Learn the Future of Enterprise Tech, and Billion-Dollar Exits, on Dec. 2

Unicorns, schmunicorns. A billion-dollar valuation ain’t what it used to be.

Just ask veterans of the Boston-area tech scene. Andy Ory, Steve Papa, and Paula Long each have co-founded companies that were acquired for more than $1 billion. If you know anything about the history of New England tech, their company names are very familiar: Acme Packet (bought by Oracle), Endeca (also Oracle), and EqualLogic (acquired by good old Dell).

Now, they all have new startups they’re building—plus a wealth of lessons to share about how to develop big anchor companies. Not just the paper unicorn variety (whose valuation is set by private investors), but ones with real, lasting value. You can hear from Ory, Papa, and Long, plus many other tech luminaries, at our special Enterprise Tech Strikes Back conference on Dec. 2. It’s all happening at the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology in Boston, and if you act fast, you can still snag a seat.

I’m pleased to announce a couple of additions to the program:

—Christopher Ahlberg, CEO and co-founder of Recorded Future, will give his thoughts on cybersecurity and selling mission-critical software to the world’s biggest companies and organizations.

—Mohamad Ali, CEO of Carbonite, will speak about the future of data storage and protection. As a veteran executive of IBM, Avaya, and Hewlett-Packard, he has a unique perspective on the enterprise-tech landscape and how the entrenched powers are trying to innovate.

All the leaders above join an all-star lineup that also includes the CEOs of Actifio, Aquto, ClearSky Data, CloudHealth Technologies, Plexxi, and more. We’ll have more announcements and the full agenda soon. Looking forward to seeing you all on Dec. 2.

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.