Keynote Presentation
9:00 – 10:00 AM
From the Frontlines to the Boardroom: Building and Maintaining a Security-First Culture
IT has long sought to shed its reputation as a cost center – and it’s never had a better chance to do so than right now. In every industry, organizational success is increasingly being driven by technology. As a result, technologists must push for a seat at the table and, with it, a voice in the decisions set to shape their organization’s present and future.
In this inspiring keynote address, Edward Mattison, VP of IT Infrastructure and Cybersecurity for Guthrie Health, will trace his organization’s journey transforming not only the perception of IT, but also its entire approach to service delivery. Additionally, Mattison will draw on experiences from across his career – including serving as CISO for a top state university system and the Chief of Information Assurance (Cybersecurity) at the Pentagon – to demonstrate how to formulate and preserve a security-first mindset no matter the setting.
SPEAKER: EDWARD MATTISON, VICE PRESIDENT OF IT INFRASTRUCTURE & CYBER SECURITY AND FORMER CHIEF OF INFORMATION ASSURANCE AT THE PENTAGON

Edward Mattison currently serves as the Vice President of IT Infrastructure, Telecommunications, and Cybersecurity for The Guthrie Clinic Health System. In this role, he is responsible for the operation and security of information technology infrastructure supporting 7,500 employees at five hospitals and twenty-nine clinics in New York and Pennsylvania. Prior to this role, Ed served as the Chief Information Security Officer for The University of Texas System. In that role, he was responsible for the information security management program, which provided cybersecurity oversight to eight academic and six healthcare institutions across the State of Texas. The University of Texas System encompasses a user base of almost half a million people, including 90,000 staff and faculty as well as 350,000 students.
Ed spent 24 years in the Army, retiring as a Colonel in 2015. His last assignment was as the Chief of Information Assurance (Cybersecurity) at the Pentagon. In this role, Colonel Mattison served as a senior cybersecurity advisor to the Secretary of the Army and the lead IT security inspector general. Other career highlights include serving as the Enterprise Network and Data Services Manager in Iraq (during the height of Operation Iraqi Freedom), two assignments as an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at West Point, and twice commanding Air Defense Artillery units.
TOPIC: CLOUD-BASED COLLABORATION
Communication in the Cloud: Understanding the Different Flavors of Cisco UCaaS
Technology-wise, you can buy almost anything “as a Service” these days – including Unified Communication. In this session, the presenter will dive into the world of UCaaS, including why organizations might want to consider relocating their communication environment in the cloud as well as what workloads should be moved. This session will also cover the options available to modern organizations for adding, integrating, or migrating to a cloud-based collaboration solution from Cisco.
TOPIC: MICROSOFT TEAMS
Extracting Full Value from Your Office 365 Investment with Microsoft Teams
Office 365 has plenty to offer, so much so that it was often hard to decide where to start and where to go next. However, the release of Microsoft Teams has changed that. This session will demonstrate how to leverage Teams to get the most out of Office 365. Topics will include using Teams to manage users and data, integrating Teams with third party solutions, and what’s coming next from Microsoft.
TOPIC: CLOUD SECURITY
Identifying and Securing Your Organization’s Shifting Perimeter
As more workloads move to the cloud, security teams have to protect assets that are both inside and outside of the firewall. In this session, Arraya Security Solutions Architects will discuss the various methods for securing cloud infrastructure. Topics will include segmentation, CASB, native cloud security, and the ways in which admins can leverage these solutions and others to create a more secure, available technology environment.
TOPIC: COMPLIANCE
The GDPR Effect: What It’s Meant So Far – and What Could Be Next
GDPR just had its first birthday – and it’s been an interesting year for organizations affected by it. Europe’s data privacy law is even impacting organizations that don’t meet its scope criteria. In this session, Arraya Advisory Services team members will review the different fines levied, organizational approaches, and methods for staying compliant. They will also look at new regulations coming to the US inspired by GDPR.
TOPIC: INCIDENT RESPONSE
All Hands on Deck! Building a Better Cyber Incident Response Plan
Cyber Security incidents aren’t strictly technical concerns. This session will straddle the line between technical and non-technical, looking at what is expected of both groups during a worst case scenario. Presenters will cover technical topics such as identifying vulnerabilities and detecting suspicious activity. They will also dive in to communicating incidents to stakeholders and what the process looks like for organizations that decide to cooperate with attackers.
TOPIC: NEXT-GENERATION AUTHENTICATION TECHNIQUES
Beyond Passwords: Using Biometrics and Windows 10 to Protect Your Users
The web of technologies that supports the average business user grows larger and more complex by the day. During this session, the instructor will demonstrate how attendees can use biometrics to more effectively protect this growing list of possible targets than could be accomplished with traditional passwords alone. Furthermore, they’ll learn about Windows 10’s built-in security features and the role these can play in making life harder for cyber criminals.
TOPIC: NEXT-GENERATION CYBER THREATS
Securing Modern Organizations Against Next-Gen Cyber Threats
The security landscape today is substantially different from what it looked like a decade ago. In this session, presenters will review the latest frameworks and methodologies and map them to different use cases. Additionally, they will provide an overview of modern security tools, technologies and automation capabilities. Then, at the conclusion of the session, they will briefly review the incident response process and industry trends for reacting to cyber events.
TOPIC: THREAT DETECTION
On the Hunt for Malware: What to Use and What to Look For
New malware continues to impact organizations around the world. Yet, many IT teams don’t even know when it’s lurking within their environment. In this session, presenters will demonstrate how they hunt for ransomware, spyware, credential harvesters, and other forms of malware using the Cisco Security Portfolio. Topics will include analyzing DNS traffic, investigating malware, running malware in a sandbox environment, and pulling forensic information to identify threats.
TOPIC: CLOUD DATA PROTECTION
How Taking Backups Off-Prem and Into the Cloud Can Optimize Any Data Protection Strategy
No matter your backup and disaster recovery needs, cloud has a role it can play. This session will drop attendees into multiple true to life use cases in order to demonstrate how the cloud can be used to optimize modern data protection strategies. Along the way, the presenter will also seek to set the record straight in regards to one of the longest-running – and most high-risk – cloud backup myths.
TOPIC: DATA PROTECTION: DR/BC & SECURITY
Backup as a Tool: Keeping Data Safe from Modern Threats in the Shadow of GDPR
New threats are emerging every single day and organizations who aren’t prepared to face them risk becoming someone else’s case study. In this session, the presenter will demonstrate data protection’s role within modern cyber security and business continuity strategies. Also on the agenda will be techniques businesses can use to ensure timely response to incidents and customer requests as well as the impact of emerging frameworks for data privacy like GDPR.
TOPIC: OFFICE 365 INFORMATION PROTECTION
Keeping Your Data Secure in the Cloud with Microsoft Information Protection
As data sets crisscross the globe and take up residence in a variety of clouds, IT has been left scrambling to keep them out of the wrong hands. This session will demonstrate how Microsoft Information Protection (MIP) provides the necessary controls and protections to keep data safe wherever it travels and resides. Attendees will also learn what products integrate with MIP to provide comprehensive coverage as well as what new features are coming next.
TOPIC: SEGMENTATION – VMWARE NSX
Micro-Segmentation, Application Control, and How They Can Keep Data Safe
IT’s mission? Reduce the attack surface even as technology becomes more and more intertwined with every part of the business. This session will demonstrate how micro-segmentation and application control can help make that seemingly impossible task a reality. Attendees will witness firsthand how to combine industry-leading tools, such as VMware’s NSX, with strategic best practices so as to keep malware and other malicious activity from harming critical infrastructure or data.
TOPIC: VMC ON AWS 101
VMC on AWS and What It Might Mean for the Present (& Future) of the Data Center
VMware Cloud on AWS (VMC on AWS) has been billed as a true hybrid cloud solution – but is it really? This session will dive headlong into that debate, exploring the use cases for and the inner-workings of VMC on AWS. Attendees will gain a greater understanding of the role VMC on AWS could play in the evolution of the data center, particularly as it pertains to disaster recovery, hybrid integration, and cyber security.
TOPIC: SD-WAN 101
SD-WAN 101: Rethinking Your Business Network for a Cloud-First World
The Cloud Era has changed the way businesses think and the way they operate – and, in turn, left legacy WAN technology struggling to keep pace. This session will take attendees through a more modern, higher-performing, and more secure alternative: SD-WAN. Specifically, they’ll be able to experience the features and components that set SD-WAN apart and witness what happens after the decision is made to migrate away from aging WAN deployments.
TOPIC: SD-WAN 201: VIPTELA & VELOCLOUD
SD-WAN 201: How to Get the Most from Viptela or VeloCloud Deployments
SD-WAN may have simplified intelligent networking, but it hasn’t made it simple. During this session, attendees will gain a greater understanding of SD-WAN solutions such as Viptela and VeloCloud, including what makes them tick, when they should be used, and the ROI businesses can expect. The instructor will drill into specific features of these technologies, such as dashboards and overlays, and break down how they can help realize meaningful business value.
TOPIC: SEGMENTATION – CISCO ISE
Why Cisco ISE Should Be Part of Your Segmentation Strategy
Segmentation is no longer just a buzzy topic – it’s become table stakes for organizations seeking to build a more modern and reliable IT environment. This session will demonstrate to attendees how to leverage Cisco’s Identity Services Engine (ISE) solution to fully deliver on segmentation’s promise. It will also explore concepts, such as Passive ID, inline tagging, and SXP prorogations and the role they play in keeping corporate networks secure.
TOPIC: WIRELESS
The State of Wireless Technology in 2019: What’s New and Noteworthy
The world of wireless connectivity is constantly in flux. This session will provide attendees with an update on what’s coming with Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) and dive into the finer points of Cisco’s latest additions to its line of Wireless LAN controllers and APs. Other topics will include integrating wireless with software-defined networking as well as what to consider before moving wireless management into the cloud.
TOPIC: MICROSOFT SCCM
Administering SCCM: Advanced Features with Cloud Co-Management
Given the increasing complexity of today’s IT environments, it helps having a tool like SCCM at the ready. This session will go beyond the basics of SCCM, focusing instead on more advanced functionality and how attendees can leverage those capabilities to further standardize administrative responsibilities. In addition to the advanced native capabilities, we will also cover the benefits of cloud enabled IT with co-management between SCCM and Intune, including how to enable it as well as a rundown of the additional benefits this pairing can deliver.
TOPIC: SHAREPOINT – TIPS & TRICKS
Syncing SharePoint & OneDrive (and Other Need to Know SharePoint Tricks)
There’s a tremendous amount of value stored within Microsoft’s
SharePoint waiting to be unlocked by those who know where to look. This session will highlight some of SharePoint’s most worthwhile abilities, including how it can pair with OneDrive to create a more efficient file share. Additionally, it will provide tips and tricks attendees can take back to their users to ensure everyone, regardless of technical ability, gets the most from SharePoint.
TOPIC: WINDOWS 10 – WORKSPACE MODERNIZATION
Enabling a More Secure, Productive Business Environment with Windows 10
The clock is winding down on extended support for Windows 7 and, before it strikes zero, IT teams will need to have a plan in place regarding what comes next. This session will introduce attendees to the newest and most impactful features included in Windows 10. In addition, they’ll learn what it takes to modernize their workspace – and keep it that way –in a post-Windows 7 business world.