Invitation to Location Intelligence 2006

To our readers and subscribers:

In about one month, we'll convene the 3^rd Location Intelligence Conference and I'd like to personally invite you to attend. We know you have a choice when considering which conferences offer the best educational experience and given budget constraints, you may only have one to select each year. I'd like you to consider ours.

There are many reasons I could offer but the most compelling is, and should be, that you'll come away as a more knowledgeable professional and it will help you do your job better. We have both an exciting and educational agenda that offers the right solution providers, the industry experts, and the right mix of topics in the same place at the same time. The bottom line is that Location Intelligence 2006 is the only conference where you will meet the people and companies who are driving the geospatial technology sector.

Consider some of our speakers:

Chris Wilson, vice president of DaimlerChrysler's Research and Technology Center, worries about how to assess the best location technology solutions for his company. I imagine you have similar concerns. He will share his with you; take time to discuss yours with him after his keynote.

Paul Rademacher helped to start what could be best described as "the Google Phenomenon" when he "mashed up" the popular real estate portal criagslist with Google Maps, and created housingmaps.com. The rest, you might say, is history…and then Paul was hired by Google. Come hear what he's up to now and don't miss Google's workshop.

Rich Gibson co-wrote the book called "Mapping Hacks". Lucky guy…he gets to moderate our session on "Show us your Mashups." This will be a "lightening round" to display the tremendous innovation in the world of web mapping applications with a business focus.

Autodesk dropped a bombshell on the geospatial community by announcing that MapGuide was going the way of open source. Gary Lang, VP of Autodesk, was one of the driving forces behind this. He and Dave McIhagga of DM Solutions will provide details on the what's going on with the new MapServer Foundation. And, by the way, don't miss the workshop Autodesk is giving on "MapGuide Development Made Easy."

Steve Lombardi has a personal message for Microsoft Virtual Earth fans. He'd like to show you how to develop applications with its APIs, but he's not taking chances on just his sparkling personality. So, he's offering one lucky person the chance to win an Xbox360 if you attend his Virtual Earth Workshop.

Henry Tom lives and breathes standards. He's the co-chair of the ISO subcommittee on Geographic Information and Geomatics. Carl Reed, CTO of the OGC, focuses on interoperability specifications. Their jobs may not sound exciting until you mix Henry and Carl with Jeremy Kreitler of Yahoo and Kevin McNeely, a lawyer concerned with intellectual property law. Now it gets interesting…you won't want to miss their discussion on how long free geospatial data will remain free.

Lastly, what brings the chief technology officers from the top business intelligence companies, Hyperion and Information Builders (IBI), to a conference on location intelligence? The answer is "profit". Join John Koepke from Hyperion, and Mike Corcoran from IBI along with Mark Smith, CEO of Ventana Research for a fascinating discussion on the collision of BI and LI. Plus, Oracle and ESRI have workshops specifically on how to integrate BI with location technology. Just another aspect of Location Intelligence 2006 that will be hard to find at any other conference.

I could go on, but I would ask you if other conferences you might be considering have both the top GIS companies, like ESRI, Autodesk, and MapInfo, in the same place as the top web mapping companies like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and MapQuest? And if that isn't enough, add to the mix the top BI companies like Oracle, Hyperion and IBI. Check out the agenda for more surprises such as: Location technology for retailing… Location technology for Homeland Security… Successful business models for LBS…or the latest in geospatial sensor web technology…We cover it all.

Consider also if other conferences are as affordable? As I scan the list of upcoming conferences with a geospatial focus, there are those that are charging $900, $1000 or more and then asking an additional fee for workshops and other events. We have one fee, $895, for workshops (two are included), social events, and full conference registration.

Some conferences are in Canada or Florida, far removed from the center of the IT world. We chose the San Francisco Bay Area…the hub of information technology.

And if your bosses are still having a problem with the cost, invite them along and take advantage of our "Bring the Boss Special", a combined fee of only $1470. Use the code "c4d8c844" to register for two. Don't tell her or him that it's going to be fun as well…just come for the excitement of networking with the companies and individuals who are at the forefront of the emerging location intelligence marketplace.

So, that's my not so brief invitation. If you have questions, call me directly. I very much look forward to seeing you in San Francisco. Please register today...and don't forget to book your room at the conference hotel...the Renaissance Parc 55.

Sincere regards,

Joe Francica,

Conference Chairman

Editor-in-chief & Vice publisher

Directions Media

256-650-0205

FYI…special government and educational discounts are available…contact info@locationintellgence.net for details.