ARC Advisory Group's twelfth India Forum for the process and discrete industries, titled Industry in Transition: The Information Driven Enterprise in a Connected World, held during July 10-11, 2014, Bangalore, attracted over 285 delegates. This two-day forum was structured to disseminate information and technology effectively and provide end users, solution providers and decision makers an opportunity and platform to network and understand the market requirements and dynamics. The forum's focus was on maximising productivity and increasing return on investment (ROI) by channelising relevant information and investing in technologies. The session topics covered automation and enterprise trends; advancement in control strategies; energy optimisation and factory of the future; strategies to achieve asset performance management, operational excellence and cyber security; and strategies for growth.

Keynote presentations, which set the tenor for the day were given by: Ralph Rio, Research Director Enterprise Software, ARC Advisory Group; Arundhati Bhattacharya, General Manager, NTPC; Sameer Prakash, Head Business Development, Automation Products & Systems, Siemens; and K. Srinath, General Manager Marketing, Rockwell Automation.

Besides the supplier presentations and case studies ARC had invited speakers from the aerospace, power and chemical industries too. The end user perspective gave a whole new dimension to the forum.

The following companies supported the Forum:

• Forum Sponsors - Siemens (Global Sponsor); Gold Sponsors - TCS and BHEL; and Silver Sponsors - AVEVA, GE IPS, B&R Automation, CLPA, FDT Group, Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric, and STEAG
• Industry Association Sponsors - AIA, CIO Forum, Council of Power utilities (CPU), CSIA, FFIC, IPA, and TechPro
• Media Sponsors - A&C Today, A&D, Chemical Industry Digest, Control Engineering, Industrial Product Finder, Industrial Automation, PRIME, Process India, Manufacturing Today, Fluid Handling, and India Power

Both days had interactive and lively question and answer sessions. The well-attended two-day forum drove home the fact that to remain competitive and achieve operational excellence, organizations must sift through the information glut and adopt appropriate technologies.