Midwest IT & Security Leaders Forum 2024

As the digital economy continues to expand, institutions must adapt to remain competitive and relevant. This session will explore the key trends shaping the future of the digital economy and how institutions can effectively enable their digital transformation. Topics will include advancements in digital infrastructure, the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning, the importance of data analytics, and the shift towards digital-first business models. Experts will discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by these trends, providing practical insights on how institutions can leverage technology to enhance efficiency, innovation, and customer engagement. Attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of the strategic steps necessary to thrive in the digital economy

Getting past the hype of AI and ChatGPT, there are huge benefits to practical (and less sexy) applications of AI that can make the lives of security practitioners better. And despite all the buzzwords and overpromises coming from our industry today, there actually are real and meaningful ways AI tools will help security professionals make better risk decisions, faster and more accurately in order to mitigate risk in tangible ways for the business. In this talk, we’ll show some examples of how AI can help predict risk, cut through complexity when making risk decisions and even help to retain senior staff while keeping them focused on the tasks that matter most.

Presented by: Tenable

Delve into the flaws of the traditional cybersecurity landscape and how a modern SOC should focus on outcome-based services without relying on logs or the cost and complexity of a SIEM.

Presented by: LMNTRIX

In today’s dynamic business environment, companies face the imperative of delivering instant answers and assistance to customers engaging with digital channels. This informative discussion addresses the vital elements needed to produce tangible results to meet this demand. While AI tools and smart agents can minimize human intervention, professionals across sales, marketing, and customer service must navigate customer interactions and team collaboration in new ways. In this chat we will address the challenges to be aware of in the strategic deployment of these technologies and steps to take to ensure they deliver expected value.

Speakers:

Mike Egli, CX Client Principal, RingCentral

Rob Strickland, Interim CIO, Infovista

Presented by: RingCentral

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Innovation driven by DevOps, cloud and AI/ML emboldens businesses to expand access to the essential fuel for those programs– enterprise data. At the same time, stringent privacy laws and frequent cyber attacks increase pressure to mitigate sensitive data risks. With more and more interaction shifting to the digital brand experience, how can today’s enterprises effectively unlock the power of their enterprise data and eliminate friction between data usage and data security?

Join this interactive session to discuss the cultural shift modern enterprises are actively engaged in to make data more available, secure, compliant and resilient.

Presented by: Delphix

Today, the primary CEO priority is growth, with technology as a key enabler. However, vendor policies pose major roadblocks to innovation, growth and competitive advantage by forcing you to spend limited budget, resources and time on projects that may not drive your business. ​Learn how you can take control of your IT roadmap by choosing a Business-Driven Roadmap designed around your business objectives and not the vendor’s. Leverage vendor software, but do it on your terms, on your timetable and with the flexibility, funding and freedom to focus on initiatives that support growth and competitive advantage.

Dive into the transformative world of quantum computing, where the boundaries of processing power and problem-solving are redefined. This session explores the fundamental shifts that organizations must embrace to harness the potential of quantum technology, from upgrading cybersecurity measures to innovating computational strategies. Get ahead of the curve by understanding the essentials of quantum readiness and positioning yourself for success in this exciting new era of computing.

Speaker: Yev Avidon, Director – Cybersecurity, Data Protection, Kroger

Enterprises have hordes of data and many opportunities to integrate other data sources. But readying data for AI experimentation is expensive and requires an iterative approach. This session will focus on finding the best opportunities to experiment with AI and on applying agile practices in machine learning initiatives.

Speaker: Digvijay Shanker, IT Director, Optum

As organizations adapt to technological advancements, remote collaboration tools, and changing workforce dynamics, the CIO emerges as a key strategist, orchestrating digital transformation initiatives and ensuring seamless integration of technology into the fabric of the modern workplace. This Panel will discuss how CIOs can drive innovation, enhance cybersecurity measures, and foster a flexible and inclusive work environment to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by the future of work.

Open seating, Buffet-style lunch. Serving food for all tastes, pallets and preferences. Vegan, vegetarian, halal options available

The ERP is the backbone of most organizations. Software packages from large vendors such as Oracle and SAP are essential for back-end business operations. But how do they fit into emerging technology strategies such as Cloud, AI/ML, Security, and other competitive growth initiatives? Come to this session to learn about the intersection of ERP and emerging technology and ways to find the right allocation of resources between operations and innovation.

Presented by: Rimini Street

Managing endpoint risk and compliance is more challenging today than ever before. Today’s CISOs have to manage risk from many thousands of globally distributed, heterogeneous assets, while also responding to ever increasing audit scrutiny and regulatory compliance requirements.

Join this session, Achieving the Benefits of Converged Endpoint Management, to learn more about how to:

• Identify & remediate risks that create the greatest exposure.
• Assess & measure unknown vulnerabilities.
• Maximize IT budgets and staffing during economic uncertainty.
• Enhance existing investment in strategic technology vendors.

