See you at ITEXPO West 2008 in LA!

Like some great migrating horde of ancient times, the IP Communications industry will descend upon the immense Los Angeles Convention Center during September 16-18, 2008, flocking to TMC’s ITEXPO (News - Alert) West 2008.

Since 1999, INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO (ITEXPO) has claimed the title of the IP Communications industry’s Single Greatest Event. It attracts everyone – representatives from enterprises, SMBs, nonprofit organizations and government agencies searching for state-of-the-art, feature-laden and cost-effective communications systems – not to mention the many equipment vendors, software vendors, resellers and service providers that harbor major ambitions in the IP space. At ITEXPO, thousands of attendees spend days canvassing the exhibit hall housing the booths of hundreds of vendors and the latest, innovative products and services.

But beyond its traditional function as an expo, ITEXPO offers all comers an extensive educational program consisting of a whole slew commercial-free conference tracks. The educational components of our conference have become steadily more popular over time, since the communications market continues to become more sophisticated and an increasing number of somewhat bewildered people are struggling to grasp what the benefits are of all of this.

Whereas in the past attendees learned how to select and deploy relatively simple IP-based voice, video and fax solutions, today’s ITEXPO can reveal and educate interested parties about the latest in Unified Communications (News - Alert) (UC), Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC), Telecom Expense Management (TEM), Communications Enhanced/Enabled Business Processes (CEPB), security, WiMAX, hosted/managed solutions, disaster preparedness, open source, the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), IPTV (News - Alert) and the IP-based Multimedia Subsystem (IMS).

And since ITEXPO is the great “gathering place” for both buyers and sellers in this industry, it’s a great place to network with key players and your peers – forging relationships, closing deals, and otherwise “schmoozing” with the widest possible cross-section of IP communications people who have trekked in from all over the world. It’s been that way from the beginning, despite an assortment of economic “hiccups” that have appeared on the global stage.

For example, after the tech/telecom/Internet bubble popped in 2001, TMC (News - Alert)’s ITEXPOs have continued their success unabated while many of TMC’s competitors were devastated to the point of collapse. That alone stands as a tribute to TMC, a savvy media company that has spent over 30 years not just producing expos and conferences, but also in publishing the industry’s renowned, flagship magazines — Internet Telephony (News - Alert), IMS Magazine, Customer Inter@ctions Solutions, and Unified Communications Magazine, staffed by the most knowledgeable and accomplished editorial team that has ever covered the telecom industry.

TMC’s massive presence on the web, in print magazines and in the expo/conference field give it a tremendous edge in today’s dynamic market.

And while you’re at the show, don’t just hang around the exhibit hall – attend the keynote speeches. ITEXPO’s unique blend of knowledgeable and experienced industry luminaries will both impress you and help you make informed communications buying decisions.

So (with a tip of the hat to Ringling Bros.) come to the Greatest IP Communications Show on Earth. It’s a fantastic distillation of top executives and influential visionaries from equipment makers, software developers, resellers and service providers. Come share your thoughts and investigate the many opportunities available in the IP Communications space.

And if you see somebody in a Brooks Brothers suit running around like crazy with a camera, laptop, a list of booths, a bottle of Pepsi and a digital voice recorder, that’ll be Yours Truly. IT

Richard Grigonis (News - Alert) is Executive Editor of TMC’s IP Communications Group.

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