TWO experts from Microsoft and Mitel are to advise company bosses in the region on how the latest technology can be used to help businesses make progress.

Waterstons, of Durham, has secured the services of Mark Deakin, of Microsoft, and Campbell Williams, of Mitel, to talk at an event aimed at senior executives and IT managers who want to understand how technology can empower the workforce.

The event, called A New Path To Better Performance, will look at how technology can transform the way staff communicate in teams, across divisions, with business partners and with the rest of the workforce. It will also show how Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) can deliver productivity improvements and save costs, with demonstrations using Mitel VoIP equipment with Microsoft's new Live Communications Server.

Paul Robinson, senior consultant at Waterstons, said: "To get two of the best front-line technologists up to the North-East to demonstrate the very latest developments in IT is a massive boost for our business community.

"Waterstons will be on hand explaining how this technology relates to people and practices to show how, in real life, the right technology can help every member of staff contribute more to growing the business's future success."

Campbell Williams, head of solutions marketing at Mitel, said: "I am looking forward to visiting the North-East and discussing the potential the region has to become a front-runner in the knowledge economy, while introducing some of the very latest technology developments and how they can play a part in that drive forward."

The event will take place at Durham County Cricket Club, in Chester-le-Street, on February 1, between noon and 2.30pm.

To register, log on to www.waterstons.co.uk/events or call 0191-384 5891.