Tim Morris, Chief Security Advisor, AMER, Tanium

Presented by: Tanium

Embark on a hands-on journey understanding API Management and iPaaS fundamentals. Discover the shift to an API-First mindset and its business advantages. Dive deep into the world of API Gateways, Service Mesh, and the magic behind effective microservices orchestration. Discuss and strategize on blending cloud and on-prem integrations. Experience the democratization of integration with low-code/no-code iPaaS. Engage in real-time analytics, monitor API performances, and troubleshoot potential issues. Let’s co-create and decode the future of seamless digital integrations together!

In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, staying ahead of threats is imperative. As we reflect on the past, embrace the present, and prepare for the future, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into security infrastructure has emerged as a disruptive technology in safeguarding digital assets. Join us at this exclusive event led by Trend Micro as we delve into the dynamic journey of AI’s impact on cybersecurity. From historical insights to current advancements and future projections, discover how AI is reshaping the defense mechanisms against cyber threats, fortifying your infrastructure, and empowering organizations to navigate the digital frontier with confidence.

Speaker: Robin Purnell, Senior Security Engineer, Trend Micro

Presented by: Trend Micro

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From vendor selection and due diligence to ongoing monitoring and compliance, this session equips business leaders with practical insights and tools to proactively address and mitigate risks associated with external partnerships, ensuring a secure and resilient operational ecosystem

To ensure relevance and competitiveness in today’s customer centric market, enterprises of all types are investing heavily in customer data capture and customer data analytics capabilities. With data being captured from so many new locations and at a deeper and more personal level than ever before privacy issues become more and more important. Enterprises need to constantly review their data capture and usage to determine value vs. risk and whether the incentive offered to the customer is sufficient to overcome any reticence on their part. This session will address privacy issues, how to balance opt in vs opt out requirements and that Data Privacy certainly isn’t a roadblock to data capture but the customer incentive needs to be sufficient to justify the sharing of personal details.

In most markets, there is an abundance of open IT jobs with fewer people able to fill them – and the positions are getting more expensive. Working remotely is the norm, but not optimal (usually). There is less off-shoring and more resources are focused locally or within the same hemisphere.

Additionally, we are still not recruiting enough woman and minorities in to the rank and file, especially senior IT roles, and we’re losing talent to major tech hubs.

Join us at the roundtable with your peers as we dive into solutions to tackle the following challenges:

• How do you scale staff / team without losing them to major tech hubs?
• How do you create more diversity – not only among race and gender – but diversity of thought – Old vs New Thinking?
• How do we mentor universities to implement actionable steps for supplying more IT talent?
  

Aggressive attacks on Enterprise computer networks are continuing with increased frequency and threatening economic and national security. Actions like vulnerability reduction and passive defenses on their own simply are not cutting it and there needs to be a functional shift in the way we mitigate this substantial threat. Companies can seek to protect their most sensitive data by implementing an environment of actionable intelligence and detection to bring the fight to the adversaries and ensure a proactive approach to securing data. This session will discuss best practices in managing the constant evolution in the security environment.

Moderated by: Cyera

Panelist: Aladdin Elston, CISO, Altimetrik

Threat actors, Red-Teams, and Ransomware have been abusing Active Directory for years. In fact, attackers have compromised or leveraged AD in 100% of the successful ransomware attacks over the last 3 years. This discussion will discuss new technologies to help you visualize the risk in your AD and add a layer of security around this very important part of enterprise infrastructure.

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Everyone’s journey to being data-driven is unique. It’s like making an apple pie. It’s easy to get the ingredients, but you need to know how to put together the right recipe for a great apple pie. In this interactive discussion I will share insights and lessons learned in leading data modernization initiatives and in sharing the journey with customers. Data literacy, culture, governance, quality, technology stack modernization and architecture are all ingredients in driving towards the right data driven recipe. The discussion will include tips and tricks for reducing friction points and how to build the right recipe for your organization.

The result of digital transformation: It’s easier to do business with your customers and partners. But with new architectures, web apps and APIs now deployed from on-prem servers to the cloud, it is harder than ever to get a holistic view of all of these potentially vulnerable assets – never mind defend them.

What are your biggest challenges today in defending these diverse assets? What are the known gaps in your current defenses? What are you seeking in the future to defend your apps and APIs?

Topics covered will include:

• How are adversaries preying upon unprotected web apps and APIs?
• How are traditional web application firewalls deployed, and what are they missing?
• What does the future look like with unified web app and API security solutions?

Who loves a good audit? Well, you should! Think of them as a helpful nudge to fix what’s weak, make sure you’re playing by the rules, and get your systems running smoother than ever. You’ll see how these check-ups are less of a headache and more like a secret weapon for keeping your tech game strong and secure.

Speaker: Rob Strickland, Interim CIO, InfoVista