Agenda

Thursday, June 24

8:00 am    Registration and Morning Refreshments

9:00 am    Opening Remarks

Mark Bengel, Chief Information Officer, State of Tennessee

9:15 am    Opening Keynote

Off Balance on Purpose

Dan Thurmon, Author and Peak Performance Coach

Life is an off balance proposition. Achieving balance – a perfect symmetry – is an unrealistic objective. You will never get there! Life is in constant motion, and priorities and resources change all the time. That’s why we need to embrace and initiate off balance moments in order to successfully engage life in all its aspects. In this dynamic keynote address, Dan Thurmon uses highly visual and creative means to demonstrate that “off balance” is how we learn, grow, excel and fully experience what is happening around us. It’s tough out there right now. The question is: Are you thrown off balance in response to your world or are you off balance on purpose?

10:15 am    Morning Break

10:45 am    Concurrent Sessions

New Service Models – To the Clouds and Beyond

Software as a Service (SaaS) and cloud computing are being used more and more in the private sector as a cost-effective way of providing technology services. In government today, IT organizations are faced with what seem to be competing requirements: prepare for higher demand, cut costs, and comply with enterprise-wide green initiatives. Is there a place in government for these new service models? What is the state of the technology? What are the risks? This session offers specific advice on these innovative service models, and examples of how they are being used by government.

Sunit Khanna, Customer Solutions Manager, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Mobility and Management: Key Issues for Government
 
Are you running out of pockets for your mobile devices? Laptops, Notebooks, IPhones, Blackberries - the list continues to grow.  Mobility has introduced an entirely new – and very challenging - set of issues into network, operational, and line-of-business management. Sure, it’s great to be out where the action is without leaving your IT arsenal behind, but how should the mobile worker and their devises be managed to maximize benefits while minimizing costs?

Carlos Mariosa, Senior Manager, Industry & Mobility Application Solutions Group, AT&T

Is There a Business Case for Social Media in Government?

It seems that everyone - from the newest movie star to political candidates to your grocery store – is inviting you to follow them on Twitter or friend them on Facebook. Jurisdictions are increasingly creating Facebook accounts, Tweeting and developing Wikis. But the questions remain – is there a business case? Will social media change how we govern? Should agencies develop policies around privacy, security and public records?  These tools and approaches offer tremendous power for relatively little investment but at the same time they raise a host of issues and challenges – and plenty of risks.  In this session, you will hear about organizations who are using social media tools today and what they have learned.

Jeremy Heidt, Spokesman and Public Information Officer, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency

Shanmuga Sundaram, Director, Strategy & Planning, Information Technology Services, Vanderbilt University

11:45 am    Lunch

12:30 pm    General Session

The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves

Gopal Kapur, Founder and President, Center for Project Management

Furloughs, budget cuts, hiring freeze and the threat of layoffs are creating havoc even in organizations that have never faced morale problems. In their responses to the Center for Project Management’s 2009 annual survey, 66 percent of executives indicated that low team morale is a critical issue. Is your organization suffering from this malaise? If so, does your organization resort to “beatings” to improve performance? Is there another way? What is your role in improving morale?

You can sit back in your office and fret over the economic downturns and the effect it is having on your staff and your peers, or you can hear about the steps you can take to help improve the situation.

1:30 pm    Afternoon Break and Refreshments

1:50 pm    Concurrent Sessions

Closing the Gap - Data and Disaster Recovery-Business Continuity

Web-based applications. Resource and application virtualization. Load balancing. All powerful next-generation technologies that provide for a comprehensive and integrated business continuity solution. Conducting business as usual, even under unusual circumstances, requires continuous, real-time, secure access to critical applications. This session will highlight strategies and new technologies that ensure the resiliency, protection, and constant availability of agencies' IT services. Discussions will shed light on how to identify and close the gaps between data and disaster recovery and business continuity.

Jim Sweeney, Principal Solutions Consultant, GTSI

Thin is In – Desktop Virtualization

Desktop virtualization offers promise as a way to simplify desktop management, cut costs and provide better service. However, there are also potential drawbacks to a virtualized desktop environment, including complexity of deployment and loss of user autonomy. Come hear the real world lessons from organizations that are implementing desktop virtualization, both the advantages they have realized, and the pitfalls you should avoid.

Matt Lesak, Senior Systems Engineer - Desktop Specialist, VMware

Localgov 2.0

Local governments around the country are embracing social media tools that can create and enhance the sense of community that has historically been the backbone of local government.  However as each and every County and Municipality is its own internet service provider, they consequently have to make individual choices about encouraging social networking, the risks, rewards, and how the heck to get it safely implemented with limited resources. This session will focus on social media issues specific to local government.

Moderator: Justin O'Hara, Information Technology Consultant, Municipal Technical Advisory Service, University of Tennessee

Keith Durbin, Chief Information Officer/Director of Information Technology, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County

Rob Ogle, Information Technology Director, City of Pigeon Forge

Brian Robertson, Chief Information Officer, Rutherford County Government

2:50 pm    Afternoon Break

3:10 pm    Concurrent Sessions

Transparency and Open Government: Our New World and Your New Role!

We are living and working in a new era of transparency, with leaders committed to an open and transparent government structure. This trend signals a shift in how government does business. In this era of open government, the guiding principle is that information and digital records, including various forms of electronic communications, are most definitely public assets. The impacts of eDiscovery, FOIA and public records laws on IT systems are increasing dramatically. You have a key role in transparent government. Come hear about these changes, find out how to avoid potential pitfalls, and how to present the information citizens are demanding.

Bobby Caudill, Group Manager, Global Government Solutions, Adobe

Doing the Right Things - Data-driven Decisions

Government isn’t a business, nor can it pretend to be. But it can think more like one by streamlining operations, understanding real costs, developing metrics, managing performance and analyzing information. This session will cover some of business intelligence and performance measurement tools and methods government can use to track, measure and manage key processes and performance.

Don Enfinger, Managing Director/Production Services - Technology Services Group, BNYMellon

LOGITT Membership Meeting

This session, facilitated by the LOGITT steering committee, will be held to discuss the organizational status of LOGITT.  Open to members and potential members, topics discussed will include membership status, state contract purchasing, MTAS and CTAS services available to local governments and goals for the organization’s future.

Al Thomas, Committee Chairman, LOGITT & Director of Information Technology, Johnson City

4:10 pm    Executive Reception

Network with your colleagues and discuss technology solutions with the event sponsors.

Conference times, agenda, and speakers are subject to change.