The four-day conference, Brainstorm 2002, will run alongside Computer Faire 2002, and will feature talks and panel discussions on restoring faith in the IT industry. The event, aimed at decision-makers both within the IT industry and in top corporates, will give delegates insight into the relationship between business and IT, and a perspective on future trends.

Speakers at the first day of the conference (21 May) will address the theme: “Post-IT hype: The power and strategic role of IT in business”. Day one will look at issues such as how to integrate IT systems with business strategy, how to measure IT performance and how the IT industry needs to restore its credibility in order to be seen as a strategic partner for business.

Day two (22 May) will cover the impact of the new ICT legislation on business, and will look at IT trends in future. Day three (23 May) sees speakers outlining enterprise IT strategies in the light of tightening budgets, while an interactive panel discussion will give delegates pointers on customer relationship management trends.

The last day of the conference (24 May) will address e-business in detail, looking beyond the hype to focus on the practical aspects of e-business and e-procurement.

Keynote speaker is Alan Hirsch, GM of the ICT business unit of the Department of Trade and Industry, who will give the IT industry pointers on how to exploit the commercial opportunities of the ICT revolution more effectively.

Giving an industry perspective on IT and its strategic role in business are Sasol GM Alex Zwiegelaar, Absa's head of IT strategy, Dirk le Roux, and FNB e-business strategist, Adolph Kaestner.

Aletha Ling, CEO of Strategy and Business Development at MGX Holdings, will give an overview on how to prepare for the next wave of disruptive technologies, while Jill Hamlyn, MD of The People Business, will explore the issue of restoring faith in the IT industry.

Looking into future IT trends are Willie Appel, VP of International Executive Services, Meta Group, and Frank Rizzo, a partner of KPMG Security Services. Legal minds such as Ryk Meiring of Spoor and Fisher and Reinhardt Buys of Buys Inc attorneys, will address the impact of new ICT legislation on business.

Looking into the costs and value of IT systems are speakers such as Rikus Mathyser, executive of Telkom's Business Integration Services and Wilhelm Hamman, Computer Associates business technologist.

The Brainstorm 2002 conference is organised by ITWeb alongside Computer Faire Gauteng, between 21 and 24 May.