Big and Real
At ProcureCon IT Sourcing, peers meet peers to develop the solutions you need now.
By Chris Rand
We all enjoy hearing the futurist thought leadership lectures of the day. But when it comes to solving problems, IT sourcing professionals turn to practitioners – those that address top-of-mind issues that are affecting real working lives.
When transformation and upheaval are at your doorstep, only practical, hands-on solutions will suffice. That’s exactly what IT sourcing professionals are going to find at ProcureCon IT Sourcing 2018.
Strategic leaders from best-in-breed brands like Reuters, Kohl’s, BNY Melon and Google are using creativity and ingenuity to not only drive the bottom line but also take a user-centric approach to sourcing.
The speaker faculty is putting all challenges of IT sourcing into their crosshairs. That means overcoming real challenges with speed, stakeholders and streamlining the tech buying process. Visitors gain perspective on what’s working and what’s not working, as opposed to what’s working only for marketing and talking points. ProcureCon IT Sourcing has proven year after year that it adheres to its slogan: “Unbiased strategies and tactics, straight from the source.”
Facing the New Pressures of IT Sourcing
Disruptions across procurement are driving professionals to rethink their strategies in terms of delivering value to their companies and customers. The future of the supply chain has yet to fully come into focus. Procurement pros are looking for practical solutions for systemic and operational challenges. And they’re trying to get their heads around how groundbreaking technologies might (or might not) fit into their cache of existing resources.
The focal points for IT sourcing professionals are growing as quickly as proliferating technologies. They’re overseeing more spend with more vendors, and a greater number of transactions. They’re under increased pressure to not only streamline IT operations but to contribute to the bottom line. Couple this with an increasingly user-centric approach and we see how IT sourcing is becoming another industry lifeline that must contribute value across company touchpoints.
When Learning about Cybercrime, Learn from a Hacker
As if that pressure isn’t disruptive enough, they’re increasingly under the threat of imminent danger. For IT professionals, the existential menace of cybercrime is now real and undeniable. They need information about the latest and most horrible-sounding threats – cloud weaponization, digital theft, economic warfare – and what they can do to combat them.
Who better to help them prepare than a hacker himself? David Cross, principal security architect at Henry Schein Practice Solutions, shares in his keynote presentation, “The Dark Side: A Hacker’s Hacks for Total Destruction, and How to Fight Them Off,” insights on the world of cybercrime and what IT sourcing can do about it.
This approach to preparing IT sourcing professionals for cyberattacks embodies the ethos of the ProcureCon IT Sourcing event – big problems and big solutions from the hands-on folks who know them best.
Your lesson in cybercrime doesn’t stop there. But let’s bypass the hypothetical scenarios and focus on real evidence. “Safe from Harm: An Infosecurity Success Story” is an interactive session that shares an inspirational story of one company’s triumph over data breach and how IT sourcing pros are doing the tough but important task of protecting information throughout the procurement lifecycle.
What we’ve learned year after year is that these sessions aren’t designed to sell cybersecurity software. They’re not designed to endorse third-party data protection services. They’re made to empower real people, many of whom are in positions the speakers once found themselves.
What to Do (and What Not to Do) with New Tech
Spend is always a top issue with new technologies. But more and more professionals are falling into well-hidden traps across cloud, AI, and “shadow IT” spending. Has IT spending become as hazardous as cybercrime?
It doesn’t have to be, according to experts from Boeing, Wells Fargo, Bayer Inc. and GE. This is an opportunity for IT sourcing pros to learn directly from procurement leaders about best practices when migrating data to the cloud, or how artificial intelligence is helping procurement organizations gain new insights and shape new strategies not possible with standard spend analytics approaches.
The IT world isn’t without its potholes. Fortunately, IT sourcing pros can learn from industry leaders who have stepped into one or two of them themselves. Join Craig Guarente, CEO of Palisade Compliance as he shares how Oracle circumvents procurement processes and forces professionals to buy their cloud. Industry leaders will review all of the pitfalls in cloud adoption with the session, “The Cost of the Cloud: Best Practices in the Great Data Migration.” And spend a hands-on workshop session learning to crackdown on shadow IT, or IT resources not purchased with the governance of procurement.
Hard-Won Lessons in Leadership
Now, there are IT sourcing dynamos that are turning these pressures into opportunities. They’re the transformative force behind change in their companies and a new holistic focus on driving business value. They’ve got playbooks full of new best practices and processes that help them navigate these new realities. And they’re all available to you at ProcureCon IT Sourcing this year.
ProcureCon IT Sourcing throws one tired convention out the window – the division between speakers and audiences. This event is a self-proclaimed cultivator of professional relationships. If you’re interested in sitting down directly with some revolutionary IT sourcing problem solvers, you’ll be glad you attended. Perhaps you will find yourself on the other end of the conversation one day as well.
Chris Rand is a content manager and research analyst for WBR Insights, ProcureCon.