The inaugural Computerworld ITEX Conference and Expo at Auckland's SkyCity Convention Centre attracted hundreds of IT prefessions and included highlights included the announcements of the Computerworld Excellence in IT Awards.

The event included multiple stages featuring case studies and roundtable discussions and the day was attended by 400 delegates, which began with the keynote session from Google head of apps product management Anil Sabharwal who said that cloud will bring a new way to deliver IT services.

Keynote speaker futurist James Canton spoke about his views on where the internet was headed with the emphasis on collaboration. Microsoft chief operating officer for Asia Pacific Andrew Pickup spoke about how the software giant will develop `cloud power', which is its ability to deliver IT as a service.

The day came to an end with the announcements of the awards. The Business Analyst of the Year Award was given to Shamendra Hurbens and the IT Manager of the Year, awarded to Ingrid Cronin-Knight. Shamendra Hurbens has worked for North Shore City Council, which is now part of the Auckland Council and Ingrid Cronin-Knight is the head of business delivery - service capability at Gen-i.