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Bill Guenther Facilitates Session at Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council (MTLC) Board Retreat

Microsoft office, Waltham, June 16, 2006 – Every other year, the MTLC Board convenes to think about new developments and trends in the software industry. According to Executive Director Joyce Plotkin, the goal is to allow the board members to spend time sharing ideas about long-term developments rather than focusing on the immediate issues that consume attention on a daily basis. Bill Guenther, President of Mass Insight, was invited to facilitate a session at the retreat to identify talent issues that will be important to Massachusetts software companies.

About 30 people attended, including George F. Colony, CEO of Forrester Research; Sharon Gillett, Executive Director of the MIT Center for Technology, Policy, & Industrial Development; and representatives of several venture capital firms: Bessemer Venture Partners, Echelon Ventures, and General Catalyst Partners.

At one session, George F. Colony of Forrester Research forecast that the "4th wave" of developments in the IT industry will occur in the 2008-2009 timeframe (the first three waves consist of mainframe computers, personal computers, and the interactive internet). Colony said these developments will consist of:

• An executable internet that facilitates digital conversations between programs.
• An extended internet that connects the physical world to the internet such as including chips in tires, switches, fire alarms, light bulbs, etc.
• Services-oriented architecture (SOA) which allows service providers to continually update the customer's system.

In response to Mass Insight’s comments about how Massachusetts is positioned for the fourth wave, Colony noted there was a lack of collaboration among industry, education, and government entities and a need for focus on China and India.

With Bill’s facilitation, the group noted areas of new opportunity including:

1. Open connectivity – embedded or wireless software
2. Need for cross fertilization of disciplines (e.g., tackling quality management in health care through new technologies)
3. Internet security issues
4. Need to supplement the K-12 curriculum with technology, engineering, and entrepreneurship class
5. Alternative energy
6. Globalization

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