International Data Corporation (IDC) has announced 2015 edition of its popular annual Francophone CIO Summit.

The global advisory services firm is looking forward to welcoming more than 200 members of the region’s burgeoning ICT community, with private sector CIOs, government ICT advisors, and a selection of influential CxOs joining some of the world’s most innovative tech vendors at the Mazagan Beach Resort in Morocco on April 29–30.

Participants of the summit will be drawn from Senegal, Togo, Gabon, Cameroon, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Mali, Algeria, Benin, Morocco, and Niger, making this edition by far the largest gathering of ICT decision makers in the region.

Among the VIPs already confirmed as speakers at the event are His Excellency Pastor Ngoua N'Neme, the ICT Minister of Gabon, His Excellency Mr. Baba Ould Boumeiss, General Secretary of Mauritania’s Ministry of ICT, and Mrs. Samia Melhem, Lead Policy Specialist for the World Bank’s Transport and ICT Global Practice and Chair of the World Bank’s Digital Development Community.

The prestigious nature of this event will further be cemented by the participation of three CIO Club presidents – Mr. Jean Jacque Ntad from Senegal, Mr. Valentin Mbozo from Cameroon, and Naon Mamadou from Ivory Coast.

“This year's edition will run under the theme 'IT Meets Business' and will drive home the importance of closely aligning IT and business functions at a time when organizations across the region are faced with the challenge of implementing emerging products and services while simultaneously trying to improve operational efficiency,” says Ouafa Kathir, IDC’s country manager for North and French-speaking Africa.

“IDC recognizes that the ability to rapidly correlate IT project spending with critical business priorities is essential, with CIOs increasingly required to demonstrate the business value of their projects and embrace the strategic benefits their businesses are striving to achieve.

Against this backdrop, the Francophone CIO Summit 2015 will explore the need for IT plans to encompass strong business metrics alongside the already familiar IT-related measures that typically examine application delivery in isolation.”

IDC is also pleased to announce the introduction of unique, informative workshops based on its IT Executive Programs. Designed to help today's time-constrained IT executives make more effective technology decisions, these sessions will serve up timely discussions on mitigating technology risks, maximizing the effectiveness of IT investments, identifying and capitalizing on new IT opportunities, and implementing cutting-edge tech solutions that are tightly aligned with overall business objectives.

The Summit will retain its popular vertical-focused tracks, with the spotlight on this year shining on the region's government, banking & finance, and energy sectors.

And with the event representing the largest social network of CIOs in the Francophone region, numerous local ICT vendors and global tech giants will be on hand to present their unique insights into the latest trends shaping ICT adoption across the region, while a variety of senior line-of-business executives will also be in attendance to offer that all-important non-IT perspective.