Conventions

Apr. 17-18, 2012. Okay, no-one gets a prize for guessing that Infotec stands for Information Technology.  Sessions covered such topical matters as mobile computing, business process management, data security, cloud-computing, infrastructure and project management.  Biggest demand was for BYOD, or the “Bring Your Own Device” session. The 2012 Technology Celebration Banquet and Awards honored recipients recognized for their outstanding contributions to the region’s thriving and robust information technology landscape. Selection was based on the nominees’ contributions, either through sustained performance or a special notable achievement, to the region’s worldwide reputation for excellence and innovation in information technology.  Oh no, who’s cellphone just interrupted the awards ceremony with a “La Cucaracha” ringtone?

HDI is the Annual World Conference for IT Service and Technical Support. This service and technical support conference addresses the IT needs of a company’s entire team — from seasoned directors to front-line analysts — and provides insight into how formal procedures, processes, and industry tools can improve service and support performance. A keynote on “How to Win an Unfair Fight” asked “How do you get people to do what you want them to do without looking like a jerk (or a psychopath)? How do you learn how to handle the difficult people you encounter along the way without losing your sanity?” This is need-to-know stuff, you IT people. Okay, okay… Whaddya mean, the screen is still black? Did you try plugging the darn thing in?

Once you see all those black-and-yellow keyhole logos scattered around the convention center, you know you’re at a Security Industry event. ISC West is the International Security Conference and Exposition, and they’re there to remind you that you have plenty of stuff you want locked away and kept safe. There was much to learn about how to do that. There was a Security Cloud Computing panel, a discussion about how physical security applications can reduce cost and create value by leveraging the internet Cloud. Other panels explored novel techniques like video analytics, biometric technology and Personal Emergency Response Systems. Feeling secure now? You earned some out-of-town fun, like the scenic motorcycle and sports-car ride through the Valley of Fire and Hoover Dam area, raising funds for volunteer groups and publicly paid first-responders who take courses on safety-related issues. Stay safe, now, y’hear?

If you were on a TV quiz show and had to say what NACHA was, you’d guess perhaps a Russian exotic dancer? Or maybe the Miss Tex-Mex Snackfood Queen? How wrong you would be. NACHA is about Payments, and is in fact the Electronic Payments Association. The folks you’d be rubbing up against at the show would be Payments Executives, Officers, Managers, Consultants, Analysts, AAPs, CTPs, and professionals with responsibilities in things like fraud detection, risk management, payment processing, treasury and cash management, card services and the like. What would a NACHA hot topic look like? Well, “From payments convergence and next-generation solutions to P2P and alternative payments” was the topic that was on everyone’s lips, driving industry dialogue. Plus of course “Corporate Account Takeover – Impacts, Detection & Prevention”. And no, sorry, we do not cash personal checks…

GovSec is the Government Security Conference and Expo, co-locating with the US Law Enforcement Conference. On offer was “a full spectrum of physical, IT and cybersecurity solutions, alongside wireless and mobility communications equipment for federal, state and local governments”. GovSec brought together thousands of professionals tasked with securing the homeland, from the decision-makers at the federal level to the first responders, firefighters and police officers responding to catastrophic events in their hometown, and every government security professional in between. Keynotes came from Admiral Thad Allen, who was in charge of the BP Gulf Oil-Spill cleanup, and Nicholas Stein, the producer of the Border Wars series on National Geographic TV. So you could take your pick between oil slicks and illegal alien visitors as the main threat to the National Way of Life.