In the converged and personalized world we live in today, services are no longer provided solely by traditional service providers. Telecom operators are forced to open up their networks and provide access to third parties, media companies, and Internet communities. With the appearance of Web 2.0, mashups are rapidly replacing the static service silos. The continuous beta concept of the Internet threatens to reduce the telecom operator to a bit pipe but offers new opportunities as well. This session explores innovative approaches to service creation and delivery in collaborative environments, leveraging the creative power of developer communities and partners while protecting the interests of the operator.

Bernie Van Eerden Director, Next Generation Services, Telecoms and Media LogicaCMG

Mr. Van Eerden has worked at LogicaCMG since 1999 and is currently responsible for the strategy around next-generation services in the telecom and media business. He has a thorough understanding of both the technical and the business aspects of service delivery platforms. At LogicaCMG, Mr. van Eerden has also worked as director of technology strategy, responsible for innovation and convergence strategy. Prior to working at LogicaCMG, he was a business group manager in the defense industry, managing a team responsible for a suite of data communication solutions.

Phil Corbishley CTO, Engineering Gamma Telecom

Gamma Telecom built the 500-minute-per-month voice infrastructure from recovered network assets following the telecom crash in 2001. Over the last two years, Mr. Corbishley has worked with the Gamma team to transform this to an IP telco carrying more than 1 billion minutes per month, i.e., circa 10 percent of the U.K. PSTN over IP.

Martin Fransman Professor, Institute for Japanese-European Technology Studies University of Edinburgh

Professor Framsman is the founder and director of the Institute for Japanese-European Technology Studies. He is the author of The New ICT Ecosystem - Implications for Europe, 2008; Global Broadband Battles: Why the US and Europe Lag while Asia Leads; Telecoms in the Internet Age: From Boom to Bust to ...?; Visions of Innovation: The Firm and Japan; Japan's Computer and Communications Industry; The Evolution of Industrial Giants and Global Competitiveness; and The Market and Beyond: Cooperation and Competition in Information Technology in the Japanese System.

David King Technical Director, international Holdings LogicaCMG

Mr. King is now driving LogicaCMG's strategy for media and telecom as the triple-play and mobile TV markets develop. He is an experienced CTO with LogicaCMG, the BBC, and KPMG Consulting, and he focuses on the technology and new service developments in the telecom and media sectors. He provides strategic advice as an independent consultant on technology to telecom, media, broadcast, airline and public sector clients, and to venture capital groups.

Russell Palmer Director for Services Enablement Solutions, Communications Sector Microsoft

Mr. Palmer is at the forefront of Microsoft's strategic initiatives in this rapidly developing and innovative growth area and is responsible for the solutions business, including the incubation of new offerings and worldwide business development. He has worked in the complex solutions market, focused on the telecommunications and media and entertainment sectors for the last eight years. Mr. Palmer previously worked as the solutions lead for wireless and mobile computing at IBM and was responsible for building sales and business operations for a Unix hardware company in South Africa.

Ofer Weintraub Chief Technology Officer Orca Interactive

Dr. Weintraub has in-depth expertise in researching and developing advanced IPTV technologies and is skilled at exploring the realm of revolutionary TV content offerings and their effect on consumer markets. He was previously a telecom and cellular consultant with The Standard Insider, a CTO and research group manager at Emblaze Systems, the co-founder of Crosseller Technologies, and a senior software consultant at Compaq Computers and Digital Equipment. Dr. Weintraub holds a doctorate in chemical physics from the Weizmann Institute of Science and earned his master's and bachelor's degrees from the chemical physics departments at Tel Aviv University.