Day 2
Keynote Speakers
Ballroom a
Farm Credit services of america stage
Matt Waite | 9-9:45 AM
The Human is Still the Most Important Part
Pulitzer Prize Winner, Professor of Journalism, University of Nebraska
AI hype is everywhere, and so are the doomers. So where are we? Is AI the new oil? Electricity? Fire? The end of white-collar work? Coming for all of our jobs? The answer is all of this, and none of it. Let’s get practical and talk about where AI is and isn’t, especially when accuracy and authenticity are critical business functions.
AI Ethics And Compliance Panel | 1:15-2 PM
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to revolutionize industries and transform societal landscapes, the imperative for ethical and compliant AI deployment has never been greater. In this thought-provoking panel session, leading experts in AI ethics and compliance will convene to explore the multifaceted challenges and opportunities inherent in navigating the intersection of AI, ethics, and regulation.
Drawing upon their collective expertise from diverse domains including technology, law, ethics, and governance, the panelists will engage in a dynamic discussion aimed at unpacking the complexities surrounding AI ethics and compliance. Participants can expect insightful insights, practical strategies, and actionable recommendations for fostering a culture of responsible AI innovation within their organizations.
Moderator: Boaz Ashkenazy, Augmented AI
Panelists:
Dr. Deepak Khazanchi, University of Nebraska-Omaha
Jack D. Horgan, Koley Jessen
Stephen Ivaskevicius, Mutual of Omaha
Matt Waite: University of Nebraska
Maggi Thorne, AIM
Breakout Topics
MicroServices & Cloud
Room 212
Erik Christiansen | 10 - 10:45 AM
Bridging the Gap: Integrating Development & Infrastructure Teams in the Cloud
Director of Cloud Services, Moonshot Solutions
As organizations increasingly adopt cloud services to drive innovation and agility, the traditional silos between development and infrastructure teams are becoming increasingly obsolete. In this talk, we delve into the critical importance of breaking down these barriers and fostering collaboration between development and infrastructure teams within a cloud environment. We will explore the challenges and benefits of integrating development and infrastructure teams, examining how this convergence can accelerate the delivery of high-quality, scalable applications. By leveraging cloud-native technologies, with an emphasis in Microsoft Azure, and adopting DevOps principles, organizations can streamline processes, automate infrastructure provisioning, and improve deployment frequency while maintaining reliability and security. Furthermore, we will discuss best practices for fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement across development and infrastructure teams. From cross-functional training initiatives to shared ownership of deployment pipelines, we will outline practical strategies for aligning goals, sharing knowledge, and maximizing the collective expertise of both teams.
Jake Partusch | 2:15 - 3 PM
Bring the Cloud to Your Machine: Strategies for Local Cloud Development
Principal Engineer, Vendia
Cloud platforms like AWS are essential for running large-scale and distributed applications. Today, cloud developers are proficient at continuously deploying their changes to compute services like AWS Lambda, but they lack the iteration speed and flexibility of a traditional local development environment. Luckily, there are strategies to embrace cloud-native development while also enjoying blazingly fast local iteration cycles. In this talk, we'll discuss a few options for bringing the cloud to a developer machine and walk through a live example of real-time cloud-native development utilizing AWS Lambda and lightning-fast code hot-swapping via AWS IOT.
John Oerter | 11 - 11:45 AM
Modernizing a Legacy Frontend with Micro Frontends
Senior Software Engineer, dina
Are you stuck with a legacy frontend that's holding your team back? My teammates and I have been there, and we found a way out. Join me as I share how we successfully migrated our complex legacy application to a modern, scalable frontend using micro frontends. In this case study, I'll reveal how we avoided a full rewrite of our application and succeeded in migrating users to a new frontend over time. You'll discover strategies for breaking up large frontend applications into smaller, independently deployable pieces.
This will be an excellent opportunity to learn from a real-world use case of utilizing micro frontends to facilitate the in-home care of thousands of patients.
Data Science / AI
Room 214
Room 216
Room 214
Zoe Steinkamp | 3:15 - 4 PM
Leveraging Time Series Databases for Cloud-Native Applications: Architectural and Practical Insights
Developer Advocate, InfluxData
In this session, we explore the integration of time-series databases within cloud-native architectures, focusing on scalability, flexibility, and fault tolerance. We discuss how these databases handle large volumes of real-time data through efficient streaming, storage optimization, and query processing. Special attention is given to data retention strategies and volume management to maintain performance in dynamic cloud-native environments. Drawing on open-source examples like InfluxDB, this talk delves into architectural considerations and practical solutions, providing attendees with a comprehensive understanding of deploying and managing time-series databases effectively. Aimed at developers, architects, and system administrators, the session offers foundational insights for leveraging time-series data to enhance decision-making and operational efficiency in cloud-native applications.
Cameron Ludwig | 10 - 10:45 AM
The Data Dilemma: Break Free From Business Intelligence Anti-Patterns to Unlock True Value
VP, Strategy & Management Consulting, Dynamo
In the fast-paced world of analytics and business intelligence, even the most talented teams fall into avoidable traps that will continue to stifle data value until they are addressed. Join us as we dissect common anti-patterns hindering your data adoption and learn actionable strategies to escape the self-service BI quagmire. Transition from the endless reporting treadmill to achieve faster, more insightful data-driven decisions at scale. Evolve your analytics approach to help ensure your data works for you and your company and transform it into your competitive edge.
Stephani Bazata | 11 - 11:45 AM
Navigating the AI Hype Cycle: Leveraging APIs for Sustainable Innovation
Founder, Bazata Tech LLC
As AI technologies surge in popularity, technical teams face the daunting task of navigating through the hype cycle to achieve meaningful outcomes. In this session, we will explore a strategic approach to harnessing AI's potential by emphasizing the critical role of APIs in building a composable architecture. Using practical insights and lessons learned, we'll discuss how a robust API approach enables seamless integration of AI capabilities, ensuring scalability and efficiency.
Drawing on real-world examples, including the utilization of platforms like Kong, we'll outline essential disciplines for both newcomers and those struggling to scale their API capabilities. By focusing on creating a connected ecosystem through API integration, attendees will learn how to unlock the full potential of AI, enhance productivity, and realize tangible business value.
Larry Arnstein | 2:15 - 3 PM
Harnessing GenAI: Technical Strategies for Generative Transformation
Chief Technology Officer, Augmented AI
Delve into a technical discussion of Generative AI with Larry Arnstein, Co-Founder and CTO of Augmented AI, in this in-depth presentation. Having built Generative AI solutions for a wide range of business use-cases, Larry will give concrete examples of how to leverage the strengths and avoid the weaknesses of today’s GenAI technology. He will introduce the idea of Generative Transformation as a practical approach for integrating AI into existing business workflows.
Vaibhav Gujral | 2:15 - 3 PM
Developing GenAI Workloads With Azure OpenAI Service
Principal Cloud Architect, Charles Schwab
In this demo-rich session, Vaibhav will showcase the capabilities of Azure Open AI service and how developers can take advantage of large-scale, generative AI models with deep understandings of language and code to enable new reasoning and comprehension capabilities for building cutting-edge applications.
Aaron Grothe | 3:15 - 4 PM
Private AI
Systems Engineer, CACI International
Private AI is a demonstration of running a Large Language Model (LLM) locally without sharing any data with the internet. This talk will be a demonstration of ollama and open webui along with some of the various models available from huggingface.co. We will also provide a quick introduction to Retrieval Augmented Generation which allows you to add your own local data to your LLM.
Innovation
Room 213
David Handlos | 10 - 10:45 AM
Quality Assurance From Square One
VP-Software Engineering, DPA Auctions
Managing a quality assurance process isn't easy. Establishing one from scratch is even harder. How do you do it? The answer sounds easy: One step at a time. But what is step one? And what's step two? How do you know if you're moving in the right direction? We'll cover lessons learned from starting testing processes from square one in several different organizations, and how these lessons can be put to work anywhere.
Tess McKinney | 11 - 11:45 AM
Immersive Learning: Expanding Horizons With Virtual and Augmented Reality
CEO, XRenegades
Many web developers have only a casual understanding of image formats and how to best use them on web sites, yet they make up over 60% of the client footprint for most web pages. Learn which image formats are appropriate for different types of images, and the impact of making improper choices. Discover various techniques for improving the performance of your site by using a CDN, image optimization, metadata removal, and other approaches. As many web pages grow vertically, see how to use lazy loading to only download images as they are about to come into view. Review the <picture> and “srcset” standards and how to use them for responsive images and high pixel density displays while still supporting older browsers.
Robert Boedigheimer | 2:15 - 3PM
A Developers Guide to Web Images
Senior Application Developer, Marketing Architects
Many web developers have only a casual understanding of image formats and how to best use them on web sites, yet they make up over 60% of the client footprint for most web pages. Learn which image formats are appropriate for different types of images, and the impact of making improper choices. Discover various techniques for improving the performance of your site by using a CDN, image optimization, metadata removal, and other approaches. As many web pages grow vertically, see how to use lazy loading to only download images as they are about to come into view. Review the <picture> and “srcset” standards and how to use them for responsive images and high pixel density displays while still supporting older browsers.
dev/dev ops
Room 215
Dan Latch | 3:15 PM - 4 PM
The Trials and Triumphs of CRM PaaS Adoption in FinTech
Solution Architect, Farm Credit Services of America
Have you faced the inevitable introduction of PaaS cloud computing?
It can be both a fruitful and a disruptive endeavor. This is especially the case when you work for a large enterprise FinTech company which has traditionally been a full stack engineering organization. How do you continue to innovate, without duplicating capabilities?
I will share our journey when Salesforce arrived on the scene – the trials, tribulations, and finally a favorable outcome. The innovation included multiple cloud-based platforms, event-driven orchestration, and good old-fashioned software engineering. Hear how we used Heroku Paas to help our business users and public-facing applications thrive.
Eric Gerling | 10 - 10:45 AM
YAML All the Things
Senior DevOps Consultant, Trility Consulting
Imagine what you’d be able to accomplish if you could reduce implementation time, end-to-end, by 40 percent – helping the client achieve speed-to-market goals. It happened for Eric Gerling when his team helped a client build Gitlab pipelines to manage Terraform Infrastructure as Code (IaC) deployments in YAML. In this session, you'll leave with key points to convince decision-makers to adopt this DevOps behavior that helps teams keep up with business goals and possibly stay ahead. You will also witness a demo and have the opportunity to ask questions. By the end of the session, you will understand why your team should always implement this practice – it ensures consistency of deployments, manages environments, maintains version control, improves security and compliance, and creates reusable patterns. The demonstration includes YAML. So … much … YAML. Along with strategies on managing deployments to multiple environments, organizing all that YAML, and ensuring you can change or swap out pieces of the pipeline without watching it all fall apart.
Randy Pagels | 2:15 - 3 PM
Mastering Application Testing: Scaling and Continuous UI Testing With Playwright
DevOps Architect, Xebia USA
In the world of cloud-based software development, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) has become the norm, but what about automated testing? Embracing automated testing is crucial for achieving technical resilience in modern applications. Join us in this engaging and interactive session as we introduce you to the world of web UI testing using Playwright and explore its significance in continuous testing for application functionality. We will dive into Playwright, a powerful tool that effortlessly automates web tasks, equipping you with the skills and knowledge needed to become a web automation wizard. Discover how Playwright can ensure the quality and reliability of your cloud applications through testing at scale. With Playwright, you can join the DevOps revolution and unlock the potential to supercharge your web testing efforts. Learn how to seamlessly integrate Playwright into your CI/CD pipeline and harness its capabilities to perform continuous UI testing that ensures your application's functionality remains robust and reliable.
Chris Harmon | 11-11:45 AM
Ensuring Quality Streaming Data on Apache Kafka with Confluent Schema Registry
Solutions Engineer, Confluent
Apache Kafka is the de facto standard technology for data streaming, whether for event-driven application architectures, or providing real-time analytics. Its true power comes from the complete decoupling of data producers & consumers. However, this means that producers & consumers need to understand & agree upon what the data in Kafka should look like. Confluent's Schema Registry helps us solve this problem by giving us a way to define data contracts for producers to validate the structure of new records, and for consumers to understand what structure to expect. Learn about how schemas work, how to handle schema evolution, and see some code examples of how to work with the Schema Registry from your application. We'll conclude with a look at how Confluent Cloud's Stream Governance builds upon the Schema Registry for the industry's only complete, fully-managed governance suite for streaming data.
Kasey Morland | 3:15 PM - 4 PM
Grounded: A Case Study on Using Data Science for Innovation
Solution Architect, OPPD
New data insights take years to make their way through an organization. The gap between how we operate today and how we might operate in the future is full of assumptions. How can a small team with limited resources create insights? How do technologies, such as the cloud, modern data platforms, and LLMs assist? Innovation wanted to flip the script and create a dataset and analysis for our residential electrical areas. The organization could ground decision-making in real data to understand the value and position itself to maximize the value. We will walk through our journey of Grounded, a data science project to inform the future.
Tech Leadership
Room 216
Joe Aurilia Jr. | 10 - 10:45 AM
Building a Compliance First Company Mindset
SVP of Operations, Cyware
Everyone knows compliance has become a determining factor in procurement decision-making, as well as how a product is viewed in the market. That said, compliance does not come easy, and there is an immense opportunity for new companies to excel more swiftly by baking in compliance from the start. Companies need to consider not only the technical attributes of a compliant product but also the people, process, and operational aspects which need to go into creating a compliance first mentality within your organization. When all these elements come together the magic happens and market leaps can come more swiftly, leading to greater traction and increased ARR.
Shakib Ahmad Hikmat | 11 - 11:45 AM
Sudo Reboot Yourself: A Self-Care Guide for the IT World
Cloud Engineer, FNBO
In today’s work-from-home environment, the lines between work and personal life are increasingly blurred, often leading IT professionals to prioritize their careers at the expense of personal relationships and mental health. While the importance of self-care is widely recognized, the overwhelming flood of information can lead to paralysis rather than action. So, how do we cut through the noise? In this session, attendees will learn practical, science-backed strategies that are simple to integrate into even the busiest schedules. Drawing on my personal journey of overcoming significant trauma, imposter syndrome, and the challenges of being perpetually overworked, I will provide actionable insights and real-world examples to inspire resilience and a proactive approach to mental health. Attendees will leave empowered with effective self-care practices that can be immediately implemented to enhance their mental well-being and maintain a healthier work-life balance. Designed specifically for IT professionals by one of their own, this talk not only motivates but also equips you with the tools to build resilience in a demanding industry.
Alli Koester | 3:15 - 4 PM
Women in Tech: Where are They?
Software Developer, Don’t Panic Labs
In this talk we will examine women, or the lack of, in technology. Why do women make up such a small percentage of the technology field? And how can we improve this? We’ll start with a brief history of software engineering and women’s contributions to the field. Software engineering was initially considered “women’s work”, but has steadily become a male dominated industry. Statistics reflect this in the continued decline of women in software engineering since that time. Recent research shows that women are leaving the technology field at alarming rates. Even with more women entering the pipeline, the amount of women in the technology field has not increased. We’ll examine recent statistics that support this notion. As well as research that suggests why and likely contributing factors. Most importantly, is how we can improve the presence of women in technology and in management roles. From hiring practices, to culture implementation, and promotion considerations. I will provide ways for companies to improve their outcomes in hiring, retaining, and advancing women’s presence in technology to advance us all.