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Keynote Presentation
Visionary speaker presents to entire audience on key issues, challenges and business opportunities
Keynote Presentations give attending delegates the opportunity to hear from leading voices in the industry. These presentations feature relevant topics and issues aligned with the speaker's experience and expertise, selected by the speaker in concert with the summit's Content Committee." title="Keynote Presentations give attending delegates the opportunity to hear from leading voices in the industry. These presentations feature relevant topics and issues aligned with the speaker's experience and expertise, selected by the speaker in concert with the summit's Content Committee.
Executive Visions
Panel moderated by Master of Ceremonies and headed by four executives discussing critical business topics
Executive Visions sessions are panel discussions that enable in-depth exchanges on critical business topics. Led by a moderator, these sessions encourage attending executives to address industry challenges and gain insight through interaction with expert panel members." title="Executive Visions sessions are panel discussions that enable in-depth exchanges on critical business topics. Led by a moderator, these sessions encourage attending executives to address industry challenges and gain insight through interaction with expert panel members.
Thought Leadership
Solution provider-led session giving high-level overview of opportunities
Led by an executive from the vendor community, Thought Leadership sessions provide comprehensive overviews of current business concerns, offering strategies and solutions for success. This is a unique opportunity to access the perspective of a leading member of the vendor community." title="Led by an executive from the vendor community, Thought Leadership sessions provide comprehensive overviews of current business concerns, offering strategies and solutions for success. This is a unique opportunity to access the perspective of a leading member of the vendor community.
Think Tank
End user-led session in boardroom style, focusing on best practices
Think Tanks are interactive sessions that place delegates in lively discussion and debate. Sessions admit only 15-20 participants at a time to ensure an intimate environment in which delegates can engage each other and have their voices heard." title="Think Tanks are interactive sessions that place delegates in lively discussion and debate. Sessions admit only 15-20 participants at a time to ensure an intimate environment in which delegates can engage each other and have their voices heard.
Roundtable
Interactive session led by a moderator, focused on industry issue
Led by an industry analyst, expert or a member of the vendor community, Roundtables are open-forum sessions with strategic guidance. Attending delegates gather to collaborate on common issues and challenges within a format that allows them to get things done." title="Led by an industry analyst, expert or a member of the vendor community, Roundtables are open-forum sessions with strategic guidance. Attending delegates gather to collaborate on common issues and challenges within a format that allows them to get things done.
Case Study
Overview of recent project successes and failures
Case Studies allow attending executives to hear compelling stories about implementations and projects, emphasizing best practices and lessons learned. Presentations are immediately followed by Q&A sessions." title="Case Studies allow attending executives to hear compelling stories about implementations and projects, emphasizing best practices and lessons learned. Presentations are immediately followed by Q&A sessions.
Focus Group
Discussion of business drivers within a particular industry area
Focus Groups allow executives to discuss business drivers within particular industry areas. These sessions allow attendees to isolate specific issues and work through them. Presentations last 15-20 minutes and are followed by Q&A sessions." title="Focus Groups allow executives to discuss business drivers within particular industry areas. These sessions allow attendees to isolate specific issues and work through them. Presentations last 15-20 minutes and are followed by Q&A sessions.
Analyst Q&A Session 
Moderator-led coverage of the latest industry research
Q&A sessions cover the latest industry research, allowing attendees to gain insight on topics of interest through questions directed to a leading industry analyst." title="Q&A sessions cover the latest industry research, allowing attendees to gain insight on topics of interest through questions directed to a leading industry analyst.
Vendor Showcase
Several brief, pointed overviews of the newest solutions and services
Taking the form of three 10-minute elevator pitches by attending vendors, these sessions provide a concise and pointed overview of the latest solutions and services aligned with attendee needs and preferences." title="Taking the form of three 10-minute elevator pitches by attending vendors, these sessions provide a concise and pointed overview of the latest solutions and services aligned with attendee needs and preferences.
Executive Exchange
Pre-determined, one-on-one interaction revolving around solutions of interest
Executive Exchanges offer one-on-one interaction between executives and vendors. This is an opportunity for both parties to make key business contacts, ask direct questions and get the answers they need. Session content is prearranged and based on mutual interest." title="Executive Exchanges offer one-on-one interaction between executives and vendors. This is an opportunity for both parties to make key business contacts, ask direct questions and get the answers they need. Session content is prearranged and based on mutual interest.
