Why I attend the Ntegra US Research Tour

Its the 22nd year

The fact that the tour has been going continuously for 22 years is a great achievement and is a testament to the fact that participants continue to gain tremendous business value from participation. If they did not then it would not have continued but also would not achieve something like a 50% repeat participation rate

Latest thinking and some of the best thought leadership

Participants gain tremendous business value by being exposed to the latest thought leadership, and innovative products and services that
are developing in Silicon Valley, the premier tech ecosystem in the world.

Participants include representatives from a wide variety of private sector companies including those in the FTSE 30

First mover advantage

We hear first-hand from partners in leading venture capital firms about where they see they get best value from their investments and
sometimes their future investment strategies and at times they share the challenges some of their more disruptive portfolio companies are
facing. They showcase to the tour some of their portfolio companies of which some may still be in ‘stealth mode’. As such we get early access to information and developments that would not be available to participants if they remained in the UK and waited for them to cross the pond’.

Briefings from major tech companies

We are often hosted by major global tech companies whose senior executives spend time with participants candidly sharing their experiences and challenges and their thoughts about the direction of travel the industry is taking. These tech company senior executives sometimes travel to Europe but getting exclusive access to them for any length of time is often a challenge but on their home
ground is much easier. Due to the reputation of the tour and the quality of participants the tour has a very good reputation in Silicon Valley
which has resulted in presentations from some organisations that normally do not participate in briefings to a group of senior IT
leaders.

A unique, private IT Leadership peer group network

Participants become members of the Ntegra US Research Tour alumni and are able to engage with other participants during and after the research tour
and often call upon each other to seek or share experiences and challenges that other senior IT Leaders are faced with or have had to deal with. Participants include representatives from a wide variety of private sector companies including those in the FTSE 30, 100 and 250,
the public sector, the armed forces and academia. Participants are drawn mainly, but not exclusively from the UK, although there are
European and US participants as well.

Ntegra US Research Tour report and Dinner

A post tour dinner is held where the tour report is published to those who participated. The report is not only a record of the organisations seen, but also a distillation of the themes that arose through the tour together with insights gained and a commentary about them.

Gerald Janes

Founder – South Bay Connections Ltd