Roundtables

Roundtable sessions form an integral part of the ETRE experience. Each 45-minute breakout
session welcomes five CEOs from leading public companies. Moderated by the ETRE
chairpeople, the roundtables address the most pressing issues affecting our industry in a
dynamic, interactive exchange of ideas and information.

Topics explored during the roundtable sessions include:

APAC
Is APAC truly innovating? As APAC’s impact on the world economy rises, this question has
bubbled to the foreground. Can we identify a handful of companies that are doing the truly
innovative -- not just incremental improvements, or business model innovation, but real quantum
breakthrough type stuff. If not, why is it not happening, what ingredients are missing from the
ecosystem, what can be done about it. On this roundtable, leading experts will examine the
global APAC landscape and identify both the regional and international impact of it’s movements.

Consumer Electronics
Whatever happened to convergence? While Microsoft and HP try to wrest control of the living
room from the traditional players like Sony and Toshiba, disrupters like SlingBox come along
to propose an entirely new paradigm. We are in the midst of a technology shift, with the
conversion to digital almost complete, bringing new delivery systems like IPTV and MP3,
satellite radio and ubiquitous video game systems, the world of digital entertainment has
never been more exciting. On this roundtable, industry experts will examine the landscape
and provide insight on the future winners.

M&A
What should Microsoft buy next? What about Google? What’s a merger made in heaven?
What was the worst acquisition this year? The best? The phone company mergers continue:
BellSouth-AT&T-SBC, Verizon-MCI, Sprint-Nextel. Is consolidation making the telecom
industry healthier? What will the FCC demand of the merged BellSouth-AT&T? Can mergers
make up for the declining land-line revenues? And what happens to companies that don’t
have wireless revenue streams? Will Vodafone finally sell its share of Verizon Wireless?
This roundtable will look at the trends and dynamics shaping the consolidation industry.

Marketing 2.0
As customer appeal becomes increasing important, marketing efforts have become an integral
key to success. Branding has turned Samsung into a world leader, as well as eBay, Amazon
and numerous others. Poor branding efforts however, have led the charge in many downfalls.
With a small percentage of your competitions budget how do you make the most of your money?
From web 2.0 to location based promotion to Google's transformation of the advertising market,
marketing decisions and discussions have taken as radical a change as ever over the last ten
years. Battles of power between the CMO and CEO have been well documented - this panel
will bring together both sides of the decision making and explain best practices for success,
as well as lessons learned from the past.

Open Source
More than 30 million people have downloaded the open-source Open Office suite of desktop
applications. Novell’s Ximian software allows user to organize their email and calendaring with
ease and flair. Linux distributions like Ubunto are easy to set up and maintain on home computers.
Given enough time, it’s conceivable that open-source alternatives could one day catch Windows
on the desktop. But turning open-source into a Windows clone sells it short. Businesses are already
turning away from software that ties users too closely to their desktops in favor of hosted
applications, such as Salesforce.com, which has seen sales soar to $104.7 million for its most
recent quarter from $64.2 million during the same period a year ago. Why recreate Microsoft Word
on the desktop if in five, ten years Web-based word-processing software such as Google’s Writely
begins to stunt the demand for it? Microsoft itself is turning aggressively toward hosted applications
with its Microsoft Live efforts. That just plays to the open-source movement's strengths: powering the
servers that make Web-based applications possible.

Security
Security has become a fragmented market, with large market players using acquisitions to fill in
the gaps. Following Symantec’s acquisition of Veritas, Microsoft has declared that they will become
a market leader, paving the way with numerous acquisitions including GIANT (anti-spyware), Sybari
(email protection) and GeCAD Software (anti-virus), among others. It’s been 4 years since a security
company has gone public (Netscreen 2001), and even that didn’t last long. Where do the opportunities
lie, what are the ramifications of Microsoft’s voice, is acquisition the only exit, and who will emerge
from the crowded field?

Triple Play
Cable Comes Back. Will It Last?The worm has finally turned: after years of having satellite
companies steal their customers away one bite at a time, cable companies such as Comcast
and Time Warner are gaining ground. Credit their long-standing efforts to bundle up services
like voice-over-IP, video, and Internet access. Now, with these companies readying IP television
offerings, expect the crunch on satellite television companies to worsen over the next decade.
On this roundtable we will examine the landscape of Triple Play from California to Calcutta,
and who is poised to win.

Venture Capital – Europe
We continue to see a steady flow of money to European startups. Innovative companies continue
to emerge. The question is whether they can stay in Europe and get large enough to play on the
world stage or end up acquired by foreign companies. Some companies, like Business Objects,
opted for dual headquarters in France and Silicon Valley; many companies simply move to America
to be closer to venture money. What is the outlook for startups in Europe? What is being done to
nurture them and give them a chance to stay home? Are European VCs too timid?

VoIP 2.0
It looks like a powerful mix of instant messaging smarts and voice communications brawn has
made plays like Vonage obsolete. While shares in the newly public company plummet, Google
and eBay are pushing their instant messaging-based voice service onto handsets. That creates
a powerful capability: the ability to reach anyone on the planet via a single handle. And the ability
to tell when they're available, all things that go well beyond the cut-rate phone facsimiles offered
by Vonage. What’s next for VoiP? Is there a future for stand-alone companies or is VoIP a feature?

Is Web 2.0 A Marketing Gimmick
A lot of the so-called Web 2.0 companies look suspiciously like Web 1.0 companies; they’re just
getting funded and some are even making money. There’s no doubt that new and innovative
Internet companies are finding working business models. On demand software has spurred
innovators like SalesForce and NetSuite and lease exchange sites like LeaseTrader.com.
What are unique characteristics of Web 2.0 companies and what are the challenges they face.

To submit speakers for the roundtable sessions, please visit Speaker Submission and complete the
questionnaire.