PPB October 2017

exploration of big data and how businesses are using it to improve sales, manufacturing and targeting the right customers. Mark Moore, a data platform technical solutions expert with Microsoft, began his presentation with a capsule history of digital technology’s evolution to where it is today. Over this progression, data got “big,” and continues to grow. Moore’s session highlighted big data’s ubiquity, how it’s collected—from smart soda machines at restaurants to refrigerators connected to the internet—and how it’s being used. Moore noted, “Big data has introduced a new culture of experimentation. With big data and the speed at which we can process it, we can start doing analysis and take action.” Tech Summit offered attendees an experience easily tweaked to meet their needs and interests. Throughout both days of the conference, participants had multiple breakout sessions to choose from, presented by experts from both within and outside the promotional products industry. The program also allowed for considerable interaction between speakers and their audiences. Tech Summit has always encouraged attendees to ask questions and share their ideas. Its tech tips sessions, which have become a fixture at the conference, invited attendees to highlight one thing they do well in their technology organizations. This year, 30 attendees shared single-slide presentations on what they were doing well in their organizations. “The Tech Summit really delivered this year with great sessions on security, privacy and AI, along with a spirited debate over different technology platforms and tools,” says Catherine Graham, CEO of commonsku and a panelist at Tech Summit. “There was a continued focus on how we as an industry need to work together more closely from a technology perspective.” David Shultz, vice president of operations at industry technology provider DistributorCentral, says, “We do a lot of work collaborating with our supplier and distributor customers on integrations and other things, so it’s an opportunity to come here and see them all face-to-face at one place, and have them together talking about the same problems they’re facing and ways to address them and make their lives easier. This event is unique in the industry in that it has all of us here in one place and time. It also gives us the opportunity to bring some of our newer members down who are working on some of the integrations in the industry, so in that respect it provides a ton of value as well.” Tech Summit drew several first-time attendees, including Ty Combs, lead software engineer at Antera Software. “The value for me is in the collaboration and seeing these larger guys who have become very successful, and how I can apply to my company what I learn here to follow what they’re doing.” Tech Summit will be held again in conjunction with NALC, in Washington, D.C., in August 2018. Watch for more information to come soon at www.ppai.org; registration will open in the coming months. 102 | OCTOBER 2017 | CONNECT