PPB October 2017

Tech Summit Delivers Deep Insights, New Ideas In Its Fourth Year The 2017 PPAI Technology Summit began two days of education and discussion in Austin, Texas, on August 16, and brought more than 110 industry technology professionals at all levels together to share best practices and case studies, and to discuss critical topics and some of the solutions available. Introduced in conjunction with Expo East 2014, this was the third year that Tech Summit has followed the PPAI North American Leadership Conference. “Tech Summit this year was awesome,” says Jon Norris, vice president at supplier Starline USA, and chair of the Tech Summit Work Group. “It offered an increased number of breakout sessions, which allowed attendees to customize the experience to their business needs, and the general sessions provided strong, industry-relevant content. The focus on integrations and collaborations are always popular topics and gathered excellent reviews from attendees, and the networking opportunities were the best yet.” Dale Denham, MAS+, CIO at Geiger and incoming chair of the PPAI Board, agreed. “The value of this event is tremendous to our organization and to the industry. With technology becoming more and more crucial to the success of all organizations, having an industry-focused event drives value that cannot be obtained anywhere else,” he said. “Suppliers, distributors and service providers all shared openly about technologies and processes used to help their organizations (without giving away too many secrets!). Networking between attendees generates all sorts of positive opportunities for ongoing collaboration and has been an important part of continued growth in improving electronic communications between suppliers, distributors and service providers.” The two-day education event was developed to bring together the industry’s IT professionals in a forum that allows them to bond and collaborate on finding solutions to the technology challenges faced by the industry. It is also the site of the third annual Tech Summit Award presentation, showcasing and celebrating technology advances that bring success to individual companies and the industry as a whole. Liam Conlan, senior software analyst at Facilisgroup, was recognized with the Internal Innovator Award. “Firms of all sizes were represented at Tech Summit, as were roles within companies including several chief executives of firms to keep their pulse on what is happening,” says Denham. “No other event allows industry technologists to learn about technology challenges and opportunities specific to our industry while also sharing valuable learning of technology in general. No matter how great the content, the networking remains one of the most valuable assets as connections forged have allowed firms to collaborate year-round to reduce the cost of doing business through better communication.” Tech Summit’s first day opened with an Dale Denham, MAS+, CIO, Geiger ( left ), and Jon Norris, vice president, Starline USA, moderated a panel discussion with five of their industry peers—panelists Scott Baker, director of IT, Kaeser & Blair ( center ); Paul Fleischman, technical lead, Leed’s; David Natinsky, CAS, president, SAGE; Catherine Graham, CEO, commonsku; and David Jackson, Gemline—on several technology topics. 100 | OCTOBER 2017 | CONNECT