Executive Royal Inn - Leduc-Nisku

Accomodations available at $139.00/night, book directly with the hotel: 1888-388-3932

November 1st, 2012 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

AGENDA

8:30 Continental Breakfast

9:00 Welcome – MISA President

Info Tech Introductions/MC – Ashley Wagler

9:15 – 10:00

Enabling Growth through Innovation (James Alexander)

As Infrastructure as a Service reduces the requirement for IT infrastructure, and Software as a Service reduces the requirement for IT applications, the role of IT is being redefined, and many IT groups are struggling to maintain relevance. At the same time businesses themselves are struggling to maintain mindshare and marketshare in an “if you’re not growing, your shrinking” world. An Innovation Culture is the path by which business can stay relevant in the market, and IT can stay relevant within the business. Visionary CIOs will seize this opportunity to drive the development of an Innovation Culture within their organizations, positioning both themselves, and their business partners for unprecedented success.

10:00 – 10:30 Coffee Break

10:30 – 11:30      

Managing the Influx of Consumer Mobile Devices (James Quin)

The influx of Personal Unmanaged Devices (PUDs) is inexorable; penetration rates have grown from the low 20%’s in 2009 to the mid 50%’s today. And as both entrenched executives and new-hire Millenials drive adoption, PUDs are predicted to hit ubiquity by as early as 2013. In the face of this incursion CIOs face the tough choice of “Disallow and Sit Tight”, or “Accept and Accommodate”. For most, this is no choice at all because resistance truly is futile. This interactive session will explore the issues associated with PUD adoption and will drive attendees to both enlightenment about the issues, and a strategy they can follow to mitigate the risks while maximizing the value of PUD adoption

11:45 – 1:00 Lunch

1:00 – 1:30  

1:30 – 2:00  Concurrent Sessions (1/2 group goes to one, and then switches)

Proactive Mobility Adoption: Move Beyond Firefighting (James Quin)

Mobile devices have become nearly ubiquitous and to this point IT departments have been forced into a reactionary position of trying to respond to their presence as they force their way through the cracks in the dam. While we have collectively found ways to plug the leaks and keep our heads above water, it is time for organizations to take a more proactive stance in regards to mobility. To do this we have to look at adoption paradigms, explore use cases, and ensure that the people, processes, and technologies of the enterprise are appropriately positioned to not just simply accommodate mobile devices, but leverage their unique capabilities to drive enterprise success.

Consumer Applications; the Next Wave of Mobile (James Alexander)

To date, when addressing the issue of mobility, the vast majority of enterprises have focused their efforts on answering the question of what to do about the devices themselves; on whether and how to provision access to corporate networks, applications, and data stores. Personal devices however also introduce the complication of personal applications, whether as a preference of the device owner, or as a work-around of corporate controls. Understanding how to work with and benefit from the consumer-grade applications, while at the same time ensuring appropriate control and protection of enterprise information assets is the challenge that forward-looking enterprises are dealing with today, and every business will be dealing with tomorrow.

2:00 - 2:45 – Mobility Matters, City of Nanaimo Experience (Guillermo Ferrero)

 Until recently, the City of Nanaimo was a stalwart Research in Motion shop. However, it had been clear for some time that we needed to support additional platforms. Please join us to learn about the changes in policy, practice, and development we have made to support a limited version of BYOD, and the challenges we encountered along the way.

2:45 – 3:00 Break

3:00 – 4:00 Panel Discussion – Overcoming Mobility Challenges

4:00 Closing Remarks

 Bios

James Alexander:
James Alexander has been both an entrepreneur and an executive in the technology industry over the past 25 years.  As an entrepreneur, he led retail, VAR and system integration organizations including, CTI Solutions Group, EduConnect, Telesolutions Inc, The Stone Soup Software Co, and Metafore, and has also held a senior sales management position at Microsoft Canada.
Since 2002 James has turned his attention to working with technology suppliers to help them reach their markets more efficiently and cost effectively.  He held leadership roles first with IDC’s global Software Business Strategies Group, and for the past five years with Info-Tech, advising technology vendors on buyer behavior, channel and partner strategies, and go-to –market models, as well as designing and implementing an innovative series of programs including “The Quest for the Smartest IT”.
James was twice named to Channel Business Magazine’s “Who’s Who” listing as well as being a Newsmaker of the Year in Computer Dealer News.  He is quoted on technology issues in both the business and trade press and is a frequent speaker at events and conferences.

James Quin:
James Quin has worked for Info-Tech Research Group since 2006 and currently serves as Director of Research. James has over 15 years of experience in the IT industry in a variety of roles including analyst, consultant, project manager, technical delivery, pre-sales, and sales. As Director of Research for the Info-Tech Research Group, James guides the development of the research agenda as well as each individual research report. James is an accomplished public speaker and is sought often to deliver presentations and guide workshops on diverse topics from the Info-Tech research agenda.
Prior to joining Info-Tech, James served in multiple capacities with Secured Services Inc., a start-up IT Security services and software company, worked with Arqana Technologies, a Toronto-area VAR as a Business Development Manager performing sales, sales support, project management, and consulting activities, and for AT&T Canada, one of Canada's first alternative long-distance telecommunications carriers.
James attended the University of Toronto and holds a Bachelor of Arts, an Honours Bachelor of Science, and a Master of Science degrees.

Guillermo Ferrero:

Guillermo (gee-zhayrr-moh) Ferrero is the President for MISA BC and the Manager of Business Applications & ERP Systems for the City of Nanaimo, which is located on Vancouver Island on the beautiful West Coast of British Columbia, Canada. A graduate in Business and Administration, Guillermo has been involved in the Information Technology field since 300 bps modems were available in households. He has led the Business Applications group for over seven years and has implemented mobile applications since web browsers on Nokia phones were introduced.  As an avid outdoor enthusiast, Guillermo enjoys surfing and scuba diving in one of the best locations on Earth.