Session 1A
Disaster Recovery Replication Technologies Demystified
This presentation will provide high level information on three types of data replication; host, fabric, and array in a disaster recovery scenario. I will provide basic descriptions of the three types of replication listed. I will then focus on the pros and cons of each and the major factors that play into deciding which technology is the most appropriate for a given scenario. This presentation will include the options that are available for a disaster recovery site and what factors should be considered to determine disaster recovery site viability.
Speaker: Jamie Anderson, President, Emergent Networks
Session 1B
Making the Case: Selling Virtualization When ROI isn't Enough
Virtualization is in widespread use in non-production environments and increasingly well understood by IT-- IT is ready to push it into production broadly. But is the rest of the organization? The ROI is well understood, but it is not always enough.
This session discusses the organizational factors that promote or hinder rolling virtualization into production: issues of funding, of structure and governance, and of politics and territoriality. We will also explore some of the most common "myths on the street" and get to the bottom of the truth about virtualization.
Speaker: Paul Jacobson, Partner Business Manager, VMWare
Session 1C
Closed Loop CRM: Redefining the Interactive Experience
If “CRM” still equals “platform/solution/technology”, it’s time for you to update your industry buzzword terminology. Join us to learn about the CRM methodology that is changing the way businesses deliver on their brand promise, provide an engaging customer experience and drive sales. In this session, Matt Meents will explain the meaning and attributes of “Closed Loop CRM” and provide real-world examples of companies that have redefined the interactive experience by matching basic best practices with best-of-breed technology solutions.
Speaker: Matthew Meents, co-founder and CEO, Reside, LLC
Session 2A
Data Management Innovations That Enable Competitive Advantage
In times of economic uncertainty, IT leaders seek ways to better utilize their IT investments. Virtualization – both for servers and storage – is one example of how IT organizations are transforming their data centers to realize higher asset utilization while at the same time lower the total cost of ownership. What other technology innovations for managing data can help customers do more with less? This presentation will explore several innovations, including storage virtualization, that have spawned a new generation of storage area networks. Innovation such as thin provisioning, de-duplication, snapshots, and RAID 6 have all contributed to an ability for consumers of data to realize storage efficiencies unknown in traditional SAN environments. Recent acquisitions by Dell, IBM, and HP of startup storage companies such as Equallogics, XIV, or Left-Hand Networks provide a clear signal that traditional storage architectures simply are not viable to achieve the economies of scale required for tomorrow’s explosion of data growth. We will explore these acquisitions and their common threads to illustrate why innovating around data management provides a clear competitive advantage for IT organizations and ultimately their business success.
Speaker: Jim Akers, NetApp
Session 2B
Proven Online Tools To Drive New Business
Every organization has the challenge to drive new business. With new online tools emerging every day, it is difficult for the business professional to stay on top of what is relevant versus what is hype. Do I really need to Twitter? What role does social media have in promoting my business? How can I have full control of my message? (Hint: You might have to give up some control to be most effective.) What are the 5 things I can do immediately to have an impact online? This session, geared for business decision makers, will examine current trends as well as provide numerous and relevant examples.
Speaker: Mark Kurtz, Vice President of New Media, Gage
Session 2C
Improving team collaboration and productivity with SharePoint!
Do you spend the greater part of your work day in collaborative tasks? Do your teams share information, work together in teams, and manage projects? One of the challenges for businesses is to provide the tools and environment that allow large groups of people to move seamlessly between these tasks. Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 can help you overcome these challenges because it provides organizations with a platform for sharing information and working together in teams. A SharePoint site offers specific kinds of tools and workspaces that you can use to communicate with team members, track projects, coordinate deadlines, and collaboratively create and edit documents. Come learn how to improve team productivity, manage products more efficiently, and create, review and share documents with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.
