Agenda

Wednesday September 24, 2008

Sheraton Indianapolis City Center

5th Annual Indiana IT Symposium, hosted by SIM

Knowledge & Networking


7:30 am Attendee Check-In; Breakfast Buffet Served
8:20 am Welcome Message
8:30 am Transformation: Changing IT’s Focus from Technology to Business Value
 

Jeff O'Hare

SVP Enterprise IT
West Corporation

We will discuss where the organization was at when I arrived 20 months ago and the vision on where we are taking the organization in the future. Develop a clear focus for the entire technology group to include Vision, Mission, Objectives and Focus areas. Focus on Injecting Technology Leadership, evolving the organization use of meaningful metrics (information) versus just data, Project management methodology/IT process and IT governance (knowing what to outsource/insource) are all pieces of the puzzle.

We’ll review the evaluation process / assessment process evaluation that we went through to develop the baseline we would start at (a lot of companies struggle with where to start).  We’ll end up with where we are today, where we are headed and help the audience understand this is not a process you go though and then put the business plan on the shelf, this is a continuous process.

The vision is something you live by and constantly evaluate the gaps.
9:45 am
Creating a Contagious Culture of Collaboration . . . and the technology that supports it
 

Sponsored by Ambassador Solutions

Ron Thieme, Ph.D.
VP & CIO
AIT Laboratories

Collaboration is something that is often easier said than done.  Organizations often extol their collaborative abilities, but what makes a truly collaborative environment?  Is it a matter of technology? Of process and structure?  Of market need?  Of culture?   

In this talk Dr. Ron Thieme will explore the collaborative imperatives of the modern organization.   Deeply-held needs for collaboration must be evident at the personal, workgroup, enterprise, and inter-company levels.  We will examine the enablers of collaboration, including developing a culture of winning, placing team and company goals above self, and managing egos.  We will also consider examples of using technology to support the collaborative enterprise.
9:45 am The Evolution of IT as a Business in an Ever Changing Environment
 

Sponsored by CA

Jo Lee Hayes
VP, Enterprise Technology
Sallie Mae

This session will cover how to manage the evolution of IT as a business during IT, corporate and market changes.  How can you evolve IT while providing immediate value?  How can you evolve IT that requires investments when no investments will be made?  Is partnering with the right vendor a significant opportunity to accomplish these goals?  Working with the right vendor can provide more resources because we all know we don't have the time and people to do it all ourselves.
11:00 am Case Study: Redundant Data Centers
 

Sponsored by CDW Berbee

Alan Letterman
Manager IMS Engineering/Technology
Berry Plastics

Berry Plastics manufactures products in more than 70 facilities worldwide that operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Berry Plastics' focus for IT Systems is to operate a centralized environment for many key servicesincluding: ERP, inventory control, and business intelligence.  Therefore, interruptions to the centralized systems or to the flow of data to the manufacturing facilities is not acceptable.  This case study will examine how Berry Plastics uses common technologies to create a High Availability/Business Continuity environment utilizing two primary data centers in the Midwest.  Topics covered include: Virtualized computing, SANs and SAN replication, Wide Area Networks and the need for backup circuits, WAN compression and database replication.
11:00 am The Use Of BI To Drive Continuous Business Improvement
 

Sponsored by Information Builders

Kirk Townsley
Manager of Application Services
The Hillman Group, Inc.

|We will discuss how The Hillman Group, Inc. evolved from a small business into a corporate leader in our industry. The session focuses on our use of Business Intelligence and how information is driving corporate direction and decision making. I will provide examples of our solutions we have deployed and explain how Hillman is becoming more efficient and flexible in the eyes of our customers.

