There is concern about VoIP.....
Sprint Launches San Jose Conference Focusing on Issues Of The Digital
Networked Economy Beyond the Year 2000
PR Newswire - May 27, 1999 10:43
Join Business Leaders, Futurists to Discuss How Technology is Fundamentally Changing Business Practices
SAN JOSE, Calif., May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Sprint announced today that business leaders and prominent futurists will meet in
San Jose, Calif., on June 17 to debate the profound impact of the Internet and networks on business practices beyond Y2K.
Kevin Brauer, president, National Integrated Services, Sprint, will host the discussion, which will examine how the
ever-expanding reach of technology has created a borderless economy by altering traditional conceptions of nationality,
geography and government authority, and how these implications affect business and competition.
Catherine Crier, FOX News Channel, will moderate the discussion, titled "The Soul of the New Machine." In addition to Crier,
internationally renowned panelists include:
* Garry Betty, CEO, EarthLink
* Susan Bostrom, vice president, Internet Business Solutions, Cisco Systems, Inc.
* George Gilder, president, Gilder Technology Group, Inc.
* Thomas Koll, vice president, Network Solutions Group, Microsoft Corporation
* Chris Stone, senior vice president, Strategy and Corporate Development, Novell
"As everyone and everything become interconnected through the emerging digital economy, the old rules of business will cease
to exist, and a new economic paradigm will evolve -- one where knowledge, speed and flexibility will be the means for
success," said Brauer.
"Sprint is taking the lead in fostering an important exchange of ideas among some of the world's foremost business thinkers that
will provide a road map to success beyond the Year 2000."
The San Jose event is the fifth in a landmark five-city conference tour called "Conversations at the Intersection of Commerce
and Technology." The conference tour focuses on emerging issues in the digital networked economy. Traveling through Dallas,
New York, Boston, Chicago and San Jose during the first half of 1999, the series explores how technology is impacting
business and how executives can meet the challenges and embrace the opportunities facing them beyond the Year 2000.
"To be successful and win in today's fiercely competitive, global market, organizations must embrace the Internet to redefine
their relationships with customers, partners and suppliers," said Bostrom. "Internet business solutions, such as Internet
commerce and customer care, provide critical, flexible tools for executives to use in responding quickly to customers' changing
requirements and competitive moves, while managing expense growth. These applications are the 'must haves' for companies to
compete effectively in the 21st century."
"As the lines between ISPs, cable and telecommunication companies continue to blur and as technology erases boundaries,
businesses of all sizes must determine what their priorities are in the global space," said Koll. "In order to thrive in the new
digital economy, businesses must prioritize and include global thinking in their business objectives."
Viewers can watch the event live via a Webcast from the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, Calif., on June 17 at 6:30 p.m. Pacific at
www.sprint.com/conversations.
Hearing the Voices of the Marketplace
To gauge what issues are of concern to business leaders heading into the 21st Century, Sprint is also asking business leaders
across the country to make their voices heard by filling out a survey on the conference series' Web site and at the conference
series events. Respondents will identify elements of the emerging digital networked economy that are energizing, as well as
elements that are disconcerting to their organizations and what they are doing to prepare for what lies beyond Y2K. The survey
was designed by Sprint, and the organization will work with the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University to
analyze the results.
The following cumulative results were garnered from Sprint's Commerce and Technology Crossroads Survey of business
leaders in Dallas, New York, Boston and Chicago during the first four events of the conference tour.
* Seventy-nine percent of executives agreed or strongly agreed that
technology solutions such as enterprise resource planning (ERP)
software, supply chain management software or corporate intranets can
provide organizations with a competitive advantage
* Signifying a trend in customer concerns, 55 percent of executives rated
changing customer and market dynamics as the top key business challenge
they will face in the next 12 -- 18 months, beyond the Y2K issue; while
improving customer service was the second top concern. Other
challenges noted were:
-- Knowledge management
-- Streamlining business processes
-- Complexity of technology
-- Managing growth
Registration and Survey
San Jose and Bay Area business executives can register for the conference and participate in the survey by visiting the
conference series Web site at www.sprint.com/conversations.
About Sprint
Sprint is a global communications company -- at the forefront of integrating long distance, local and wireless communications
services, and one of the largest carriers of Internet traffic. Sprint built and operates the United States' first nationwide all-digital,
fiber-optic network and is a leader in advanced data communications services. Sprint has $17 billion in annual revenues and
serves more than 17 million business and residential customers.
To learn more about the Sprint conference series entitled: "Conversations at the Intersection of Commerce and Technology" or
to participate in the online survey, visit the conference Web site at www.sprint.com/conversations.
SOURCE Sprint
/CONTACT: Joey D. Mooring, 972-405-5345, joey.d.mooring@mail.sprint.com;
or Bryan Curran, 972-405-5321, bryan.curran@mail.sprint.com; both of Sprint/
/Web site: sprint.com
/Web site: sprint.com
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