Speaker: Theresa Putzier, IT Services Practice Manage, Olsen Thielen Technologies
Session 3A
Beyond The Firewall: Secrets to Securing Your Internal Network
According to the CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey, more than half of companies surveyed last year experienced a serious security breach – even though 97 percent of them use firewalls and 96 percent use antivirus software. Companies who only have perimeter and desktop defenses are far less secure than they may believe, and a third layer of security is required to protect their internal networks. Adding this third layer of security means going beyond the firewall to proactively scan for vulnerabilities and actively monitor and contain internal network threats. This session will detail the 3 keys to securing internal networks from worms, Trojans, botnets and other harmful attacks, often the result of roaming laptops or trusted users who VPN into the corporate network.
Speaker: Misha Govshteyn, Chief Technology Officer, Alert Logic
Session 3B
Innovation in Communications: Putting Web Content and 2.0 Tools to Work While Managing Legal Risks
This session will highlight evolving trends in communications and content in a Web 2.0 world. Specific topics will include:
• What medium for what message and purpose?
• Determining the value of content, both company- and user-generated
• Types of Interactivity, and when is it appropriate?
• Legal hot spots in cyberspace – copyright, defamation, trademark and brand control.
• Employee blogs, company blogs, friend or foe?
• Innovations in behavioral marketing, detailed customer data as your most valuable asset, privacy / security risks and legal issues.
Speaker: Steve Helland, Partner, Fredrikson & Byron
Speaker: Kristina Halvorson, President of Brain Traffic, and Past-President of MIMA (Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association).
Session 3C
IT Compliance Requirements: Keeping Pace
Regulations are becoming more numerous and increasingly complex, and businesses and organizations rely on IT solutions to support internal compliance processes. These compliance solutions must be easy to deploy and maintain while simplifying the task of ensuring compliance. More importantly, achieving compliance should not limit the growth and competitiveness of your business. Attend this session to learn more about how your firewall can support compliance in many industries.
Speaker: Bob Christian, Services Provider Account Manager, Juniper Networks
Session 4A
Windows Server 2008: More Secure, Flexible and Innovative
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 is the most advanced Windows Server operating system yet, designed to power the next generation of networks, applications, and Web services. With Windows Server 2008 you can develop, deliver, and manage rich user experiences and applications, provide a highly secure network infrastructure, and increase technological efficiency and value within your organization. This session highlight some of the major new capabilities, focusing on improvements that can help lower your cost of operations.
Speaker: Tim Cerling, Windows Server TSP, Microsoft
Session 4B
Technology for Today: Green IT, Virtualization and Client Management
Intel pushes the boundaries of innovation so our work can make people's lives more exciting, fulfilling, and manageable. And our work never stops. We never stop looking for the next leap ahead—in technology, education, culture, manufacturing, and social responsibility. And we never stop striving to deliver solutions with greater benefits for everyone. We will discuss today’s technologies for business which include virtualization, multi-core, client management, and green IT.
Speaker: Sarah Wieskus, Business Development, Intel
Session 4C
Centralizing Desktop Management with VMware VDI
Learn more about how VDI works and see demonstrations of VDI in action, both from a user and system administrator perspective. VDI is an enterprise-class desktop virtualization solution enabling IT departments to bring the control of user desktops into the data center, reducing IT operational expenses. Utilizing “thin clients” rather than “fat PCs,” and giving users the ability to connect to a fully isolated virtual machine running Windows XP from inside the office or remotely over a secure channel, VDI enables consistent application presentation to users of all types. With multimedia and USB redirection capabilities, thin clients can now be used for applications that previously were not good candidates for presentation over the RDP protocol. And because VDI is backed by enterprise-class VMware ESX Servers and VMware VirtualCenter, each user desktop VM is completely isolated from each other and enjoys the same level of encapsulation and availability as any other VMware-powered virtual machine. Best of all, applications that don’t work well with Citrix or Microsoft Terminal Services generally work perfectly in a VMware VDI environment because the application is installed onto a dedicated virtual machine which is functionally equivalent to a full Windows XP installation.
Speaker: Bill Oyler, Senior Systems Engineer, St. Croix Solutions