SHELBY, Ohio — Recognizing the major role that mobile computing plays in today’s world, North Central Ohio Regional Information Technology Alliance (NCORITA), held its third annual conference Thursday at the Kehoe Center, with the theme focused on mobile computing.
Approximately 180 people registered for the event, which featured a vendor fair and five different sessions, in which attendees heard from representatives of Dell, Pervasive Path, Verizon, ShoreTel and SecureState.
Bill Danuloff, NCORITA board member and retired vice president and CIO of Gorman-Rupp Company, said the conference’s purpose was two-fold in that people could gain valuable information by participating in any of the five sessions, and they could also take part in the vendor fair. The vendor fair, he said, allowed attendees to speak with almost 30 different vendors about their goods and services.
Desiree Schmitt, account manager for MRK Technologies, has participated in each NCORITA vendor fair. She said, “I do shows all the time; it’s part of my sales process. And what I like about this event is that it’s a smaller, more closely knit group of people and it spans folks that are in IT, folks that have responsibility to a business, a business owner, and students.”
She added, “This year we have a different mix of vendors, so that’s nice because it keeps it fresh and then that way companies that are looking to do something with their IT and change it, they have more people to be exposed to, instead of having the same vendors year after year.”
Past conference themes focused on IT security and cloud computing. Danuloff said they polled previous conference attendees, asking them what topics they would prefer to learn more about and mobile computing was one of the most popular choices. “What most companies are dealing with today are mobile devices,” he noted.
Roger Bjork, marketing director for Dell Enterprise Mobility Solutions, served as one of the guest speakers. His talk focused on how companies can take advantage of mobile devices to help them be more productive.
“A lot of analysts are saying in this year 85 percent of workers will be mobile, so the question is how do you take advantage of that,” he asked.
He continued, “How do you let someone transact a sale not necessarily with a cash register, but somewhere else in the store? How do you help that salesperson be more effective because they now have a tablet or a smart phone that they can use?”
“It used to be about just working remote, like doing email. That’s not what this is about. This is about being productive and doing your work better or in a different way.”
Jay Miller, NCORITA board member and software designer at DRM Productions, Inc., said NCORITA is trying to appeal to the IT industry within the area and help create networking opportunities for local professionals.
He said this year’s conference drew 14 more vendors compared to last year’s, along with several students. “It’s neat to get the younger kids involved just to kind of get their feet we in the IT industry and hopefully keep some people here locally,” he commented.
Among the students who attended was Aaron West of Madison. He said he enjoyed speaking to the different vendors, who were able to provide him with insightful information about a career in information technology. West is currently studying information technology at North Central State College, where is he a first year student.
He noted, “I’m looking for internships and a couple people have said that they’re offering them. I actually am in the process of scheduling a visit with SecureState.”
“I’m just here trying to get my foot in the door of I-tech.”
Matt Wilson and Mary Platt of Bucyrus also attended the conference. They said they were extended an invitation to the event by MT Business Technologies. They both work at Mt. Zion Methodist Church in Bucyrus.
“I think in addition to the invitation, we’re starting to do a lot more technology advances in the church, so we wanted to come and see opportunities that relate to mobile, internet, stuff like that,” said Wilson.
Wilson, who has a master’s degree in IT, said he’s amazed with what advances have been made with mobile technology. He said he gained some helpful information, especially that which relates to IT security.
NCORITA’s mission is to create educational opportunities, peer-to-peer networking and advocacy for economic development within the Mid-Ohio area. NCORITA was formed in the fall of 2011 to create a venue for IT professionals to meet and share ideas. For more information about NCORITA, visit their website.
“What I like about this event is that it’s a smaller, more closely knit group of people and it spans folks that are in IT, folks that have responsibility to a business, a business owner, and students,” said Desiree Schmitt of MRK Technologies.
