silicon.com CIO Forum attracting top users

With two months left until the silicon.com CIO Forum on Monday 27 September, this user-focused day is very much taking shape with CIOs, IT directors and other heads of IT front and centre but joined throughout the day by the wider tech community.

The theme of this event, aimed at those leading organisations' technology and business strategy, is excellence in the use of IT and communications in the UK. Given Silicon Towers' position on the edge of the City of London, we thought it only natural to devote some time to how IT helps maintain the country's leading position in financial services.

So look out for IT chiefs from Barclays, DrKW, Lehman Brothers and elsewhere.

Another subject that silicon.com has investigated in depth this year, offshoring, will also get a dedicated debate, featuring companies that have taken this stride, author Mark Kobayashi-Hillary, other industry commentators and those who have their doubts about this major shift.

But part of the attraction of the CIO Forum, and something that has characterised silicon.com over the years, is innovation. As such, we will be bringing to life our CIO Jury. Instead of a 12-person jury giving their verdict online on the hot topic of a given week, we will bring together top CIOs on stage and they will be coaxed by 'lawyers' into arguing perhaps the biggest question: has the IT industry historically let down British business?

Look out for silicon.com columnist, former CIO and business guru Rene Carayol representing the prosecution on that one, with industry body Intellect arguing for the defence.

Tony Hallett, silicon.com editor, said: "We've set out to do something different but something that still plays to our strengths of speaking to and for the top tier of IT users. We're drawing on heads of IT we know well - many are regular CIO Jury contributors - as well as our line-up of top columnists and other contributors, including key vendors and our editorial team here."

While there aren't dozens of large, UK-owned indigenous success stories, there is a lot to be said for the ways in which IT underpins one of the world's most robust economies and the fact that the country is commonly a beachhead to the rest of Europe for high-tech giants.

"It is this type of excellence that the day will focus on," added Hallett. "Of course, every business has its challenges but the CIOs attending and for whom we write every day will be sharing success stories."

The silicon.com CIO Forum takes place on 27 September at the Park Lane Sheraton Hotel in London. Full details of the programme and delegate places are available by emailing cioforum@silicon.com or going to this page.

The event is also linked to the second annual CNET UK Technology Awards, details of which can be found here. The Awards are presented at a gala ceremony on the evening of 28 September at the same venue as the silicon.com CIO Forum.