In this popular seminar each year we introduce a handful of new technologies that are most relevant for our Wall Street member firms. We also include leading edge technologies that have gained widespread adoption on the Street in the past year, sharing experiences and case studies for the benefit of future adopters of these technologies.

In 2010 our seminar topics will span technologies like Collaboration, Knowledge Management 2.0 and Unified Communication. Virtual Worlds and Social Networking will be included – they are hot as Wall Street institutions are still trying to find the best ways to use them in the new business models. Our topics at this seminar will also cover culture changes around dealing with disruptive and hot technologies. Additionally, industry trends in harnessing innovation and institutionalized idea creation will be discussed.

Suggested Topics:

• Collaboration Technologies
• Virtual World
• Social Networking
• SOA/Data Applications
• Knowledge Management 2.0
• Dealing with Hot Technologies
• Dealing with Disruptive Technologies
• Harnessing Innovation
• Solid State Drives
• Unified Communications

Times and agenda are subject to change. Please check back periodically for agenda updates.

Today’s presentations will be available online on the agenda page at http://www.wsta.org/events/event_archive_photos

7:45-8:15AM Registration and Breakfast

8:15-8:20AM WSTA Introduction

8:20-9:00AM Keynote -- “Truth from the Front Lines: Tech, ‘Talk’ and Trends”
Robert Gallucci, CSO, General Partner, Landmark Ventures
On a daily basis, we are bombarded with forecasts about where the market is going, the technologies that will be “big” in 2011, and economic reports that tell us which sectors will be spending in the coming year. The challenge is that these reports neglect to highlight what is actually happening on a daily basis, the decisions made to cut spending in one department and ramp up spending in another, the internal communications going on every day in billion dollar corporations and small, start-up ventures. Rob Gallucci, CSO & General Partner at Landmark Ventures, cuts through the clutter, sharing unique insight and perspective from the front lines on what is actually happening on the ground. He will highlight companies that are already taking the market by storm, the changing focus of Fortune 500 CTO/CIO/CSOs and Venture Capital companies poised to make big changes which will have ripples across the tech industry.
Take away points
• The trends that get it right and the predictions that don’t hold water
• How understanding the intersection of emerging tech, the Fortune 500, and VC firms is the key to business
• Big changes around the corner for spend, trends, and tech

9:00-9:25AM “Leveraging new virtualization–optimized technologies to maximize your hardware and software investments”
Joseph Castro, VP of Technology, Siwel Consulting, Inc.
Today’s newest hardware platforms are optimized for virtualization and will have a far-reaching impact on your total IT investment – both hardware and software. Virtualization has enabled unprecedented hardware efficiency, but has also made it imperative that software assets be actively and intelligently managed to reduce compliance risk and maximize total ROI. In this presentation Siwel Consulting will discuss how to leverage the latest server and desktop technologies to realize all the efficiencies of virtualization on the front end, and why a thoughtful, comprehensive software asset management program is also essential to maximize the back end return on your virtualization investment.

9:25-9:50AM “Revolutionizing Application Performance Through Accelerated Disk IO”
Shachar Fienblit, Vice President Engineering, Kaminario
Over the past several decades, data storage has evolved to today’s highly distributed storage systems capable of storing petabytes of data and servicing hundreds of users and applications. Yet the technology to deliver the data efficiently has lagged far behind other technologies. With today’s SSD technology the capability now exists to significantly increase data throughput by reducing or eliminating IO wait times; resulting in the highest levels of application performance. Kaminario will discuss the latest storage technology leveraging DRAM SSD and HDD components to greatly improve your storage performance and data availability.
Take away points
· Highest levels of data throughput and IOPS (IOs per second)
· High data availability and reliability with no single point of failure
· No changes to applications or infrastructure is required

9:50-10:15AM “Accelerating Enterprise Collaboration: Harnessing Enterprise Community Tacit Knowledge”
Erik Raper, Vice President, Advisory Services, Paragon Solutions
The convergence of emerging technology, society and knowledge worker practices has created an opportunity for organizations to become effective, efficient, transparent and agile. Learn keys to effectively leveraging knowledge management and social networking technologies in creating Enterprise Network Communities and how to successfully identify, launch and manage Enterprise Communities to enrich knowledge sharing, collaboration and innovation.
At the end of this session you will be able to:
· Understand the distinction between knowledge management portals and knowledge sharing communities.
· Recognize the business benefits that can offset the costs of program implementation and increase likelihood of project approval by senior management.
· Identify the key considerations for planning, designing and implementing successful enterprise knowledge sharing communities.

