Archives: Seminar

[1 CPE] KC Tech Council Presents KC Tech Specs v4

  Presented by Kara Lowe • COO, KC Tech Council

The KC tech industry has proven to be durable and resilient in a year full of economic challenges and overall uncertainties. We can better understand how to move forward by looking over data and analysis from the past in the fourth edition of the KC Tech Specs report outlining economic and workforce trends affecting the Kansas City region and both Kansas and Missouri.

Since 2017, the KC Tech Council has released KC Tech Specs, a report capturing data and analysis around Kansas City’s tech industry. The report is designed to give the tech community, businesses, educators, lawmakers, civic leaders, and students a consolidated, data-driven resource to find information about our region’s tech landscape. Data sources are cited on every page and feature a compilation of relevant statistics from KC Tech Council’s partners at CompTIA, Code.org, and other sources like CBRE’s annual “Scoring Tech Talent” report.

Tech enterprises rely on data to inform and drive business decisions every day. Join KCTC COO Kara Lowe as she discusses opportunities to leverage our strengths, improve our deficiencies, and grow together as a tech hub of the future.

Kara is Chief Operating Officer of the KC Tech Council, a membership-based association serving as the regional advocate for Kansas City’s tech industry. Her role is focused on driving organizational and industry growth through investor development, strategic partnerships, marketing, and events.

Kara currently serves on the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) advisory board for The University of Kansas Edwards Campus, the advisory board for SkilledKC’s Software Development program, and is an active volunteer and girls basketball coach at St. Elizabeth Catholic School. Kara was named a member of the NextGen Leaders class of 2021 by the Kansas City Business Journal. She is a 2015 graduate of the KC Chamber’s Centurions Leadership Program and a journalism graduate from the University of Kansas.

[1 CPE] Your Office and Workspace Reimagined

  Presented by INTERFACE Advisory Council

Remote working during the pandemic proved to be beneficial for some companies and employees. Even as we are returning to the office, many will want to work remotely on a permanent basis. We are seeing an evolution of the definition of an office. There will certainly still be offices for all organizations where employees perform their work as normal. Now that remote working has shown to be an added value, IT departments need to lead this change in structure.

Join the INTERFACE Advisory Council for a look at what lies ahead. How are you adjusting your security procedures? What have you learned over the last year with employees working remotely? We will discuss how IT departments should be involved in decision-making and execution of policies. Also, this changing model of a traditional office could impact the job pool. Opportunities for IT professionals to find employment from out-of-market companies will only increase.


Panelists:

Jason Kentner • Director, Information Technology, KCAS Bioanalytical & Biomarker Services
Chris Mann • Chief Information Officer, DH Pace
David Witte • Sr Manager, Information Security, Jackson County, Missouri
Meggan Carter • Director, Enterprise Data Management, AMC Theatres

[1 CPE] Telling Your Data Story With the 3Vs: Vocabulary, Voice, and Vision

  Presented by Scott Taylor • Principal Consultant, MetaMeta Consulting

Data leaders must create a compelling narrative to evangelize their data management programs and secure long-term support from enterprise stakeholders and business leadership. Data management leaders who seek to improve soft skills and execute simple storytelling techniques will be more likely to gain a rightful place for their initiatives on their organization’s strategic plan. Join this presentation and learn:

  • Why you need a Data Management Narrative vs other Data Storytelling and Data Literacy Efforts
  • Why Data Management is Macro-Trend agnostic
  • Leveraging the 3Vs: Vocabulary, Voice, and Vision

Scott Taylor, The Data Whisperer, has helped countless companies by enlightening business executives to the strategic value of proper data management. He focuses on business alignment and the “strategic WHY” rather than system implementation and the “technical HOW.” As Principal Consultant for MetaMeta Consulting, he helps enterprises and tech brands tell their data story.

An avid business evangelist and original thinker, he continually shares his passion for the strategic value of master data through industry events, public speaking, blogs, videos, whitepapers, podcasts, cartoons, puppet shows, and all forms of thought leadership. His new book Telling Your Data Story: Data Storytelling for Data Management is available now.

[1 CPE] How Zero-Trust Enables the Future of “Work from Anywhere” Secure Access

  Presented by Duo Security

The perimeter-focused security model of decades past is no longer adequate for securing the modern enterprise. Now, organizations must secure a mobile workforce using a mix of corporate-owned and personal devices to access cloud-based applications and services, often from outside corporate networks — and this trend only accelerated during 2020’s global shift to remote work. Fortunately, a modern access strategy built on zero-trust fundamentals can defend today’s workforce while paving the way to a passwordless future. Attend this session to learn how the zero-trust access model works, reduce your reliance on passwords and risk of password-based attacks, and how to start planning and staging your zero-trust evolution today.

[1 CPE] The Rise of Secure Access Service Edge

  Presented by Bitglass

Secure access service edge has quickly emerged as a hot topic in cybersecurity, but what exactly does it mean and why should organizations care? As cloud migration, BYOD adoption, and remote work have skyrocketed in prevalence, it has become increasingly apparent that organizations need to think differently about security. While legacy tools like firewalls are no longer equipped to handle the modern IT ecosystem, SASE platforms are built for this exact moment.

In this presentation, you will learn:

  • The core components SASE
  • The functionality you need to secure cloud, web, and remote access use cases
  • Architectural considerations for SASE platforms

[1 CPE] 5 Steps to Building a Successful SASE Roadmap

  Presented by iboss

Millions of people shifted from working in the office to working remotely, which has resulted in lost productivity due to overloaded VPN connections slowing access to critical cloud applications. With virtually every app delivered in the cloud, why are remote workers sending traffic through the VPN, to begin with? Move your security to the cloud and allow users to connect directly to cloud apps without the VPN. Take these 5 steps when building your SASE cloud migration.

[1 CPE] Do You Feel the Need… the Need for Speed? Top Five SQL Server Query Tuning Tips

  Presented by Quest Software

Query tuning is key to peak performance in SQL Server databases. However, lots of developers and DBAs constantly struggle to pinpoint the root cause of performance issues and spend way too much time trying to fix them. In this presentation, Quest will share their tried-and-true best practices for tuning SQL statements and other issues by utilizing Wait Time Analysis, reviewing execution plans, and using SQL diagramming techniques. In addition, we’ll present several case studies to demonstrate these best practices.

Regardless of the complexity of your database or your skill level, this systematic approach will lead you down the correct tuning path with no guessing, saving countless hours of tuning queries and optimizing the performance of your SQL Server databases.

[1 CPE] Securing the Hybrid Cloud: Visibility Best Practices

  Presented by Gigamon

With the move to cloud and the multitude of approaches, your ability to effectively monitor and secure workloads gets even more difficult. IT complexity, the rate of change, lack of skills, and organizational silos have made confidently managing security and performance nearly impossible. Visibility is critical. Join us for a discussion of the security considerations for on-prem private, public, and hybrid clouds. You’ll learn best practices and see how a little planning and design can go a long way. Achieve a secure and viable hybrid cloud implementation and get a high return on your investment.