Ray Kurzweil Keynotes Conference on Transforming Big Data into Fast Data and Smart Data

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Iconic author, inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil joins an impressive lineup of speakers at the Global Directions 2013 conference Sept. 23-25 to share insights on how to deliver actionable information to the right person within an organization at the right time to achieve positive business results. The conference is designed to provide real-world solutions for the challenge of information overload that plagues today's business and IT executives.

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"There's an inescapable buzz about 'Big Data' and how to extract valuable information from it," said Dolores Kruchten, President, Kodak Alaris Document Imaging division. "From a business perspective, it's much more important that data be fast and relevant, versus just big. Transforming vast amounts of data into better customer experiences and improved processes is the focus of this event."

Ray Kurzweil will set a visionary tone as the headliner with a keynote on the next wave of information management for the enterprise. Kurzweil is uniquely qualified to discuss new approaches to information management as Director of Engineering for Google. He is also widely regarded as one of the greatest inventors of our time. He was the principal developer of the first omni-font optical character recognition (OCR) tool, the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind, and the first CCD flat-bed scanner. PBS honored Kurzweil as one of "16 Revolutionaries Who Made America," Forbes magazine has referred to him as "the ultimate thinking machine," and Inc. magazine described him as "the rightful heir to Thomas Edison."

The keynote roster for Monday, Sept. 23 also includes:

• Neil Isford, VP of Smarter Solutions for IBM North America, presenting "Analytics: Real World Use of Big Data." A preview video is available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa0HnHSSc-I.
• Bruce Richardson, Chief Enterprise Strategy Officer for Salesforce.com, presenting "The Desktop is Dead." Preview video available at http://youtu.be/CUsZDeovP7A.
• Steve Fox, Director of Microsoft's Windows Azure business unit, presenting "The Future of Office Business Applications."
• Umesh Vemuri, Head of Enterprise Federal Sales for Google, presenting "Google Enterprise: Work the Way You Live—Everywhere, Everything & Everyone."

Monday's agenda features an executive panel discussion moderated by Michael Hickins, Editor of the CIO Journal and Senior Editor of The Wall Street Journal. The CIO Journal covers business technology news with in-depth reporting and analysis on technologies, trends and strategies that enable business growth. Hickins will moderate a panel discussion on the future of Intelligent Information Management featuring Kurzweil (Google), Isford (IBM), Fox (Microsoft) and Richardson (Salesforce.com).

Global Directions continues Sept. 24-25 with breakout sessions covering three educational tracks: Customer Innovation, New Technology, and Opinion and Analysis.

• The Customer Innovation track features senior executives from leading organizations such as Equifax, Red Wing Shoe Company, the Atlanta Falcons, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).
• The New Technology track features industry experts discussing applications related to analytics, customer experience management and collaboration. For example, executives from NTT Data and Gimmal Group will share insights on achieving breakthrough business results through improved analytics and content governance, while Marc Koch from Legodo will share his vision for customer experience management.
• In the Opinion and Analysis track, thought leaders such as AIIM president John Mancini, Forrester analyst Craig Le Clair, and SharePoint expert Dux Raymond Sy from Innovativ-e will explore what direction the information management market is headed. Richard Evans, Principal Analyst with Ovum, will speak about Ovum's vision for "fast data" and how customers are extracting value from big data.
• There will also be a special Healthcare Forum, which offers workshops and a panel discussion on the "collision of data and compliance."

Global Directions attendees have a unique opportunity to interact with executives who have successfully implemented solutions and addressed information management challenges to improve business processes and increase customer loyalty. The conference, hosted by Kodak Alaris, provides networking opportunities with solution providers, opinion leaders and industry peers from government, healthcare, financial services and other data-driven industries.

For more information about the Global Directions conference, please visit www.globaldirections2013.com. To join the conversation on "Fast Data for Fast Business," please follow @KodakDI (hash tag #gd13) on Twitter.

About Kodak Alaris' Document Imaging Business
Kodak Alaris' Document Imaging Solutions enable customers to capture and consolidate data from digital and paper sources, understand and extract valuable insight from the contents, and deliver the right information to the right people at the right time. Our offerings include award-winning scanners, capture and information management software, an expanding range of professional services and industry-leading service and support. With customers ranging from small offices to global operations, Kodak Alaris delivers systems and solutions to automate business processes, enhance customer interactions and enable better business decisions.

For more information, please visit kodak.com/go/docimaging. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/kodakdi and visit our blog at infooverdrive.com.  

About Kodak Alaris
On September 3, 2013, the U.K. Kodak Pension Plan (KPP) completed its acquisition of the Kodak Document Imaging and Personalized Imaging businesses from Eastman Kodak Company and created a new company known as Kodak Alaris. The new company and its name preserve the heritage and legacy of the Kodak brand, while embodying greater speed and agility to meet market needs and changes. Kodak Alaris, which is licensed to use the Kodak brand, will focus on strategic, ongoing investments for these businesses to ensure long-term growth and success.

The Kodak trademark is used under license from Eastman Kodak Company.

SOURCE Kodak Alaris