10:15-10:35AM Break and Demo Area Visit

10:35-11:00AM “Simplify IT without Compromising Security in Finance (with Dynamic Desktops)”
Greg Cicio, Director of Channel and Business Development, RES Software
IT must often juggle a user’s access to content, data and applications with a financial institution’s need to maintain security. Many of today’s infrastructure solutions often lead to a more complex environment that ultimately take more time and resources to manage. But by transforming a user’s traditional desktop into an adaptive user workspace, IT can simplify how users access what they need to be productive — no more and no less. In this presentation, you will learn how to:
· Create dynamic desktops that give your users optimized access to the data, applications, printers and other devices that they need to be productive anytime, anywhere.
· Prepare your IT environment for easier migration to new technology or operating systems, or from a physical to virtual desktop platform with virtually no user impact.
· Ensure compliance and security for access to applications, segregation of duties, license compliancy and portability, regardless of a user’s location.

11:00-11:25AM "Low Latency Optical Networking: Fast Networks for Fast Markets"
Paul Schoenau, Director of Systems Engineering, Ciena
Low-latency networking is critical to the performance of cloud computing, real-time replication between data centers and the extreme needs of High Frequency Trading (HFT), where competitive differentiation and profitability are often measured in microseconds. Historically, efforts to reduce latency have focused on implementing latency-optimized computers, software and storage connections, however the quest for end-to-end ultra-low latency is now expanding beyond the data center to Metro and Wide Area Networks connecting geographically dispersed datacenters and trading venues. Join Ciena for an educational session highlighting the best practices for building ultra low-latency optical networks to meet the requirements of the most demanding applications. This session will provide:

• An overview of market trends and recent developments in cloud computing, low-latency electronic trading and optical networking
• The basics of fiber optic transport technologies, identifying the key sources of transport latency and how they can be minimized.

11:25-11:50AM “Project Financial Management - The Power Play for Project & Portfolio Management”
Daniel Theander, Partner, UMT
Ben Chamberlain, SVP Product Marketing & Partner Management, UMT
Now more than ever, organizations are being asked to do more with less. Organizations using project financial management as part of their enterprise project and portfolio management process have the ability to select the most valuable projects given constraints on resources and budgets, execute them on time and within budget, as well as to measure their long term value and financial benefit.
Join UMT to learn how your organization can make smarter decisions by embracing Financial Management as a key part of Project and Portfolio Management.
· Good project financial information impacts an organizations ability to select and manage investments
· Good governance depends on good project financial processes and information

11:50AM Seminar Concludes

Westin New York at Times Square
270 West 43rd St., New York, NY 10036

Robert Gallucci, CSO, General Partner, Landmark Ventures
Robert Gallucci has a broad range of experience in the technology consulting industry with a strong track record working with the Fortune 500 to implement innovative solutions in IT and business applications. Robert has served as the chief architect and design expert for several enterprise-wide document management and litigation support solutions, including global deployment of Interwoven at several major law firms. His career began at Pfizer Corporation (Upjohn Company) in pharmaceutical sales and operations. From there, Rob joined McGraw Hill Companies as a Network Manager where he worked on the convergence of the departmental LAN into the Enterprise WAN. Rob proceeded to serve a Senior Technology Consultant in the Network & Infrastructure group at Baker Robbins & Company where he worked internationally to develop a secure data warehouse and robust document e-discovery management solution for a Consumer Goods Manufacturer facing multiple global litigation assaults and risk management issues. With an acute understanding of how technology translates into business needs, Rob works as a liaison between the business and technology departments focusing on the development and integration of Security and Compliance solutions for cutting-edge IT groups within the Fortune 500. Rob graduated with a B.S. in Management from Florida International University, and enjoys competitive mountain biking and charity cycling events in his spare time.