Open Forum Luncheon
Informal discussions on pre-determined topics
Led by a moderator, Open Forum Luncheons offer attendees informal, yet focused discussions on current industry topics and trends over lunch." title="Led by a moderator, Open Forum Luncheons offer attendees informal, yet focused discussions on current industry topics and trends over lunch.
Networking Session
Unique activities at once relaxing, enjoyable and productive
Networking opportunities take various unique forms, merging enjoyable and relaxing activities with an environment conducive to in-depth conversation. These gatherings allow attendees to wind down between sessions and one-on-one meetings, while still furthering discussions and being productive." title="Networking opportunities take various unique forms, merging enjoyable and relaxing activities with an environment conducive to in-depth conversation. These gatherings allow attendees to wind down between sessions and one-on-one meetings, while still furthering discussions and being productive.
Thursday, December 31, 2020 - CIO Vancouver Summit
7:00 am - 7:55 am
Registration & Networking Breakfast
8:00 am - 8:10 am
Welcome Address and Opening Remarks 
8:10 am - 8:50 am
Keynote Presentation
The Future of the CIO in the Coming Digital Economy
As more businesses undergo a digital transformation, and as those digital transformations become more ingrained into organizational culture, Digital becomes not something unique and different from the business, but a core component of every aspect of the business. As this shift occurs, IT itself faces the very real possibility of no longer being something unique from the business, but instead a component of every aspect of the business. In this world, what role then exists for the CIO? Two clear paths are presenting themselves – one leads to a focus on infrastructure and integration, to keeping the lights on for the digital innovators, while the other leads to information and innovation itself. Knowing what path to choose, how to choose it, and how to see it through will be one of the greatest challenges CIOs of this era will face.
Takeaways:
- Change is, if not already hear, certainly coming and CIOs that don’t prepare for the change may not like the results when it arrives
- Digital transformation is all about connecting enterprise system to information technology to drive productivity and performance improvements
- Be prepared to tackle the tasks that no-one wants to do, but everyone needs done; establish relevance to cultivate importance
8:55 am - 9:35 am
Keynote Presentation
Comprehending The Crushing Cost of Complexity
Enterprises live today in a world that is fast-paced, ever-changing, and focused on experience, innovation, and transformation; it is a world in which if you are not growing, you are failing and in which the pressure is intense. Unfortunately, too many enterprises are hamstrung and suffer from an inability to be quick and agile. This slowness is created by culture of complexity that leads to a lack of employee and customer engagement and an inability for people, and therefore businesses, to succeed. To address this issue, enterprises need to break out of the old way of doing things and refocus their priorities and activities around the mantra that user experience is king, and that every effort should be made to enhance it. In this session we will explore the impediments to exceptional user experience, their reasons for being, and being to understand why we haven’t yet been able to overcome them.
Takeaways:
- Complexity is bred when people must adapt to the applications they use, rather than those applications adapting to the people that use them
- One-size-fits-all models no longer work in modern data-centric organizations because everyone absorbs data and interacts with technology differently
- The cost of complexity is hard to quantify in either direct (time and money) or indirect (culture) terms but it exists and absolutely must be addressed
9:45 am - 10:15 am
Executive Exchange
Think Tank
Cloud and the IT Department of the Future
On the surface, wholesale adoption of cloud delivered services seems to signal the end of the IT department as we know it as the vast majority of the extant roles and responsibilities become outsourced. While that may be true, it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the IT department in its entirety. A variety of studies have shown that expansion of the IT department is just as likely as contraction as a result of broader cloud adoption. While the sysadmins and other server-huggers may well go away cloud adoption signals growth in at least four keys areas: Business Management, Vendor Management, Information Security, and Systems Integration. IT Leaders must begin the work now of recasting their IT department to position is for success if the brave new cloud world.
Takeaways:
- Cloud does not spell the death knell for the IT department and could well signal an actual growth
- The skills required in a cloud world are different than those in an on-prem world, but in many ways are “higher order” skill sets that offer greater business value
- As skills demand increases, CIOs will have to figure out whether to build, buy, or borrow the resources with the right capabilities
Think Tank
Mobile Data Quality
Data quality has long been one of the most challenging issues that IT organizations and the enterprises that are hoe to them have had to deal with. Everyone knows that these data quality issues exist, but the cost and complication of addressing them has pushed them to the back burner. We stand however at a precipice, one that has been brought on us by mobile computing – as more devices enter the hands of more users, more data is being created and consumed, making the data quality issue more pressing, more relevant, and more urgent to solve. IT leaders can no longer ignore data quality issues for the good of their companies and the good of their careers and need to bring this issue to the fore and get it resolved before the avalanche sweeps them under.
Takeaways:
- Data quality is hard and unappealing and so in many case it is simply not done, or not done effectively
- Enterprises have been scuffling by with poor data quality capabilities and may be convinced that the situation is manageable
- Even though data volumes have grown quickly over the last few years, mobility s set to give data volume a near vertical growth curve which will compound and highlight this fundamental issue
10:20 am - 10:50 am
Executive Exchange
Thought Leadership
Making ITIL Work – Moving Beyond Frameworks and Getting to Action
In order to deal with the increasing pressure to increase service delivery, service efficiency, and service effectiveness, IT departments are adopting the ITIL framework. While ITIL adoption has lots of press around the benefits that it can deliver, it doesn’t do so without hard work, and it doesn’t do so without the tools that activate, measure, and validate adopted frameworks and processes. In order to achieve the four goals of ITIL adoption – reduced cost of operations, improved service delivery, improved user satisfaction, improved compliance – IT leaders need to be prepared to move beyond just the process and invest in the technology solutions that make them work.
Takeaways:
- IT departments are under increasing pressure to improve effectiveness and help overcome core business challenges
- Standardized process frameworks, such as those provided by ITIL, are a tried and true way to become more effective
- Frameworks by themselves are about as useful as the paper they are written on and tools are required to make them work
10:55 am - 11:25 am
Executive Exchange
Roundtable 
Disaster Recovery and Preparing for the Inevitable
Like death and taxes, IT outages are an inevitability whether as the result of power loss, telecommunications outage, or any one of a myriad other potential technical and non-technical issues. In this environment, the savvy CIO knows that what matters most is preparation – being ready for that next outage with an IT infrastructure that is both resilient and flexible and Disaster Recovery procedures that allow for efficient and effective recovery, balancing Recovery Time and Recovery Point objectives with appropriate cost. Disasters happen but with proper planning they don’t have to be disastrous to your business.
Takeaways:
- In the event of a severe outage, businesses without a Disaster Recovery plan are at a significant disadvantage when it comes to recoverability and viability
- DR planning cannot be an “at all costs” proposition and appropriate planning must take into account reasonable Recovery Time and Recovery Point objectives
- Catastrophic outages get the press but are the thin end of the wedge – minor service interruptions are far more common and must be planned for as well
Roundtable
IT Integration in a Distributed IT World
It’s no secret – the integration of disparate systems, disparate applications, and disparate data stores has long been one of the biggest challenges faced by the IT department. Simply put, getting everything to talk to everything is no easy task. The rapid adoption of cloud delivered services has compounded this problem almost exponentially – if it was hard to integrate when you controlled the whole stack it has become nearly impossible when you control very little of it. To be efficient and effective IT departments need to adopt a new model of system, application, and data integration. Endless webs of one-off point-to-point integrations simply won’t cut it anymore and a purposeful, structured approach is required.
Takeaways:
- Learn how to build a holistic strategy to integrate systems, applications, and data
- Understand how to leverage SOA and ESB to streamline app to app communications
- Discover the power and impact of holistic Master Data Management and other data integration processes.
11:30 am - 12:00 pm
Executive Exchange
Executive Boardroom
IPv6 Adoption
As IT Leaders, we have all been aware of the impending need to move from IPv4 to IPv6 protocols as the number of available IP addresses withers to next to nothing. Many have deferred this task however, simply making use of private internal address spaces to defer the inevitable work. As IoT becomes a fait accompli however, ignoring the issue is no longer a viable alternative; to be able to connect and access the vast number of public sensors and other IoT devices IPv6 must be adopted wholesale. CIOs that have not yet done so must begin IPv6 migration projects now to ensure that they are not roadblocks to growth and innovation as a result of IoT adoption.
