The Ventana Research Summit is the highly regarded annual forum at which business and technology professionals gather to learn and share insights about industry best practices and how emerging technology innovations can improve business performance. The Summit, the theme for which this year is "Inspire to Innovate," will bring together the brightest business and IT minds to explore how best practices and technology innovation can transform organizations.

The Summit will include Innovation Day, during which sessions and panels led by the most respected industry analysts will offer valuable insights on the technologies that are changing the nature of business and competitiveness. It also will include Leadership Day, during which experts will offer research-based analyses of the technology best practices that research shows are being embraced by business and IT pioneers. During the Summit Ventana Research also will recognize the recipients of the 2014 Ventana Research Leadership and Innovation Awards - industry leaders who represent the finest in business and technology excellence and accomplishments.

The Summit, hosted by the leading business and technology research and advisory services firm, enables Industry experts working in business, IT and technology to share real-world success stories about meeting today's competitive business climate head-on. Summit attendees will come away with unique insights that will enable them to begin to implement changes that will have lasting impacts on their businesses. Critical business process and technology topics will include big data, business analytics, cloud computing, cognitive computing, ERP, machine learning, mobile technologies, social collaboration and wearable computing.

"Innovative technologies and best practices are only valuable when inspired business and IT leaders apply them expeditiously," said Mark Smith, CEO and chief research officer at Ventana Research. "After 12 years of conducting research on business and IT and advising cutting-edge businesses, we at Ventana Research understand how to identify and apply technology to business in the most effective manner possible."

"The Ventana Research Summit for 2014 will provide business and technology executives with the opportunity not just to learn but to take away guidance and new connections with industry technology leaders, technology providers and our industry analysts. Unlike other industry event, the Summit provides an engaging forum to share best practices without technology diatribes and vendor hype and an opportunity to gain a sense of reality on what to do in 2014 and beyond. I'm also excited to personally meet and present our 2014 Ventana Research Awards recipients who are showing how organizations can operate and be successful with innovative technology."

The Summit is the only industry analyst conference that uses fact-based benchmark research drawn from business and IT to provide guidance on how to gain maximum value from technology investments.

Registration for the 2014 Ventana Research Summit is now open. Until Aug. 22, 2014 registrants will be able to take advantage of a reduced early registration fee and, if staying at the Summit's Host hotel, will receive a additional discount.

For more information on the Summit, including sponsorship opportunities and registration, visit: www.ventanaresearch-summit2014.com. The Summit sponsors include those at Vanguard level who are: Ceridian and Datawatch; with Groundbreaker level who are: Kronos, Peoplefluent and Stibo Systems.

For more information on the 2014 Ventana Research Awards, visit www.ventanaresearch.com/awards where submission are being accepted through July of 2014.

About Ventana ResearchVentana Research is the most authoritative and respected benchmark business technology research and advisory services firm. We provide insight and expert guidance on mainstream and disruptive technologies through a unique set of research-based offerings including benchmark research and technology evaluation assessments, education workshops and our research and advisory services, Ventana On-Demand. Our unparalleled understanding of the role of technology in optimizing business processes and performance and our best practices guidance are rooted in our rigorous research-based benchmarking of people, processes, information and technology across business and IT functions in every industry. This benchmark research plus our market coverage and in-depth knowledge of hundreds of technology providers means we can deliver education and expertise to our clients to increase the value they derive from technology investments while reducing time, cost and risk.

Ventana Research provides the most comprehensive analyst and research coverage in the industry; business and IT professionals worldwide are members of our community and benefit from Ventana Research's insights, as do highly regarded media and association partners around the globe. Our views and analyses are distributed daily through blogs and social media channels including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. To learn how Ventana Research advances the maturity of organizations' use of information and technology through benchmark research, education and advisory services, visit www.ventanaresearch.com.

Press and Media: Complimentary passes to the summit and interviews are available upon request.

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