Our mission is to be a strategic partner with the business by providing vision, services and tools for competitive advantage. I will explain our software portfolio and review the challenges we overcame while deploying new technology throughout the company related to WebSphere Portal, WebFOCUS, ESRI, and other tools.
11:45 am Hot Lunch Buffet Served
12:45 pm Becoming Pioneers Again
 


Gerry McCartney
VP of IT & CIO
Purdue University

University IT used to be on the edge of innovation. Where there were firsts, we were there. Now, we are often seen merely as organizations that provide commodity services. How do we regain the reputation of being edgy innovators that once characterized University IT? Where is the frontier of IT now, and how do we move to its edge?  How can we really harness the transformative power of IT?
1:45 pm Humana PMO’s Push Towards Perfect Service
 

Sponsored by CA

Thomas Ash
Technology Manager
Humana Inc.

Humana has had extensive growth over the last few years.  It’s IT divisions are called on to support a growing business while simultaneously seeking ways to increase efficiencies and control IT spend.  Humana’s IT Project Management Office is meeting these challenges through its Project Management Maturity program.  Mr. Ash will discuss some of the work and challenges his organization faces as they push towards Perfect Service.
1:45 pm Shift Happened - How to Thrive Instead of Survive in the Aftermath of the Shift from Paper to Electronic Media
 

Sponsored by IBM

Scott Ward
Director of Records Management, General Counsels Office
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.

The shift from creating and storing our information and communication on paper to creating and storing our information on electronic media has occurred. We are now surviving in the immediate aftermath of the shift. While we struggle to thrive in our new business environment of electronically created and stored information we are contending with data, content, records, metadata, documents, on various electronic media on multiple systems. As this creation and storage activity continues to proliferate large quantities of storage are consumed each day. Increasing storage costs, and risk to your organization result. It is not all about the data any more. While those concerns remain important new challenges related to meeting business and compliance requirements for the official records of the company also come into play when planning for and implementing solutions.

The good news is help with the record keeping challenges is available. Often ready and waiting to contribute to these challenges with information about the statutory, and operational/business needs and requirements for record keeping, your record management team can add value to many teams, and help lower storage costs, space requirements and the grow rate of ESI.
2:45 pm Automating IT Cost Transparency
 

Sponsored by Apptio

Kurt Shubert
Application Support Manager/Problem Manager
NSRI USA, Inc.

Most IT organizations are being forced to simultaneously reduce costs and provide increasingly competitive advantage to their corporations.  A revolution, born from leading edge IT organizations and adopted by ITIL v3 standards, is taking place to help IT deliver on this challenge.  IT Cost Transparency provides better understanding of IT service costs, cost drivers, service performance, and comparative standing versus the industry in order to help organizations save money by making better informed decisions, to clearly showcase IT’s value within the organization and to improve IT operational efficiency.  Kurt Shuber, a pioneer in IT Cost Transparency and ITIL v3 Financial Management, will talk about the benefits of IT Cost Transparency initiatives and the challenges and results of his implementation at NYK Systems Research Institute
2:45 pm BREAK OUT SESSION
 

Sponsored by

3:45 pm CIO Panel Presentation
  Join these industry leaders in an interactive discussion moderated by InformationWeek. Hear what issues are facing today's CIO's and learn how they are resolving them. This panel discussion provides a rare opportunity to hear first hand whats on the mind of these local CIO's.
 

Chris Murphy
Mangement Editor
InformationWeek


Jeff Ton
VP, Enterprise Processes, IT
Lauth Property Group, LLC


Ron Thieme, Ph.D.
VP & CIO
AIT Laboratories


Phil Repp
AVP of IT
Ball State University


David Schacht
CIO
Simon Property Group, Inc.


Georgia L. Shaffalo
Interim VP of Information Technology
Klipsch Group, Inc.
4:30 pm Closing Remarks, Cocktail Reception
  Enjoy this complimentary cocktail reception hosted by SIM Indianapolis featuring an open bar, hors d’oeuvres and conversation.  Make this an important element of your attendance to the IT Symposium.  The ability to network and collaborate with your peers in an open and no-hype environment will prove to provide long lasting value to your key business initiatives moving forward.