Takeaways:
- Understand whether to build net new in parallel, or upgrade existing networks
- Changes will extend beyond just the infrastructure – internal and external applications will be affected as will WAN service providers
- IPv6 migration is not a trivial effort; significant upfront planning is required and this initiative cannot be handled in a reactionary manner
Executive Boardroom
Cloud Adoption Challenges on a Macro Level
The hype around the cloud is pervasive and can be potentially overwhelming but numerous studies have shown that tangible benefits can be had, whether in cost savings, efficiency improvements, or flexibility enhancements. That said numerous impediments exist to not just realizing that value, but even considering adoption; regulatory issues, integration challenges, business process revamp, and a dozen other challenges can halt cloud projects in their tracks before they get off the ground. In this group discussion we’ll explore those inhibitors, understanding which challenges prevent adoption and what can be done to overcome them.
Takeaways:
- The cloud presents a significant opportunity to organizations and while most have adopted in some form or other, wholesale adoption still lags
- To realize benefits enterprises must deal with a variety of challenges each one requiring different solutions
- Industry by industry adoption is constrained for different reasons but do common solutions exist that can resolve issues across the board?
12:05 pm - 12:35 pm
Executive Exchange
Think Tank
IoT for Industrial Automation
Industrial automation is the hallmark case for IoT adoption – by integrating all of the machines and systems that are involved in every step of the manufacturing process, inefficiencies can be discovered, process enhancement found, and cost and value improvements made. And while the European Commission is investing nearly $2B in “Factories of the Future”, the US has the world’s oldest industrial base and so faces a massive uphill battle to compete. Manufacturing jobs that are returning to America from Asia because of quality issues may quickly re-migrate to Europe for the self-same reasons unless significant investments in technology are made.
Takeaways:
- Smart factories are the way of the future – they offer cost and operational efficiencies that can’t be matched with traditional manufacturing techniques
- Existing MES deployments cannot be relied on as the “be all, end all” of automation and broad IoT style deployments are required
- A radical increase in IT investment in the Manufacturing space is required and CIOs must be at the vanguard of this charge
Think Tank
Using Data & Analytics to Drive Business Transformation
Big Data initiatives have become a reality among almost every company today, however, what we have seen is lots of initiatives have become just science projects and did not deliver on early expectations. This situation needs to reversed quickly because those organizations that are being successful with Big Data and analytics programs are rapidly leaving those that are unsuccessful in their wake. Big Data and analytics has the potential to be transformational for the enterprise, but IT leaders need to be making the right investments, in the right areas, to ensure optimal success. This panel discussion will focus on how to use data and analytics to drive true business success and show some real examples of companies and individuals who made a difference.
Takeaways:
- Analytics is not a new capability and has always been aligned with the most successful companies
- The roles of IT and the lines of business are changing when it comes to data and analytics programs
- The business benefits of analytics programs can be huge but efforts need to be constrained so that they don’t turn into flights of fancy, yet set free enough that they find the “unknown unknowns” that truly drive transformation
12:40 pm - 1:40 pm
Networking Luncheon
1:45 pm - 2:15 pm
Executive Exchange
Think Tank
Trends in Mobile Application Development
When it comes to developing mobile apps there are three clear directions that an enterprise can take – they can develop mobile web apps, they can develop native apps, or they can develop cross-platform apps. All three have pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses such that there is no definitive “right” or “wrong” answers, but there are certainly some developing best practices that need to be taken into account by any organization planning the rollout (or investigating the unsuccessful rollout) of enterprise mobile applications. Knowing the capabilities of the various development techniques, as well as the use case of the app is essential to making the right choice in development methodology.
