UPCOMING EVENTS

IT Infrastructure, Operations Management & Cloud Strategies: Chicago (Rosemont/O’Hare), Illinois

October 24, 2025

9:00am-5:00pm

7 CPE / 0.7 CEU / CISSP / 7 PDU Credits Awarded

Conference location: Donald E. Stephens Convention Center Rosemont (O’Hare) Illinois

Overview

Your business stakeholders and financial leaders demanding more value, reliability and agility from IT investments. But a dynamic economic and a rapidly changing technology ecosystem create tremendous challenges.

What You Will Learn

In this one day conference attendees will learn:

The Future Implications of ChatGPT and Generative AI on I&O
Using Cloud Services to Deliver Valuable Business Services
Is Quantum Computing the Right Path for Your Organization Regarding Future Opportunities?
How to Take Control of Your Cloud Strategy
How to Work Through the Challenges of Infrastructure Automation
How to Extract Business Value Through Technical Debt Management

CONFERENCE AGENDA

8:00am – 9:00am: Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00am – 10:00am: The Advantages and Disadvantages of AI in Cloud Computing (Fireside Chat)

Participants will include:

Craig Hamill, Director of Innovation, Technology and Knowledge Management, UL Research Institutes
Patrick Kinard, Head of Cloud and Infrastructure, Chicago Public Schools
Additional Practitioners and Executives

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping how enterprises manage, optimize, and secure their cloud environments. From predictive analytics and automated resource allocation to intelligent cost management and anomaly detection, AI-driven tools promise unprecedented operational efficiency. Yet, alongside these advantages come challenges: increased complexity, dependency on data quality, governance concerns, and questions around trust and transparency.

In this fireside chat, a senior cloud and infrastructure leader will explore both sides of the AI-in-cloud equation—highlighting the real-world opportunities and potential pitfalls. Attendees will gain a nuanced understanding of where AI delivers measurable value today, what to watch for as adoption deepens, and how to prepare their organizations to harness AI responsibly and effectively.

Areas that will be covered include:

Unlocking Efficiency: How AI can optimize workloads, automate operations, and reduce costs in cloud environments
Enhanced Security and Monitoring: Using AI for anomaly detection, incident response, and predictive risk management
Governance and Trust: The risks of algorithmic bias, data privacy, and loss of transparency in AI-driven operations
Operational Complexity: Balancing automation with human oversight and skill development
Practical Adoption: Strategies for evaluating AI capabilities in cloud management tools and aligning them with organizational goals
Future Outlook: What’s next for AI-native cloud operations and how to prepare for an autonomous cloud future

Hamill Kinard

10:00am – 10:30am Refreshment & Exhibit Break

10:30am – 11:30am: Securing Data Flow in the AI-Quantum Era

Bob Langys, Senior Solutions Engineer, Netskope

Sensitive data movement can be risky but restricting it outright can create operational and security challenges. In an era of agentic AI, generative AI, and emerging quantum computing, organizations need security frameworks that protect data while ensuring agility. This session explores how modern security platforms enable secure data flow, adapt to diverse use cases and prepare for the post-quantum encryption (PQE) shift.

Join this session to learn:

1. How to choose the right secure access method for each use case
2. Why security must be adaptive to risk, user behavior and AI-driven interactions
3. How to prepare for post-quantum encryption and its enterprise security impact

Langys

11:30am – 12:30 pm: Cost Management Strategies in the Cloud Era

John Capello, Strategy and Field CTO Vice President, Nasuni

Cloud adoption brings flexibility but also cost challenges. This session delves into best practices for managing cloud costs, optimizing resource utilization, and leveraging cloud financial management tools. Learn how to create a sustainable, cost-effective cloud strategy without compromising performance.

Key Topics:

- Cost forecasting and budgeting in cloud environments
- Right-sizing and cost optimization techniques
- Leveraging FinOps for financial governance
- Managing multi-cloud costs and avoiding vendor lock-in

12:30pm – 1:30pm: Lunch & Exhibit Break

1:30pm – 2:30pm: Tackling Today’s IT Infrastructure & Operations Challenges — Peer Exchange

In this highly interactive session, attendees will break into facilitated small groups to discuss the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing IT Infrastructure and Operations leaders today. Each group will collaborate on practical approaches to common issues such as automation, hybrid environments, cost optimization, and team alignment.

By the end of the session, participants will walk away with peer-tested ideas, actionable insights, and new professional connections they can leverage back at their organizations.

Key Discussion Topics:

Automation & AI Ops: How are organizations balancing automation with control and governance?
Hybrid Infrastructure: What’s working (and what’s not) in managing hybrid and multi-cloud environments?
Operational Resilience: How are teams improving uptime, monitoring, and response times?
Talent & Skills Gaps: What’s the best way to retain, retrain, and recruit for I&O success?
Cost Optimization: How can infrastructure teams demonstrate business value and reduce spend?
Security Integration: How are operations teams partnering with security for stronger resilience?

2:30pm – 3:00pm: Refreshment & Exhibit Break

3:00pm – 4:00pm: Leadership in IT: Navigating the Future of Infrastructure and Cloud Strategies (Panel Discussion)

In this final session, a panel of distinguished IT executives from leading organizations will share their experiences and insights on navigating the complex landscape of IT infrastructure, operations management, and cloud strategies. They will discuss the challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned from steering their organizations through digital transformation and adopting cutting-edge cloud technologies.

- How to balance innovation with risk management in cloud strategies
- Overcoming challenges in multi-cloud and hybrid environments
- Managing IT talent in a fast-changing landscape
- Predictions for the next 5-10 years in IT infrastructure and cloud strategies
- Real-world examples of cloud migration successes and failures

Moderator: Dan Horwich, President & Executive Director, CAMP IT Conferences

Panelists will include:

Heather Fransen, Director, Managed IT, Cloud and Infrastructure, RSM US LLP
Mark Lagoa, SVP, Infrastructure, Security, Data, & IT, Copado
Steve Liegl , Director Infrastructure and Operations, WEC Energy Group
Patrick McGinley, Information Technology Operations Manager, Mecum Auctions
Patrick Stefanski, Manager- IT Infrastructure & Support, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC
Additional IT executives sharing experiences and lessons learned

Conference Price: $349.00 per person

Each attendee will receive a certificate awarding 7 CPE credits for CISSP continuing education, in addition to 0.7 CEUs and 7 PDUs. CISSP is a registered certification mark of (ISC)², Inc.

Exhibits

As is always the case at CAMP IT Conferences events, the talks will not include product presentations. During the continental breakfast, coffee breaks, and the luncheon break you will have the opportunity to informally meet representatives from the following sponsoring companies, who have solutions in the area of the conference.