FRAMINGHAM, MA--(Marketwired - Feb 6, 2014) - IDG's Network World -- the premier technology media brand providing network strategy for the connected enterprise -- announces the launch of the Open Network Exchange (ONX) conference, taking place May 13-14, 2014 in Chicago, IL. The ONX conference takes an unbiased, holistic look at the landscape of technologies that will reshape enterprise networks including Software Defined Networking (SDN), OpenFlow, network virtualization, Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and application driven network environments [Click to Tweet].

"There are no silver bullets, so Network World's ONX conference will take a big picture view and look at how all of these promising technologies will come together to change networking as we know it," said John Dix, editor in chief, Network World. "We'll explore what the technologies mean, where they fit, and how we can use them to get from the brittle, complex networks of today to environments of tomorrow that are easier to manage, more automated and more agile and responsive. The conversation will involve industry experts, IT practitioners, vendors and academic institutions studying enterprise networks."

Network World will shape the ONX agenda to address strategic and tactical issues and challenges. In addition to expert panels, case studies and keynote addresses, the conference will integrate new session formats that encourage audience participation, including:

• Unconference Sessions/Town Hall: Crowdsourcing techniques will be incorporated to select the topics for these sessions. Attendees will pose questions and vote on topics for consideration through a mobile app and on-site. The questions to drive the most discussion prior to the session will be selected for the moderated discussion.
• Rapid-Fire Solution Provider Sessions: Platinum sponsors will have 15 minutes to highlight a specific technology impacting networking strategies on the main stage.
• Industry Smackdown with Underwriter Sponsors: This debate format -- moderated by Jim Metzler, networking expert and founder and vice president of Ashton, Metzler & Associates -- will bring together the underwriter sponsors for a frank discussion on the varying views and solutions around open network technologies.

"We are looking forward to hearing from HP and VMware during the Industry Smackdown," said Neil Dhanowa, senior director of sales, Network World. "Hearing directly from practitioners, industry experts and vendors on the research and development they have done around open networking technologies will provide today's IT leaders with invaluable insight as they build strategies for a more efficient IT organization."

Sponsorship Information
Sponsors include HP, VMware and Brocade. For more information regarding sponsorship opportunities, please contact Neil Dhanowa, senior director of sales for Network World at ndhanowa@nww.com or call 415.978.3305.

Registration Information
To learn more about Open Network Exchange conference, or to register, please visit http://bit.ly/ONX2014, call 800.355.0246 or email seminars@nww.com.

About Network World
Network World is the premier provider of information, intelligence, and insight for network and IT decision-makers responsible for the digital nervous system of the connected enterprise: the network. With an editorial focus on delivering news, opinion and analytical tools for key decision-makers who architect, deploy and manage business solutions, Network World offers a unique and powerful combination of audiences and resources across digital (networkworld.com), events and custom solutions to meet marketers objectives. Network World is published by IDG Enterprise, a subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading media, events, and research company. Company information is available at www.idgenterprise.com.

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