Greetings WebSpherians!

The IBM 2006 study, "Expanding the Innovation Horizon", shows that growth tops the CEO agenda, and that today's CEO believes that its growth through innovation that really matters. Yet while today's business leaders recognize the need to innovate, fewer then half believe they have been able to successfully do so in the past. As demonstrated by your membership in the Global WebSphere Community, you are well positioned to play a key role in enabling change and driving the success of your company.

By attending Impact 2007 May 20 - May 25 in Orlando you will have a unique opportunity to explore winning strategies to drive innovation by creating a more flexible and responsive business through SOA. Impact 2007 will address a broad set of needs and interests by offering you three tracks to choose from:

1. Technical - For the IT technical practitioner that designs, builds, and implements solutions, this role-based track offers over 325 unique sessions and hands-on labs that provide deep technical training, best practices from real world situations, and on-site testing and technical certifications.
2. IT Executive - For CTO's, VP's of IT, and Chief Architects, this track will show you how to gain competitive advantage with actionable education and cutting edge insight into the latest technologies.
3. Business Leader - A two day track (May 21-22) designed for CEO's, CFO's, CIO's and non-IT VP's and Directors, will feature industry/sector specific sessions that will demonstrate how to increase business flexibility and responsiveness through best- of-breed solutions that address top business priorities.

I believe strongly that Impact 2007 is great opportunity for you to strengthen the alignment between Business and IT within your organization and want to make extending invitations to business leaders within your company as easy as possible. That's why I am offering you opportunity to invite your company's non-IT business executives (Director level or higher) for free. If you are interested in this limited offer, please contact Barbara Formichelli at bmf@us.ibm.com. Also, to help you discuss impact 2007 with your company's Business Leaders, click here to download the Business Leader track brochure.

Whether you are a technical professional looking to stay on top of your game with the latest advances in SOA and WebSphere technology, an IT executive looking to hear from other CIOs, CTOs, and IT executives what they are doing increase operational flexibility to run their companies more efficiently or a business leader who wants to learn how technology can drive a more flexible and responsive business, Impact 2007 is the ideal event.

I look forward to seeing you in Orlando.

Sandra A. Carter (Sandy)
VP, SOA & WebSphere Strategy, Channels and Marketing
Somers, NY