Burton Group Puts Vendors in "Hot Seat" at Catalyst 2001

Burton Group, a pioneer of network infrastructure research and consulting, announced that over 25 vendors have been selected from over 250 speaking applications to give presentations focused on critical enterprise network technology and issues at Catalyst USA 2001, July 23-25 in San Diego.

For the sixth consecutive year, the Network Applications Consortium (NAC), a non-profit end-user group focused on vendor "coopetition" and standards interoperability, has teamed with Burton Group to help shape the content of the conference.

Catalyst, hosted each year in both Europe and the United States, is a three-day conference that focuses on critical network services and infrastructure issues. The only conference of its kind, Catalyst brings together vendors, end-users and Burton Group analysts/consultants in a dynamic and intimate forum.

This industry-shaping conference is renowned for its end-user-driven agenda, sharp focus and high-profile speakers. Catalyst Conference has drawn hundreds of attendees, primarily network planners and architects, annually since 1993.

"Catalyst is not an opportunity for vendors to use canned marketing pitches. It is an opportunity to address substantive issues in a proactive manner," said Jamie Lewis, chief executive officer and research director of Burton Group. "We choose vendors whose technologies zero in on the pain end-users are experiencing with network evolution.

"It's true that we hold vendors' feet to the fire, but we feel this is essential in order to give attendees the answers they came looking for."

In its customary role, the NAC helps Burton Group drive the theme and topics of the conference. In addition, the NAC develops a set of questions (posted at www.tbg.com/catalyst) for vendors to use as guidelines while creating their presentations.

Addressing these guidelines is a requirement for all vendor speakers, forcing them to minimize marketing hype and expound on particular, albeit sticky, end-user issues.

"Working with Burton Group, our member organizations identify the hot issues in the industry and develop some hard-hitting questions for the vendors," said Doug Obeid, executive director of the NAC. "Our goal is to drive high-level vendor dialogue that gives Catalyst attendees depth and breadth in their exploration of technology implementation and strategy."

Once the NAC develops the strategic questions, they are posted on Burton's Web site and are distributed in registration packets so conference attendees know exactly what issues vendors must address. In addition to presentations, several vendors will host evening hospitality suites where attendees can see new and emerging products and continue discussions.

Vendors will present during two simultaneous tracks: The Network Services Track, which focuses on applications infrastructure technologies required for distributed computing, and the Network Infrastructure Track, which addresses network infrastructure technologies including convergence of voice and data.

Vendors scheduled to present at Catalyst USA 2001 include Alcatel, Avaya, Cisco, Commerce One, Enterasys Networks, Ericsson, IBM, iPlanet, Microsoft, NetReality, Novell, Oblix, Plumtree Software, Securant, Siemens, 3Com and Tivoli Systems.

"We're excited to be invited back to speak to the hundreds of well-informed IT professionals at this year's conference," said Shelley Wilson, vice president of marketing at Oblix Inc, a developer of e-business infrastructure software that participated in Catalyst USA 2000 and will be participating again this year.

"The quality of Catalyst attendees is outstanding and they clearly have a strong desire to know how to best address their network challenges. We welcome the opportunity to help them understand ways in which technology is helping to solve real business problems in today's economy."

"Vendors don't relish being put in the hot seat at Catalyst, however, they appreciate the opportunity to present their strategic positions," said Larry Gauthier, director of service management with Burton Group. "They know how important it is to take the stage in front of a roomful of IT decision-makers with enormous buying power for top global companies."

While Catalyst promotes discussion of network infrastructure technologies, the 10-year-old NAC, as part of its mission, influences the development of network technologies that will effectively solve enterprise-wide business problems regardless of industry. Since Burton Group analyzes and consults regarding these same technologies, the two groups have collaborated well since 1995.

About Burton Group

A technology pioneer and industry leader, Burton Group, www.tbg.com, is the only company to offer integrated research, advisory and consulting services to assist Global 2000 enterprises in planning the evolution of their network architecture.

The company's consultants and analysts champion vendor-independent viewpoints as they guide IT professionals in the strategy of building and the tactics of managing scalable, secure, efficient networks.

Burton Group has specialized in network-technology research and analysis since its formation in 1990. The company predicted and defined the role that meta-directory plays in an enterprise. Today, Burton continues to anticipate the direction of key networking technologies and guide the decision-making process for almost half the Fortune 100 and other global clients.

About NAC

The Network Applications Consortium, www.netapps.org, is a strategic end-user organization whose vision is improving the interoperability and manageability of mission-critical applications being developed for the heterogeneous, virtual-enterprise computing environment.

The NAC's mission is to promote member collaboration and influence the strategic direction of vendors developing virtual-enterprise application and infrastructure technologies.

Representing combined revenues of over $500 billion and 5,000-plus network servers and 450,000-plus workstations, the NAC has established itself as the premiere end-user organization dedicated to promoting integration, interoperability and vendor coopetition.

Contact Burton Group, Salt Lake City, Jaculynn Peterson, 801-566-2880 x119, jpeterson@tbg.com.