Takeaways:
- Mobile web apps are often the easiest to implement, leveraging web developed web dev skills but generally offer the least satisfying end user experience
- Native apps may feel like the Cadillac solution, offering the richest experience but come with significant cost (money and time) implications
- Cross-platform apps allow for a dedicated per platform feel without the effort of developing for each device individually but this can lead to lowest common denominator design compromises
Think Tank
Planning for a MultiCloud Future
The promise of the cloud is almost beyond compare; infinite computing resources, unmatched reliability and uptime, instantaneous service availability, simplistic self-service and provisioning, and the low-low prices of a “buy by the drink” model. These are the reasons behind the rush to the cloud that we are currently experiencing, but the wholesale adoption does bring a downside – as more and more capability is moved to the cloud, more and more cloud providers are utilized since, for the most part, each provider offers only a limited suite of services. The MultiCloud environment that creates a new set of challenges that IT leaders need to overcome, notably resiliency, interoperability/integration, and security and compliance through careful planning and the lessons learned from building complex on premise distributed systems.
Takeaways:
- As enterprises move to the cloud, MultiCloud environments will increasingly become the norm, not the exception
- Consistent planning and thoughtful architecture will be essential to efficient and effective cloud deployments
- IT leaders do not need to be alarmed, they’ve been down the complex environment path before, but they do need to be careful
2:20 pm - 2:50 pm
Executive Exchange
Thought Leadership
Proving the ROI of IoT
We all know that ROI calculations, on the surface, are simple mathematical formulas: compare the cost of investment against the value of the return over a given and agreed upon period. But determining exactly what each side of the equation entails and totals is the challenging part, and nowhere moreso than in burgeoning areas such as IoT adoption where use cases are still not clearly understood, and technology costs are highly variable, and all the components related to cost may not yet be quantifiable. The benefits are there, as a number of enterprises are discovering with early pilot programs, but CIOs must enter this area with their eyes wide open to ensure that early IoT implementations have the ROI necessary to keep more complex projects moving forward.
Takeaways:
- Costs must be carefully quantified for any IoT project – it’s not just the sensors, but networking, data, security, etc. spend must be taken into account
- Similarly, value must be clearly established both in isolation and in comparison to any more “traditional” methods that could be used
- Successful IoT projects will be those that can initially leverage existing spend to mitigate costs with successive project piggybacking on earlier investments
2:55 pm - 3:25 pm
Executive Exchange
Executive Boardroom
Big Data, Small Data, and all the Data in Between
Increasingly over the last several years the term “Big Data” has become prevalent, to the point that it is invariably all anyone thinks of when data is mentioned at all. Often what we think of when we use the term “Big Data” is actually unstructured data – all the new data forms that enterprises have never collected before and are being overwhelmed by the possibilities of. But big/unstructured data is by no means the only data enterprises have and core structured or “small” data is often still the most relevant and valuable data an enterprise owns. As we collectively push forward into a more analytics-centric and therefore data-centric world what we need is a considered all-data strategy, one that incorporates big data, small data, master data, and meta data.
Takeaways:
- While Big Data is valuable, so is the rest of the data that an enterprise owns and consistent focus must be applied to all data forms and types
- A holistic data strategy that considers and the balances the needs of all data structures, types, needs, uses, and owners is essential for efficient and effective data operations
- For business that have not yet invested in Master Data Management, such a program is the ideal foundation for building a comprehensive data program
Executive Boardroom
Embracing Enterprise App Stores
Mobile devices are rapidly taking over the enterprise because the flexibility they offer radically outstrips that of the PC era computers that came before them. The device itself however, while offering the benefit of portability, is simply the conduit to that flexibility which is really provided by the apps that are used. In such an app-focused environment then, it is in every organization’s best interest to deploy an enterprise app store to help manage app usage, reduce app risk, control app expenditures, increase app value, and reduce administrative spend. Yet despite all these compelling reasons, less than half of all enterprises have one deployed. CIOs and IT leaders in charge of enterprise mobility deployments need to begin pushing app store deployments forwards now.
Takeaways:
- App stores offering tremendous benefits when it comes to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of mobility deployments
- Despite these benefits, only 44% of survey companies have deployed an enterprise app store
- Enterprise app stores cannot be too constrained in app choice or users will simply visit public app stores to get the apps they want and need
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Executive Exchange
Executive Boardroom
Cloud Adoption Challenges on a Macro Level
The hype around the cloud is pervasive and can be potentially overwhelming but numerous studies have shown that tangible benefits can be had, whether in cost savings, efficiency improvements, or flexibility enhancements. That said numerous impediments exist to not just realizing that value, but even considering adoption; regulatory issues, integration challenges, business process revamp, and a dozen other challenges can halt cloud projects in their tracks before they get off the ground. In this group discussion we’ll explore those inhibitors, understanding which challenges prevent adoption and what can be done to overcome them.
