liz Young at lyoung@towson.edu or 410-704-4252.

To make inquiries about this meeting or about membership in the Mid-Atlantic CIO Forum, please contact: