Wednesday | ICIT

Title: How Five Iowa Counties Moved to Office 365

Workshop Description: Within the last decade, there’s been quite a bit of buzz around “cloud” IT systems and specifically Microsoft Office 365 and Azure. There’s much excitement about getting enterprise functionality at affordable prices, and freeing IT staff from keeping expensive, on-premise legacy systems not only operational, but secure, updated and refreshed, so they can develop new skills and contribute at a "higher level." But there’s also a great deal of confusion about "how to get there." What are the different products under the Office 365 umbrella? Can I move more than just email to the cloud? How can I safely and securely move data to Office 365? What are all of the costs I should be budgeting for? How long will it take? Is my data safe? The questions can go on and on...! Ron Braatz of LiftOff, a top Microsoft partner, is here to help. Through the use of case studies highlighting five diverse Iowa Counties, Ron will explain everything organizations should be thinking about before making the leap to Office 365 including the key steps involved and the decisions that must be made before migrating.

Presenter: Ron Braatz

Presenter Bio: Over the years, Ron Braatz has worked for some of the leading technology companies in the world including Microsoft, Siebel (Oracle), and IBM. He has held roles in sales and marketing, partner mentoring and readiness, and technical consulting. Ron worked for five years at Microsoft in the Business Solutions Division as a Solution Specialist. Prior to founding LiftOff, he served as the CTO at a government contractor where he led several IT eLearning projects for The Department of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services. Ron holds a Masters Degree in Technology Education from Johns Hopkins University and has taught courses at the high school and college graduate level. He lives in Maryland with his wife and two children where he is an active volunteer and coaches several youth sports teams.

Lunch

12:00 pm - 12:45 pm

ICIT Meeting

12:45 pm - 1:30 pm

Election Night Reporting

1:30 pm - 2:15 pm

Drones in Iowa Counties

2:15 pm - 3:00 pm

Break Sponsored by LiftOff

BBQ Basics Round Table + More

Can you survive to the end?

After Hours MeetUp

9:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Hotel Salon A & Rooms 226-227

IT Track 2 (Woodbury Rm)

Registration

8:30 am - 10:00 am

Waterfall Atrium

ITAG Welcome (Ballroom)

Iowa Security Operations Center Essential Functions

10:30 am - 11:30 am

Art of the Deal- How You as a Technology Person Communicates and Educates

Lunch

12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Ballroom

How the FirstNet Network is Providing the Data Superpipe Public Safety Needs

1:30 pm - 2:15 pm

Title: How the FirstNet Network is Providing the Data Superpipe Public Safety Needs

Description: The FirstNet network is currently being leveraged by many agencies across the United States, and represents the future of interoperable public safety communications. As communications affects all public safety operations, the FirstNet Responder Network Authority believes we can significantly inform your attendees, answer questions, and enhance their knowledge about the critical importance of dedicated public safety communications.

As agencies across the country are seeing the benefits of the FirstNet Network, such as the recent hurricanes and wild land fires, the benefits are only as valuable as they are shared with their peers from other agencies. As the federal agency responsible to serve as public safety’s advocate, we are determined to help agencies decide the best broadband network provider for them, and applications to serve their data transfer needs. But we are committed to working with them as they desire.

Recently, Hurricane Florence put many communities across the Southeast to the test. The FirstNet network worked across national, state and local agencies to keep emergency responders connected to the critical information needed to coordinate response. And as the storm pushed on, FirstNet continued to stand by the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect and support their communities. The City of Whiteville, North Carolina, deployed a Satellite Cell on Light Truck (SatCOLT) to the Whiteville Fire Department staging area to aid emergency response efforts. Because the SatCOLT is Band 14 only, it boosts connectivity for first responders on FirstNet without interfering with the coverage and capacity they already have. And a Cell on Wheels brought FirstNet connectivity to a FEMA staging location to support its response and recovery efforts as the agency assists those affected by the hurricane. “FirstNet delivered,” said Hal Lowder, director of emergency services for Whiteville, NC.

Accordingly, FirstNet Authority is seeking to update Iowa Counties — this key stakeholder group, about the applications, devices, deployable assets, local control, and possibilities that a dedicated public safety network can deliver. Considering the importance of communications, as well as availability on the calendar for ITAG 2019, FirstNet proposes a plenary session, and perhaps a panel featuring actual users of the network.

Presenter: Bill Schrier, FirstNet Senior Advisor

Presenter Bio: Bill Schrier is a senior advisor at the First Responder Network Authority. Prior to that he served as senior policy advisor in the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) at the State of Washington. In this capacity he chairs the State Interoperability Executive Committee (SIEC), serves as the primary point of contact for the FirstNet effort in the state and advises the CIO on other matters.

In the past he served as the Deputy Director of the Center for Digital Government. He also retired in May, 2012, after over 8 years serving as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the City of Seattle and director of the city's Department of Information Technology (DoIT). In this capacity he managed over 200 employees and budgets up to $59 million to support city government technology, and reported directly to Mayor Michael McGinn.

An Iowa native, Schrier was named one of Government Technology’s 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers in 2008, and a Computerworld Premier 100 Leader for 2010. He writes a blog about the intersection of information technology and government, how they sometimes collide but often influence and change each other. He tweets at Bill Schrier Twitter.

Schrier is a retired officer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He holds a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington.