Meridian Showcases FIATECH; Westfield, Cognos, Fluor and HNTB Executives
at 2005 User Conference
Panelists address hot topics in project and portfolio management with Scott Shuster, McGraw-Hill Construction/ENR consulting editor and conference facilitator
FOLSOM, Calif. (Aug. 25, 2005) — Meridian Systems®, an enterprise solution provider for optimizing the plan, build and operate phases of real estate, construction and other infrastructure programs, announced today the general session speakers for its 2005 Annual User Conference. Taking place in Scottsdale, Ariz., the conference will be held Sept. 12-15, 2005 at the five-diamond Camelback Inn, a JW Marriott Resort & Spa.
Conference attendees will enjoy four “open discussion” general session panels chaired by McGraw-Hill Construction/ENR consulting editor Scott Shuster. Shuster is a longtime correspondent of ABC News and a former producer of NPR's All Things Considered. Leader of dozens of CIO-only and IT industry events for BusinessWeek, Hewlett-Packard, COMDEX, Microsoft, IBM and many other organizations, Shuster will bring dynamic and interesting discussions to the following general sessions.
Tuesday, September 12, 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
General Session I: Conference Kickoff and Meridian Corporate Update
The 2005 Meridian Systems User Conference officially kicks off with an overview of how the next three days will help client organizations realize business value from technology. In this session, Scott Shuster will interview Meridian CEO Jim Olsen on the latest corporate updates, and ask other Meridian executives for their insights on product and services strategies, and what lies ahead on the technology horizon.
Panelists:
- Jim Olsen, Meridian CEO
- John Bodrozic, Meridian President and Cofounder
- Sallie Sutter, Meridian Vice President, Client Services and Support
- David Ing, Meridian CTO
Tuesday, September 12, 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
General Session II: Creating Total Solutions Using People, Process and Technology
This session will talk to the multi-dimensional approach required to create truly successful solutions. Hear what's going on in the industry from FIATECH and the business value behind industry technology standards. Understand the owner's point of view in preparing the organization to adopt a new solution, and the role of our technology partners to bridge functionality gaps or to fulfill custom company requirements. Panelists will discuss the people, process and technology aspects to take into consideration when deploying systems across the enterprise.
Panelists:
- Dr. Ric Jackson, Director, FIATECH
- Stephen Courdin, OEM Program Manager, Cognos
- Marc Liew, Vice President, Hathaway Dinwiddie
- Ken Lundy; Sr. National Manager, Technology and Process Engineering; TARGET Property Development
Wednesday, September 14, 9:00AM-10:00AM
General Session III: De-mystifying the Concept of Best Practices in Project and Portfolio Management
What is meant by best practices, and how do companies in the AEC ecosystem go about tackling this popular business concept? While many companies have heard about establishing best practices, for others it’s only a buzz word. This session can help your company better understand what is meant by best practices from a Project and Portfolio Management sense, and what’s going on in the real world in this regard.
Panelists:
- Paul Hodgson, Project Manager, City of Dallas
- Kevin Russo, Manager of Project Systems, Fluor Government
- Sallie Sutter, Vice President, Client Services and Support, Meridian Systems
Wednesday, September 14, 1:00PM – 2:15PM
General Session IV: Getting Business Value From Today’s Technology
Hear panelists discuss insight into getting value from technology – not just software value, but IT value. Panelists will discuss the problems and business challenges faced by companies in the capital-projects and facilities industries. Learn how Meridian customers and the industry at large measure business value from project management solutions.
Panelists:
- Burcin Becerik, Harvard University-Graduate Design School
- Karl Almstead, Vice President, Turner
- Rick Gehringer, CIO, The Westfield Group
- Agnes Otto, Associate Vice President, HNTB
In its ninth year, the Meridian Systems User Conference brings together more than 350 Meridian customers, business partners, and staff in forums for information exchange and professional networking. Participants include general contractors, project managers, engineers, building owners and operators, construction managers and facilities professionals from several industries that rely on physical infrastructure to deliver their core products and services to market.
About Meridian Systems
Meridian Systems provides enterprise solutions that optimize the plan, build and operate phases of real estate, construction and other physical infrastructure initiatives. Meridian solutions are used by more than 8,500 of today's large building owners, government agencies, and engineering and construction firms to improve top-line revenue growth while reducing their capital construction costs. Meridian uniquely provides both traditional software and hosted ASP solutions, and ranks as a market share leader in project management software among general contractors with over $100 million in revenue*. Meridian has an impressive track record of revenue growth over its 11-year history, and has been repeatedly recognized as a Constructech Hottest Technology company. Meridian is headquartered in Folsom, Calif. For more information, call Meridian at (800) 850 2660, or go to www.meridiansystems.com/pr082405.
*Statistics excerpted from CFMA's 2004 Information Technology Survey for the Construction Industry, fourth edition with the permission of the Construction Financial Management Association, Princeton, NJ, (609) 452 8000.
Meridian Systems Contact
Sue Watkins, Director of Marketing
swatkins@meridiansystems.com
Meridian Systems and the Meridian Systems logo are the property of Meridian Systems, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright © 2005 Meridian Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
