Apr 10 2023
Management

CDW Executive SummIT Offers Leaders a Holistic IT Strategy

At this year’s April Executive SummIT, sessions are tailored to help decision-makers balance business priorities with competing trends, security threats and calls for innovation.

Research indicates that, on average, adults make a minimum of 35,000 decisions per day, according to The Leading Edge and Inc.

For leaders at the executive level, decision-making requires balancing a variety of competing interests. It’s a complex strategy that involves agility, precision and forward thinking. For IT leaders, this often means tracking business priorities against industry trends. And then, there are future goals to consider, such as digital transformation, security and the cultural impact of hybrid work. As choices accumulate, it’s nearly impossible for one factor to not compromise another.

These dilemmas are the focal point of the upcoming CDW Executive SummIT in Chicago (April 11-13). The event, centered around “Empowering Your Business with a Holistic IT Strategy,” will give IT leaders a fresh perspective, urging them to go beyond making one decision at a time and instead consider how each decision is additive and can build toward a larger mission.

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What to Expect from the CDW Executive SummIT

At this three-day, in-person event, participants will hear from CDW leaders, industry experts and peers as they share IT and business insights on today’s trends, opportunities and challenges. The conference will include keynote sessions, a solution showcase and discussion groups. The SummIT will be organized around four topics: hybrid infrastructure, digital velocity, digital experience and security.

Presenters at the event will include IT experts from Microsoft, IBM, Splunk, VMware, Zscaler, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Proofpoint, Dell Technologies, Cisco, Amazon Web Services, Intel, Natunix and more. Experts will share how they deliver digital experiences to their customers.

Here’s a preview of the four major topics that will shape the Executive SummIT: 

Building a Smart Hybrid Infrastructure

The initial journey to the cloud is over. Now, many companies find themselves with a mix of on-premises and cloud environments. Experts will share their recommendations for how to unify operations, reduce costs and gain total observability across a hybrid multicloud landscape.

Speakers and experts include Troy Wilson, field CTO at NetApp; Marc Chapman, vice president for strategy at IBM; Ted Stein, senior director for cloud infrastructure and software at Cisco; and Scott Harrison, director of hybrid infrastructure solutions at CDW.

DIG DEEPER: Find out how CIOs can demonstrate the business value of IT projects.

Striving Toward Lasting Security

Even with defenses in place, every organization remains at risk for a cyberattack. Experts will share how organizations can avoid a vicious cycle of incidents by identifying gaps in their operational approach.

Speakers and experts include Larry Burke, CDW vice president for global security strategy; Bob West, chief security officer at Palo Alto Networks; Jeremy Weiss, cybersecurity lead and executive technology strategist at CDW; and Jeremiah Salzberg, chief security technologist at CDW.

Understanding Digital Velocity and Why It Matters

Embracing digital work is about more than just going paperless and automating workflow. It requires developing a cohesive roadmap to track results. These sessions will explain what digital velocity means and how embracing it can carry the customer along a digital journey across platforms.

Speakers and experts include Jason Hinton, director of Azure strategy at Microsoft; Sibu Kutty, migration and modernization CTO at Amazon Web Services; Casey Bleeker, general manager of digital velocity at CDW; and Phil Taylor, director and CTO for digital velocity at CDW.

LEARN: Understand how IT leaders can strategically manage their modern apps.

Creating a Quality Digital Experience for Users

As IT leaders embrace hybrid work culture, they must create positive and competitive experiences to retain talent. This is what Jennifer Adams, senior director for hybrid systems messaging and new product introduction at Poly, calls the “experience war”: whether it’s better to return fully to the office or stay hybrid. Leaders will learn how to create a future-ready hybrid work experience that reduces friction, drives productivity and maximizes connection.

Additional speakers and experts include Marie Webb, director of Americas commercial collaboration at Cisco; and Sheena Vojta and Jon Myalls, both directors of digital experience at CDW.

Networking sessions will be offered throughout the event, and the Executive SummIT will conclude with a talk by Sekou Andrews, Grammy-nominated spoken-word poet and CEO of SekouWorld.

WATCH: Click here to watch a preview of Sekou Andrews, inspirational speaker.

Keep this page bookmarked for articles and videos from the event, follow us on Twitter @BizTechMagazine and join the event conversation at #CDWSummIT. 

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