Takeaways:
- The cloud presents a significant opportunity to organizations and while most have adopted in some form or other, wholesale adoption still lags
- To realize benefits enterprises must deal with a variety of challenges each one requiring different solutions
- Industry by industry adoption is constrained for different reasons but do common solutions exist that can resolve issues across the board?
Executive Boardroom
Defining Data Governance
Data volume, data variety, and data velocity have all grown exponentially over the last few years, the so-called “Big Data” explosion. And while this increased organizational focus on data, the information it contains, and the insights that can be gleaned from it promises tremendous opportunity, that opportunity isn’t achieved without overcoming significant challenges. Whether it be the increased need for better data quality (an issue unresolved from the “small” data days), more efficient and effective data management, answering questions around data ownership vs. stewardship, or even increased regulatory pressure as a result of data security and data privacy, this increased focus on data has created an increased need for Data Governance. Join our panelists as we discuss the thorny issue of Data Governance: what it is, how it works, why you need it, and who should be responsible for it.
Takeaways:
- Data management issues have existed as long as data has existed but the Big Data boom has increased these challenges exponentially
- Resolving data management issues requires a strong data governance program to make rules, resolve issues, and enforce compliance
- Determining “what” to about data governance is the easy part, determining how and by whom it should be done will be the real challenge facing IT
4:05 pm - 4:35 pm
Executive Exchange
Think Tank
Bridging the Talent Gap: Building the Team of Tomorrow
There is no escaping the fact that the demands on the IT department are changing. Those changes are necessitating changes in the IT department itself and nowhere is this being felt more than in the roles and responsibilities of the IT staff themselves. Complicating this transition is the fact that every IT department is undergoing to change at roughly the same time making the personnel with the requisite skillsets extremely hard to find, and perhaps even harder to retain. Savvy CIOs need to quickly identify which are the hot skills they most urgently require and then build a strategy that allows them to build (train), borrow (outsource), or buy (hire) the right people with the right capability at the right time.
Takeaways:
- Commit to a talent-first organization which recognizes and rewards the most important asset you have – your people
- Identify the skills most urgently in need and prioritize their acquisition
- Determine which acquisition methods needs to be used for which skill to maximize impact and return on investment
Think Tank
Understanding the Sourcing Journey
Entering into sourcing relationships is not something that should be taken lightly; this is not simply a “to source or not to source?” question. In any sourcing decision there are a number of essential steps that must be considered, breaking the decisions down into three core areas: those prior to agreement, those during turn up of the service, and those that occur during the life of the agreement. Join our esteemed panelists as they talk candidly about their sourcing journey, the hurdles they encountered, and just what they had to do to overcome them.
Takeaways:
- The sourcing journey is not just a simple go/no-go decision; along the way there are numerous decision points that are encountered
- CIOs must have a very clear understanding of their needs and expectations, to be able to make the right choice for their organization
- Time and effort needs to be invested in not just the service and the technology, but in the impact on people and on the relationship itself.
4:40 pm - 5:20 pm
Executive Visions
Shadow IT – To Embrace or Eliminate?
Best practice in most enterprises, at least as far as the CIO and CISO goes, is to squash Shadow IT wherever it is encountered. Shadow IT, the argument goes, leads to a world of data and integration problems for the IT department, and significant amounts of unknown and unquantifiable risk for the information security group. A small but vocal minority however is beginning to advocate for Shadow IT as a catalyst of innovation, citing the increases in productivity and creativity by allowing enterprise staff to find their own out of the box solutions to organizational problems. CISOs can allow their organizations to have their cake (Shadow IT) and eat it too (still be secure) by following a few simple steps that allow them to build in security regardless of user activity.
Takeaways:
- Shadow IT is not malicious activity; it is simply the Line of Business user community looking to be efficient and effective
- A well-developed security program can take Shadow IT into account and incorporate protection mechanisms that allow end user flexibility
- Embracing Shadow IT does not mean “no holds barred” and end users need to understand the limit of the boundaries and the reason for their existence
5:20 pm - 5:30 pm
Thank You Address and Closing Remarks
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm