I’ve got to admit that if I weren’t part of the team with the privilege of helping to put the Interop conference together, I’d be there anyway. It’s been said that success, irrespective of a particular venture, is 95% knowing what resources are available, and 5% being clever. Interop is all about connecting our participants with those resources, and in providing both technical and real-world experience and advice that makes the being clever part easy as well. That being said, in my little corner of the networking and IT universe, wireless and mobile, we’re still faced, even after more than 20 solid years of wireless and mobile IT applications, with rapidly-evolving technology, similarly-evolving business models, and more alternatives than ever before. But that’s why I’m so excited about this year’s New York event. It’s our objective to provide the knowledge, focus, and expertise to enable the fundamental promise of mobility.

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Interop New York and, from my perspective, anyway, the even-more-important Mobile Business Expo 2008 are now only one week away. I spend most of the event running between sessions making sure the speakers are there, the AV is up and running, and generally handling about 1000 last-minute details. And yet I always attend as many of the sessions as I can this is the best place to learn about everything important thats happening in the world of wireless and mobile. We design the program to cover all of the important topics, and we hand-select all session chairs and speakers. My only real complaint, in fact, is that we cant accommodate more speakers were still getting calls from people seeking speaking slots and it pains me deeply to have to turn them away, but we only have so much room. Im lobbying the TechWeb folks for more space in Las Vegas and next year here in New York wish me luck!

If you join us in New York, I hope you can stick around for the whole program. But we have a few sessions that Ill be certain not to miss. First, of course, is the session I get to chair, a plenary session called Wireless: So Much Left to Do, featuring some of the top analysts in wireless today. The debate is sure to be furious, and well have time for your questions as well. Youll also find me at the Advanced Wireless Technologies session, our most technical, where youll hear about the key technologies that will define the next generation of wireless products and services. Innovation remains at a remarkable pace in this space, even though the field is over 200 years old. And I also wont miss the sessions on Microbrowsers and Mobile Devices, as so much of what well be doing in mobile going forward will be defined by advances in these two areas. And, new this year, we even have a few sessions for software developers covering key platforms and development strategies.

But, like I said, the whole field of wireless and mobile continues to buzz with advances that are benefiting enterprises across all markets and industries. And Im certain youll leave this years MBX with new ideas, new directions, and key strategies for competitive advantage and improved productivity no matter what business youre in.

I look forward to meeting you in New York next week.