Thriving in a Digital-first World: Cloud, Automation, Trust

Tuesday, July 19 | 2:00-4:00 PM CT

In this packed session, IDC will share research insights, explore the implications, and deliver leadership strategies for CIOs, rising CIOs, and senior technology professionals by revealing unique survey insights from Tech Talk Summit participants. Take a few moments from your busy schedule as we explore:

• Why cloud is the platform for delivering digital infrastructure at scale
• How managing the growing cost of technology drives IT automation
• Why ensuring trustworthiness of data is critical for what comes next

You’ll get the full benefits of our live regional roadshow events – what TechTalk is known for – networking while learning about the most cutting edge technologies in a live environment. Meet and speak with our sponsors, the companies you need to know on the cutting edge of technology, get specific information for your applications and arrange follow-up.

Presenter: IDC Group Vice President, Worldwide Research, Rick Villars

As Group Vice President, Worldwide Research, Rick Villars guides IDC's research into broad ICT industry trends, particularly the strategic adoption of technology by Global 2000 businesses and the industries in which they compete. He is a member of IDC's worldwide management team, as the leader of IDC's Future of Digital Infrastructure research practice.

Mr. Villars leads IDC's global cloud research team, driving the ongoing development of IDC's widely-used cloud services forecasts and the tracking of cloud services adoption. He also leads the development of IDC's annual Worldwide FutureScapes themes and predictions that focuses on the transformation of the IT industry (and other industries) in this time of accelerated innovation.

His research enables clients to create preemptive business and technology strategies grounded in sound financial practices and a comprehensive understanding of competitive ecosystems. He empowers IT leaders to deliver strategically-aligned organizational development and talent management plans. A skilled executive coach and change agent, he works with clients to foster executive intrapreneurship in enterprise-class organizations.

Over the past decade, he has been a keynote speaker at IDC's annual Directions conferences in the U.S. and in many other countries as well as at CIO and Partner Summits and other major industry events. He also regularly interacts with buy-side, sell-side and private equity financial analysts to discuss the implications of emerging ICT trends on leading ICT companies.

Prior to taking on this role, Mr. Villars has spent over 30 years assessing the evolution of network, storage, and server infrastructure as well as advising companies on the impact of the cloud on existing IT practices. The role included developing IDC's viewpoints on the workloads driving the adoption of converged and software defined IT solutions as well as public and private cloud solutions. He also led IDC's ongoing assessment of the evolution of datacenter design, placement, and management strategies. And advised clients on the impact of new IT consumption models and technologies on organizations' infrastructure, deployment, procurement, and management practices.