Topic: Strategic Management

Seminar Topics

[1 CPE] Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification: Considerations for Compliance

  Presented by Matanuska Telephone Association

Everything You Need to Know About CMMC:

In 2007, Chinese hackers successfully targeted a Department of Defense (DoD) subcontractor leading to the creation of a powerful fighter jet. During this cyberattack, the Chinese stole enough data to make their J-20 stealth fighter jet a real threat to the USA. The reality of this attack is that it wasn’t just a one-off event—over $600 billion is lost globally due to cyber theft every year. With that in mind, the DoD knew something needed to change.

Changes to cybersecurity compliance are coming. Before the introduction of the cybersecurity maturity model certification (CMMC), any self-attesting defense contractors could say that they were compliant with specific cybersecurity guidelines—without having to prove it. This not only left room for contractors to become complacent but diminished all compliant defense contractors’ credibility. In short, contractors who were reckless with sensitive information weren’t held accountable—until now.

With the rollout of the CMMC, contracting with the DoD is more specialized than ever—especially if you’re dealing with controlled unclassified information (CUI). But these new guidelines also mean the space will become more lucrative. It’s estimated that 129,810 businesses will likely pursue CMMC certification in the first 5 years.

CMMC boils down to 3 major points:

  1. It’s mandatory. All CMMC requirements will explicitly address what level your company needs to be at to send or receive any future federal agency RFIs and RFPs.
  2. It’s verifiable. Proof of certification will be accessible electronically.
  3. It’s a long-term investment. Many organizations see between 12-18 months of continual effort to complete their compliance projects fully.

Presented by Rob Thurston, Chief Technology Officer at Ampersand, Alaska’s leading technology services provider, attendees will learn about compliance requirements, sustainability, and risks for DoD contractors.

[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 Emery • Chief Information Officer, Missoula County
Margaret Kauska • Chief Security Officer, Montana Department of Revenue
Peter Martinson • Supervisor, Information Technology, Montana State University

[1 CPE] The American Rescue Act Opportunities for IT in Montana

  Presented by Kevin Gilbertson • Chief Information Officer, State of Montana

Through the American Rescue Plan Act, funding is being distributed through grants within the State of Montana to enhance education, communications, and health and human services, as well provide funds for economic transformation and workforce development. We will discuss how these funds have provided State IT the opportunity to modernize our interactions with citizens to support ARPA efforts as well as provide an avenue for attracting technical jobs and talent to the state.

Kevin Gilbertson serves as the State of Montana’s CIO. He joined the Department of Administration in March of 2021 after spending almost thirty years in the enterprise software industry, which included work with state and federal government customers as well as Fortune 500 corporate customers.

Kevin most recently served as a Vice President of Product Strategy and Enablement at Helix Business Solution before being appointed State CIO by Governor Gianforte. Prior to joining Helix Business Solution, Gilbertson was the owner and principal consultant at Forstara and worked in various IT roles at RightNow Technologies, both based out of Bozeman, MT. He also partnered with federal agency CIOs on open data initiatives while working for Socrata in Seattle, WA.

Gilbertson holds a Master of Science degree from Capella University in psychology specializing in Organizational Leader Development and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

[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:

John Brandt • Director of IT, Santa Fe Opera
Luis Brown • Chief Information Security Officer, Central New Mexico Community College
Bill Halverson • Sr. Technology Advisor, CNM, Ingenuity
Darshana Kanabar • Deputy CIO, NM Taxation and Revenue Dept

[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] The Evolution of Vulnerability Management

  Presented by Optiv Security & Tenable

A proactive, risk-driven Vulnerability Management approach delivers comprehensive, continuous visibility and informs technical and business decisions. Join Tenable’s Nathan Wenzler and Optiv’s Doug Drew (a respected Tenable Guardian) as they discuss real-world VM challenges and how to manage and measure your cyber risk.

[1 CPE] The Evolution of Vulnerability Management

  Presented by Optiv Security & Tenable

A proactive, risk-driven Vulnerability Management approach delivers comprehensive, continuous visibility and informs technical and business decisions. Join Tenable’s Nathan Wenzler and Optiv’s Doug Drew (a respected Tenable Guardian) as they discuss real-world VM challenges and how to manage and measure your cyber risk.

[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.