Registration and Morning Refreshments

Grand Ballroom Lobby

Opening Remarks

Grand Ballroom A/B

Yessica Jones, Chief Information Officer, State of Arkansas

Keynote

Grand Ballroom A/B

What’s Your Story?

Kelly Swanson, Strategic Narrative Specialist

IT is an adventure. Or should be! Every project is a journey, and we need to be better at promoting what we’re doing and how much we’re accomplishing. It’s important to be able to paint a picture that resonates. Data alone is not enough anymore. It’s already over-used, mis-used, abused and fake-newsed. The key is wrapping your data in a way that makes people care. You need the secret ingredient that is probably missing from presentations, pitches, speeches and any situation where you are trying to get buy-in. In this mind-expanding session, you will find out how to go from manipulating to motivating, from communicating to connecting, from telling people what to do to making them want to do it. Learn from the master!

Networking Break

Grand Ballroom Lobby

Concurrent Sessions

Cyberthreat Landscape

White Oak Room (Lower Level 2)

When State CIOs are surveyed for their top ten priorities, #1 on the list is cybersecurity and risk management. In just a few years cyberattacks and ransomware have become everyone’s biggest fear – in both private industry and government. The invaders just keep getting more creative. This session explores today’s threats, security frameworks and how to survive an attack with minimal damage.

Larry Flaxman, Chief Information Security Officer, Department of Human Services, Office of Information Technology, State of Arkansas

Kenny Holmes, Head of US Public Sector, Fortinet, Inc.

Nolan Leatherwood, Interim State Chief Security Officer, Division of Information Systems, State of Arkansas

Becoming Citizen-Centric

Harris Brake Room (Lower Level 2)

People don’t expect the public sector to be just like Uber or Lyft, but they are accustomed to a certain level of ease when it comes to buying and receiving goods and services - typically through a click of a button on their smartphone. In this fast-paced world with a soaring demand to be customer-centric, how does government keep up? This session dives into why standing still isn’t an option and why it’s critical to drive forward with innovative citizen experience strategies in mind.

Robert McGough, Deputy State Chief Data Officer, Division of Information Systems, State of Arkansas

Pradeep Parmar, Data Engineer, Division of Information Systems, State of Arkansas

Mollie Schick, Senior Solution Consultant, MedSLED, ServiceNow (@servicenow)

Future Skills – University Edition

Chicot Room (Lower Level 2)

Many of today’s standard IT jobs might not exist years from now, at least not in their current forms. And some of the most needed jobs in the future don’t even exist yet. How should we be shaping our own skillsets? What skills should we be seeking when hiring new people? There’s an easy way to get answers – let’s find out what universities are advising and teaching to their IT students!

Paul Cronan, Ph.D., Professor, Information Systems, Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas

Maria Markham, Ph.D., Director, Department of Education, Arkansas Division of Higher Education

Donald S. Walker, DCS, Director, Arkansas Coding Academy, Division of Outreach & Community Engagement, University of Central Arkansas

View Presentation Here

Lunch

Grand Ballroom A/B

Featured Speaker

Grand Ballroom A/B

Future Ready! The Playbook for 2020 & Beyond

Morgan Wright, Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Government

The magnitude and speed of technological, economic, and societal change is accelerating at an exponential pace. Your primary challenge is to anticipate the future – and then build it, being careful to optimize the upside while minimizing the effects of the shocks and stresses. Public leaders need more than just a new way of thinking – but a new way of executing supported by the right technological and cultural foundation. Future Ready focuses on what matters and why, what potential issues should be on your radar, and the adaptive, actionable takeaways that you can work on today to prepare for 2020 and beyond, including:

View FutureReady Presentation Here

Networking Break

Grand Ballroom Lobby

Concurrent Sessions

Disruptive Technologies – Are You Ready?

White Oak Room (Lower Level 2)

Technology is defining the way we live, work, play and govern. The adjective “disruptive” is probably an understatement when applied to trends such as autonomous vehicles, drones, artificial intelligence, ever-smarter devices, robotics and the Internet of Things. This session explores some of the technologies that are changing the face of society and – inevitably – government.

Debra Buckner, Treasurer, Pulaski County

Xiuzhen Huang, Ph.D., Professor of Computer Science, Arkansas State University

Bob Sanders, General Manager, Information Network of Arkansas

Data Revolution

Harris Brake Room (Lower Level 2)

It’s a common refrain that government should operate more like an enterprise. This approach holds true in some ways more than others, but it particularly applies to data and how it’s used – or not used – in meaningful ways. It all starts with data sharing. But why isn’t it done enough? Are the barriers cultural, legal or technical? This session explores the obstacles to data sharing and the tools and strategies that will take us from siloed data to actionable information.

Stu Davis, Managing Director, Public Sector, Sense Corp. (@SenseCorp)

Jane English, Senator, Arkansas General Assembly, State of Arkansas

Branon Kane, Regional Director, Ciena

Adita Karkera, Deputy State Chief Data Officer and Enterprise Database Administration Manager, Department of Transformation and Shared Services, Division of Information Systems, State of Arkansas

The Rise of Everything as a Service

Chicot Room (Lower Level 2)

Today, almost anything can be delivered “as a service”: software, mobile apps, infrastructure, storage, platforms, data, you name it. The possibilities and configurations are endless, and they introduce a variety of risks and challenges. This session examines the options and factors to consider when the climate calls for a thorough – and defensible – decision-making approach.

Brian Fortson, Enterprise Operations Division Director, Division of Information Systems, State of Arkansas

Jay Harton, Chief Operating Officer, Division of Information Systems, State of Arkansas

Sponsor Briefing

Grand Ballroom A/B

(Industry sponsors only) This informal discussion is hosted by State CIO Yessica Jones. The focus is on strategies, priorities, opportunities and the procurement process.

Networking Break

Grand Ballroom Lobby

General Sessions

Grand Ballroom A/B

Rethinking Shared Services

Nowadays, no one can reasonably claim that government silos are models of efficiency and economy. But conversely, a concentrated “IT monopoly” might not be the best answer either. It’s all about finding the right balance. “Shared services” might sound like a cliché, but they’re really the only way to make meaningful progress as an enterprise. This session discusses ways to shape a more collaborative environment that is a win-win approach for everyone involved.

Charlie Collins, Chief Innovation Officer, Department of Transformation and Shared Services, State of Arkansas

View Presentation Here

A Collaboration Success Story

In the public health realm, accessible data can be the difference between life and death. The Arkansas State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE) is meeting that challenge head on. How was consensus built across so many providers and facilities? What collaborative tools are being used to allow timely sharing of vital information? This session explores how the Department of Health is improving the quality of care across the state with groundbreaking data sharing strategies that can be a model for any agency.

Anne Santifer, Health Information Technology Director, Department of Health, Office of Health Information Technology, State of Arkansas (@SHAREarkansas)

View Presentation Here

Networking Reception

Grand Ballroom Lobby

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

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