Data analytics and AI were hot topics at this year’s ATC Tech Summit. Just like 2023, this year’s day-long event brought together leading technologists and IT leaders for education, trend talk, and networking.
ATC hosted its first annual Tech Summit at Liberty Center’s Sabin Hall in 2022. It went over so well the event outgrew the venue, moving to the Summit Hotel in Cincinnati, OH, for 2023 and again for 2024. This year’s summit featured two keynotes, two panels, and eight breakout sessions.
If you weren’t able to attend, here’s an ATC Tech Summit recap.
Personalization and “HI”
Brandon Knight, Global Head of ZCX Channel & Ecosystem of Zoom, triumphantly returned to the Summit Hotel’s main stage after momentarily tricking attendees into believing he would be attending via Zoom instead of in person. (Knight conducted a breakout on the main stage in 2023.) Knight discussed how to effectively implement AI into your organization and emphasized the increasing importance of personalization in customer experience.
“Personalized is the buzzword for this year and the next,” Knight said. He shared that 84 percent of consumers would pay more for personalized goods or experiences, and 60 percent reported they would be repeat customers after a personalized experience.
Knight also brought on a surprise guest, David Knight, CRO of Advance Ohio, to discuss how AI has impacted his industry through the lens of customer experience. “We have AI, but we cannot forget HI, human intelligence,” he said.
Shortly after, the first panel of the day began, with experts from ATC, Zoom, Fortified Data, RackSpace, and Ntirety discussing how data analytics and AI are impacting our future. The main takeaway? Focus on the micro applications and processes of AI before the macro. ATC’s CTO, Nick Enger, led the engaging discussion.
Throughout the afternoon, attendees had the opportunity to participate in eight possible breakout sessions hosted by experts from CoStrategix, Five9, Arctic Wolf, Open Systems, eSentire, RingCentral, Zimcom, and CATO Networks.
Using AI to Make Time
After the two breakout sessions, IT professionals and vendors alike gathered at the main stage to listen to a keynote speech from Chris Nyhuis, CEO and president of Vigilant. He spoke about how current cybercrime boils down to the challenge of time management. Cybercriminals have time, but you can, too, if you leverage AI effectively.
Nyhuis summed up his insights at the end: “Use AI to get time, and use it strategically to manage time.”
Increasing Cybersecurity
Alex Cooley, an ATC consultant, moderated the “cyber showdown” panel, with experts from Vigilant, Red Canary, CATO Networks, and Arctic Wolf trading thoughts on the latest cybersecurity trends. Chris Rothe, Red Canary’s CTO, asked audience members to consider what data they had and where they stored it: “What do we have that an adversary wants?”
Building a culture where security isn’t a roadblock, understanding cybersecurity frameworks to help understand your own networks, and not sharing everything with AI are all critical steps to enhance your organizational cybersecurity efforts.
Of course, networking is a major benefit of meetings like the ATC Tech Summit. Louie Hollmeyer, ATC director of marketing, kicked off the day’s activities with some impressive statistics about this year’s event, including 200+ attendees and 23 sponsor partners. Bringing all these people and resources together presents unique networking opportunities. “I learn the most from the people sitting next to me,” he said. “We all grow together. That’s what #BuildingIntoIT is all about.”
Until Next Year: ATC Tech Summit Recap
The 2024 ATC Tech Summit featured all-new video elements, including introductions, panel transitions and an expertly edited video shown at the end of the day highlighting the day’s events that had just occurred.
Hollmeyer gave closing remarks and promised the next ATC Tech Summit will be even bigger and better before inviting guests to a post-conference reception, featuring hors d’oeuvres, raffle prizes, music by DJ Toad, and a 360-degree photo booth.
Providing an information-packed summit is just one way ATC is here to help IT leaders navigate an increasingly complex technology landscape and outpace the pace of change. Mark your calendar for Thursday, March 6th , 2025, for #ATCTechSummit25.
