On May 12th the Irish Internet Association will hold Open for Business: The IIA Annual Conference 2011 in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

The programme for this key industry conference on May 12th in the Aviva Stadium has been finalised. It features among others 

• Richard Bruton T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation;
• Dylan Collins, Founder, Jolt Online Games;
• Josh Holmes, Architecture Evangelist, Microsoft;  
• Constantin Gurdgiev, Macroeconomist, IBM;
• Louise Phelan, Senior Director, PayPal
• and many more.

Commenting on this unique internet business event, Joan Mulvihill, IIA CEO said, "To acknowledge the breadth of our membership we have created two conferences in one: the morning plenary sessions focus on Irish businesses who are consuming, commissioning and using technology to achieve their business goals while the afternoon focuses on those who are creating and crafting technologies for them as well as workshops for both."

The term 'conference' is being taken literally by the IIA! 

con·fer·ence (kOn'for-ens)

 n.1. a. A meeting for consultation or discussion. b. An exchange of views.

The theme 'Open for Business' was chosen to reflect an open ethos of sharing and communication - an authentic conversation for all internet stakeholders.  

The optimisation of new technologies is key to staying open for business. The internet is the recognised driver in growing sales, managing risk and reducing costs. 

Being 'open for business' is key to economic recovery and knowledge and skills must be in place to deliver. The morning panel discussion will assess the scale of the current skills deficit in delivering a smart economy.

However, to technologists the meaning of OPEN is entirely different and at times sparks opposing views  as 'Open' typically refers to open source or open data.

The possibilities for an open government, facilitated by technology will be examined with case study presentations from Fingal County Council and an examination of the issues from Tim Willoughby, Assistant Director of the Local Government Computer Services Board. This is a unqiue opportunity for government bodies and web developers to engage in an open conversation in the hope of kickstarting change.