Joseph A. Castro, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Siwel Consulting
Joe Castro is a member of Siwel Consulting’s executive management team and the leader of our Infrastructure Solutions practice. Though he is well-known as Siwel’s resident technology guru, Joe possesses the rare combination of technical expertise and business management skills that clients consistently tell us sets Siwel Consulting apart from other IT solution providers. He is an accomplished solutions architect adept in the application of technology to improve business efficiencies and control costs. With extensive experience in the design, implementation, and support of technology-based business solutions, Joe has established a reputation as a leading expert and a dynamic presenter on the subject of infrastructure optimization, including how best to leverage the latest virtualization, storage and business continuity technologies. He has logged more than 18 years in the field of IT Management, including the last 11+ years with Siwel Consulting. Joe holds an MBA from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, and has also earned technical certifications from the most important movers in IT, including: VMware, NetApp, IBM, Microsoft, Lotus, RedHat and Citrix.

Shachar Fienblit, Vice President Engineering, Kaminario
Shachar Fienblit has 12 years of experience in enterprise system development. Shachar is responsible for research, development and quality assurance of Kaminario Products. Prior to Kaminario, Shachar held various leadership positions at IBM storage division, where he was responsible for architecture, definition, design and development of several enterprise storage products. Shachar was an architect of advanced copy functions for IBM's DS family of storage products and the leading architect in IBM Haifa storage development lab. Shachar holds B.Sc. in computer science from Haifa University.

Erik Raper, Vice President, Advisory Services, Paragon Solutions
Erik Raper leads Paragon's Advisory Services Practice for the Financial, Insurance and Communications industries. In this role, Mr. Raper identifies industry trends and aligns Paragon's solution offerings to meet the challenges of today's marketplace. Mr. Raper and his team of strategists work with Paragon's Vertical Leaders to assist their clients in building an end-state vision to reaching business imperatives with a pragmatic approach to realizing this vision. Mr. Raper's Strategy Roadmap methodologies have been applied to Business Process Management, Services Oriented Architecture modernization, and Information Management & Governance strategies.

Before being appointed to his current position, Mr. Raper led Strategic Solutions Sales for the Insurance practice where he co-developed a suite of Straight-through-processing (STP) solutions that focused on delivering business value. This set of STP solutions helped expand Paragon's Fortune 500 clientele and became the foundation for the firm's brand platform: "Improving the Way Work Gets Done."

Prior to his appointment at Paragon in 2004, Mr. Raper spent seven years with Prudential Financial where as a vice president he was instrumental in leading Prudential through a major operations and technology re-engineering in support of the company's initial public offering. For seven years preceding his employment with Prudential, Mr. Raper held various Marketing and Strategic Planning positions at AT&T Consumer Communication Services. Mr. Raper holds a B.A. in Marketing from Columbus University, Metairie, Louisiana.

Greg Cicio, Director of Channel and Business Development, RES Software
Greg’s background encompasses senior management and executive positions that include strategic planning, business development, partner/channel development, sales & marketing management with companies that include: Sys-Tech Solution, Honeywell, Gensym, Astea and Neoware/Hewlett-Packard. Additionally, Greg has spoken at many leading industry forums such as Interlog Medical, HealthTech, Citrix Synergy, and various Virtualization seminars.

Paul Schoenau, Director of Systems Engineering, Ciena
Paul Schoenau has over 13 years of experience with storage technologies and optical networking. Paul has been with Ciena for over seven years in product marketing, product management and systems engineering roles and during this time he has developed extensive experience in helping enterprises with the planning, design and business case analysis of their MAN/WAN networks for datacenter applications. More recently Paul has focused his attention on building leading-edge ultra-low latency networks for automated electronic trading applications.

Ben Chamberlain, SVP Product Marketing & Partner Management, UMT
Ben rejoins UMT Consulting as the Senior Vice President of Product Marketing & Partner Management, after spending four and a half years in the Microsoft Project product management team where he was responsible for driving in market success for Project 2007 and Project 2010.

Some notable highlights during his time at Microsoft were defining the positioning and messaging for the last two versions of Project, securing leadership status in varying analyst assessments, and architecting cross product industry solutions (e.g. Innovation Management, Application Lifecycle Management) that highlight the benefits of building on the Microsoft platform. Before joining Microsoft, Ben was VP of Product Management at UMT and was responsible for the creation and commercialization of the UMT Portfolio Manager, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2006.

Ben is an expert in project and portfolio management and is a regular facilitator at various industry and product conferences.

Ben has a BSc in Business and Sports Science from Surrey University (UK) and now lives in Seattle WA with his wife and two boys. In his spare time he enjoys wakeboarding and regular skiing.

Insert Sponsor: