Today, at the 15th Annual Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) Executive Strategy Forum, “Managing In The Recovery: Using Technology To Recapture Momentum,” leading CXOs will share their foresight about the tech recovery as well as compelling lessons learned from adopting new technologies and business strategies. The two-day Forum will attract more than 600 senior business strategists, marketing executives, and IT professionals to The Westin Copley Place in Boston and will conclude November 8.

“Throwing technology at a business problem won’t win the battle in this take-no-prisoners tech recession,” said George F. Colony, chairman of the board and CEO at Forrester. “Successful companies prove that it’s not how much you spend but how you spend it that matters most. The first step for companies yearning for true ROI is to apply the right technologies while changing their business processes and organizations in lockstep or else suffer the consequences of what we call naked technology.”

“Forrester attendees will learn best and worst practices for managing technology in the recession from business leaders like the chairmen of American Express, Staples, and Humana,” said Bill Doyle, group director at Forrester. “Attendees will also walk away with new ideas and perspectives from Forrester that they can use to get more value from today’s technologies and accelerate their recovery from the recession.”

In addition to teaching attendees how to avoid the pitfalls of naked technology deployments, Forrester will provide attendees with actionable guidance on:

  • IT Spending. Why spending more doesn’t guarantee the best business results, and which four technologies correlate with outstanding financial performance.
  • Right-Channeling. How firms can entice customers to use the right channels for the right transactions to increase sales and gain competitive advantage.
  • Web Services. How this must-have technology will lower the cost of business integration by a factor of 10, consolidate control, and accelerate growth for firms.
  • Organic IT. How companies can reduce datacenter expenses now, gain business agility in the short term, and double IT efficiency in the long term using infrastructure built on cheap, redundant components that share computing resources — software, processors, storage, and networks — across applications.
  • Adaptive Supply Networks. How firms can proactively sense and respond in a coordinated fashion to unexpected changes in their supply chain environments to gain increased flexibility and long-term transformation.

Industry speakers include:

  • Kenneth I. Chenault, Chairman and CEO, American Express Co.
    Topic: “Technology Challenges Facing Today’s CEO”
  • Thomas G. Stemberg, Executive Chairman of the Board, Staples
    Topic: “Mastering Channel Integration”
  • Kevin B. Rollins, President and COO, Dell Computer Corp.
    Topic: “The Secrets Of Dell’s Success”
  • Douglas T. Elix, SVP and Group Executive, IBM Global Services
    Topic: “The Future Of The IT Services Market”
  • David A. Jones, Chairman, Humana
    Topic: “Controlling Costs With Technology”
  • Lawrence H. Summers, President, Harvard University, and Former Secretary of the US Treasury
    Topic: “Prospects For A Recovery In The Global Economy”
  • Marc Andreessen, Chairman and Co-Founder, Opsware, formerly Loudcloud
    Topic: “Technologies For The New Economy”

Forrester’s CIO panel will discuss when technology budgets will recover, what new technologies are worth investing in, and how firms are reorganizing to make better decisions. Participating panelists:

  • Robert B. Carter, EVP and CIO, FedEx Corp.
  • Robert D. McCormack, SVP and CIO, AUCA, ARAMARK Corp.
  • Tony E. Scott, Chief Technology Officer, General Motors

Forrester speakers include:

  • George F. Colony, Chairman of the Board and CEO
  • Bill Doyle, Group Director
  • Frank E. Gillett, Principal Analyst
  • Christopher Mines, Group Director
  • Navi Radjou, Senior Analyst
  • Ted Schadler, Group Director
  • Ron Shevlin, Research Director