Down to work in Paris...

OK...I have been in Paris for several days and I have been to a few business dinners and events, but yesterday was the first real focused event for Alcatel-Lucent Forum. John and I attended what can best described as the highly produced and very dramatic opening Keynote for the Forum itself. The Chairman of Alcatel-Lucent spoke as well as Peter Sondergaard, the Senior VP of Research for Gartner. Both focused on the new environment in technological advancement in light of the current global economic crisis. The general focus of the entire presentation was the value of research and development of intellectual property when financial resources are limited by economic concerns. Tom Burns, President of Alcatel's Enterprise division also spoke, and from his and the other presentations, several thoughts were born. I found myself taking several pages of notes as I related open issues at KVAT to the content presented. It was a very valuable session and should bear fruit for the company.

The show floor opened immediately after the Keynote and I lost several hours searching booths and exploring several new Alcatel and partner products. All in all, this has been a good educational experience beyond just the influence of Alcatel-Lucent and its product line.


Just a fun shot from the night before exploring the city...


The Convention Center itself...Palais des Congres


Just the beginning of the presentation...that massive screen soon tripled in size!!