32nd Annual Technology Summit & Tradeshow Features Technology Innovators

PORTLAND, Maine - May 26, 2019 - PRLog -- The nonprofit Maine Technology Users Group (MTUG) will hold its 32nd Annual Information Technology Summit and Tradeshow on Thursday, June 13th, 2019, 7:30am to 4pm, at the Holiday Inn by the Bay, 88 Spring Street, Portland. An expected 500 IT professionals will gather to share technology experiences and the latest in techniques, services and products.

The registration fee is $50 "Early Bird" rate, extended to Wed. 6/5/19; $55 advanced purchase; and $60 on the event day. Pre-registered Student rate is $25. Fee includes continental breakfast, buffet lunch, keynote, workshops, exhibit hall access, afternoon refreshments, and many door prizes. Attendees can register at the MTUG website at www.mtug.org/summit or on Eventbrite at mtug2019.eventbrite.com.

This year's Keynote Speaker is Ravi Srinivasan, Vice President – Solutions and Platform, at Forcepoint. Mr. Srinivasan will present "Enabling Digital Transformation Through Human-Centric Cybersecurity." Topics to be explored include modeling user behavior with machine learning, and understanding behavior as a way to provide alternative approaches and security architectures. Prior to joining Forcepoint in 2019, Mr. Srinivasan led IBM Security Strategy and Product Management, spearheading many fascinating projects, including teaching IBM's Watson supercomputer the "language of security."

The IT Summit features 14 workshops and demonstrations across 5 tracks: IT Infrastructure, IT Career Development, IT Management, Security, and a new track, "Tech Maverick" that tackles some out-of-the-box tech topics. Specific topics include building disaster recovery into network upgrades, Amazon Web Services across the enterprise, secure campus-wide "roaming printing," IT Risk Frameworks with the InfraGard partner members, a single session on Blockchain and Quantum computing, automating cybersecurity, retaining cybersecurity talent, computer science in Maine schools, and much more. Most workshops will be led or co-led by "end-user" IT professionals at Maine-based organizations; sectors represented include retail, education, biotechnology, government services, and manufacturing.

The Summit Tradeshow exhibit hall of over 50 exhibitors will be open all day, with ample time to visit between sessions. Exhibitors include local, national and global providers, representing a broad array of technology sectors, including IT and telecom infrastructure, ISP providers, IT services, hardware/software, technology consulting, and tech education.

The expected 500+ attendees will include IT and telecom professionals and senior business and operations managers from Maine and Northern New England, representing all sectors and industries, including finance, education, government, retail, manufacturing, construction, healthcare, nonprofit organizations and more. With three food events around the sessions, there will be plenty of time to network, share ideas, and ask questions of presenters and vendors.

At the Summit Lunch, the 8th Annual MTUG Co-Sponsored Scholarships Donors and Recipients will be recognized.  2019 scholarship co-sponsors include: Connectivity Point, Consolidated Communications, FirstLight, Great Works Internet, IDEXX, Lincolnville Communications, Maine Fiber Company, Norway Savings Bank, Presidio (two scholarships), Systems Engineering, Tyler Technologies (two scholarships), and WEX. These 14 scholarships, with a combined total of $18,000,  will be managed by the University of Maine Foundation, and will benefit 14 students from Maine studying in IT fields at a University of Maine System campus.

MTUG's 2019 IT Summit Sponsors include: Casco Bay Hall Sponsor Avaya; Lunch Sponsor Consolidated Communications; Gold Sponsors: Fortinet and Lincolnville Communications; Silver Sponsors: Carbon Black, Carousel Industries, Extreme Networks, Juniper Networks, New England Communications, PCM, Presidio, Pulse Secure, SonicWall, Thrive, TPx Communications, Verkada, WEI, and Zerto; and Bronze Sponsor: Headlight Audio Visual.

The Maine Technology Users Group (MTUG) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to bringing IT professionals and business leaders together to network, educate, and share technology experiences. MTUG holds monthly free or affordable events -- online and in-person -- from roughly August through May. Our Webinars, "Peers & Beers" and annual I.T. Summit cover a broad range of technology topics, including infrastructure / networking, I.T. security / cybersecurity, VoIP and telephony solutions, collaboration tools, devops, video conferencing tools, contact center solutions, technical training / technical education programs and strategies, career and professional development topics, and much more.  Our affordable annual Summit funds our year-round programming. FMI, visit MTUG's website at www.mtug.org.