Agenda:

5:30 – 6:30 PM – Dinner and Networking
6:30 – 6:45 PM - Introductions
6:45 – 7:30 PM – Presentation “The Discipline of Ecosystems”
7:30 – 8:00 PM – Toronto Chapter Updates and Upcoming Events

Location: 

Microsoft Canada Head Office
1950 Meadowvale Blvd. Mississauga ON.  
Room MPR-B

Presentation – “The Discipline of Ecosystems”

The technology industry is becoming much more connected, and it alone just isn't a viable strategy any more. Similar to emerging technology strategies, such as Web 2.0 and SOA, a company's business model needs to be considered as part of a larger functioning system.  From IDC's perspective ecosystems are more than a buzzword, they're an emerging management discipline. Companies embracing ecosystems are taking a fundamentally different view of their market and market opportunity — where their company plays a specific role and their market success is predicated on the ability of the networks they participate to react swiftly to opportunity. This is more than simply collecting partners; it's a fundamentally different way of thinking that requires a different management approach.

This presentation will outline some of the recent partner networking trends and issues IDC has been researching. In particular, it will discuss the need for an underlying discipline for ecosystem development and management, and apply some aspects of network theory to the formation and management of partner relationships to address this need.  While there has been much talk about ecosystems in the technology market, we firmly believe such a discipline is critical if companies are to truly embrace ecosystems as a core principle within their business model.    

Professional Profile of our Guest Speaker

Stephen Graham
Group Vice President,
Global Software Business Strategies
IDC

Stephen Graham is the Group Vice President of IDC's Global Software Business Strategies (SBS) Group. The SBS Group is responsible for investigating business issues critical to the success of software vendors and the health of their broader ecosystems. Specific topics covered by the Group include: distribution channels, strategic alliances, pricing and licensing, software as a service, open source business models, and intellectual property. Mr. Graham is also responsible for IDC's Software Leadership Council, a unique service designed to meet the information needs of strategy executives in software firms.  His team provides advice and counsel to firms around the world – from large multinationals to small startups.

Mr. Graham speaks on a wide range of software industry business issues, ranging from global ISV opportunity to distribution channel trends and issues.  He started IDC's software partnering research practice, and is sought frequently for his expertise on partnering topics such as partner ecosystems, program design, partner business performance, and resale channel capacity research.  Mr. Graham pioneered IDC’s quantitative partner segmentation and multidimensional taxonomy approach, an approach subsequently adopted by many of the world’s largest software vendors to describe their partner community.  He has authored research and delivered presentations on the development of partner networks, ecosystems, and partner-to-partner (P2P) initiatives, and continues to lead ground-breaking research in this area.  Mr. Graham has also published research on Intellectual Property (IP) and leads IDC's efforts to better understand IP trends and issues in the IT industry.   

Over the course of his IDC career Mr. Graham has led several landmark studies, including The Financial Impact of Data Warehousing, Capturing Mindshare Through Influence Relationships, and Marketing Vehicles.  He played a critical role in projects such as The Financial Impact of ASPs; The Financial Impact of Business Analytics; and the Software as a Service Ecosystem.  He is the author of award-winning research on pricing/licensing and the impact of third party influence on software sales.  A recognized expert in his field, Mr. Graham is a featured speaker at vendor events and conferences worldwide and is often quoted in the trade and business press.

Mr. Graham has an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and an honors bachelor of arts degree from the University of Waterloo. Prior to joining IDC, he was strategic marketing manager with SAS Institute (Canada) Inc. Mr. Graham is based in IDC’s Toronto office.

Registration:

Please email nancyt@microsoft.com to register for this event