Interop Announces 2019 Program Drawing from 30+ Year Legacy of Bringing Together the IT Community in an Independent Environment that Fosters New Thinking, Peer Connections, and More

This year’s event welcomes new TechFair, conference co-chairs & track chairs, Keynote, highlighted sessions, and more


SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Interop, the IT industry’s most trusted independent conference, announced expanded programming for its upcoming event, May 20-23 in Las Vegas. Building upon Interop’s steadfast mission to foster the IT community and technology adoption, this year’s edition offers attendees deep technology training along with content on the leadership and strategic skills required of the ever-evolving and expanding role of IT professionals. The conference program has been carefully crafted by two newly appointed conference co-chairs with the addition of a new track as well as a new approach to connect attendees with tech vendors.

Interop will take place May 20-23, 2019 at the Mirage in Las Vegas, NV. For more information and to take advantage of pre-conference pricing, please visit: interop.com

Content Co-Chairs: Interop’s new conference co-chairs, coupled with its Review Board and Track Chairs, were selected to ensure that content for the event continues to serve the community with valuable insights.

Leonard Heymann
Leonard Heymann has a vast background across technology, live events, and journalism. As a journalist he reported on innovation in a number of markets, including energy, aerospace and telecommunications. After editing one of the industry’s leading networking magazines, Leonard jumped into live events where he created one of the first voice and data conferences. He was eventually appointed as general manager of Interop, and later assigned to an executive level position where he was responsible for a portfolio of tech events including Black Hat and Enterprise Connect, helping to launch these and other events in overseas markets. Most recently, Leonard focused on customer experience at live events, developing methodologies to better understand customer needs and address them in creative and productive ways for the wider audience.

Sara Peters
Sara Peters is Senior Editor at Dark Reading and has served as the Security Track Chair for Interop for a number of years. Prior to her current role, she was senior editor for the Computer Security Institute, writing and speaking about virtualization, identity management, cybersecurity law, and a myriad of other topics. In addition to her work in journalism, she authored the 2009 CSI Computer Crime and Security Survey and founded the CSI Working Group on Web Security Research Law - a collaborative project that investigated the dichotomy between laws regulating software vulnerability disclosure and those regulating Web vulnerability disclosure.

“I’m thrilled to return to the Interop family and to see that the brand has built upon its legacy of providing an independent environment for members of the IT community to connect, collaborate and learn,” said Leonard Heymann, conference co-chair, Interop. “The enhancements made to this year’s program serve our attendees well, offering them unique and diverse facets that educate not only from a high-level tech perspective but also from industry-specific perspectives. As co-chairs, Sara and I are dedicated to helping our audience lead the digital transformation at their organizations.”

Review Board & Track Chairs: The Interop Review Board and Track Chairs are industry experts who have been tasked with selecting content that will best arm the Interop community to tackle the most pressing issues facing the IT industry today. Below are a few of the representatives who have been selected to lead the content selection process; the full list can be found here: interop.com/track-chairs-and-review-board

  • Jayne Groll, CEO, DevOps Institute (Track Chair)
  • Andi Mann, Chief Technology Advocate, Splunk (Review Board)
  • Swarna Podila, Senior Director, Community, Cloud Foundry Foundation (Review Board)

TechFair: This year the event will offer a new way to connect attendees with the industry’s latest and greatest innovations: Interop TechFair. The event will provide conference goers with the opportunity to meet with solution providers ranging from industry leaders to disruptive newcomers in an environment crafted as a pop-up marketplace that encourages networking, demonstrations and connections.

First Keynote Announced:

Marc Carrel-Billiard, Global Senior Managing Director, Accenture Labs
Having worked with Accenture for nearly 20 years, Marc Carrel-Billiard has contributed to all five industries Interop serves. Prior to leading the company’s Technology R&D, Marc was the global lead for Emerging Technology and held several global leadership roles within Accenture’s technology group, including Application Portfolio Optimization and SOA/Integration Architecture. Additionally, he has worked across several cutting-edge areas of IT spanning voice recognition, knowledge-based systems. and neural networks. 

Session Highlights: Talks for the event have been organized into eight topics and tracks that represent the industry’s most critical areas: infrastructure, security, emerging tech, DevOps, cloud, data & analytics, IT strategy, and professional development. Below are some of this year’s highlights.
       

Emerging Tech Track: This new track will offer attendees a glimpse into technological advances businesses can use to create new products and services, as well as deliver value more effectively. Programming under this track will span blockchain, artificial intelligence, augmented/virtual reality, and Internet of Things.

Register for Interop here: interop.com

Apply for an Interop Media Pass here: interop.com

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About Interop
Interop is the industry's most trusted independent conference compiled by a community that evangelizes, supports, and unites enterprise IT professionals and fosters the next generation of technologists. The event continues the 30+ years it has dedicated to offering its community both strategic and actionable advice in critical areas, providing them with the breadth and depth necessary to uncover solutions that best meet their needs. Employed by a Conference model committed to unbiased content, Interop focuses on a core set of technology and leadership competencies needed to run a modern IT department. For more information, visit www.interop.com. Interop is organized by UBM, which in June 2018 combined with Informa PLC to become a leading B2B information services group and the largest B2B Events organizer in the world.

To learn more and for the latest news and information, visit www.ubm.com and www.informa.com.

Media Contact:
Kimberly Samra
InteropPR@ubm.com
415-947-6362