Cisco, Microsoft to keynote 2021 BICSI Virtual Winter Conference

bicsi.org

BICSI, the association advancing the information and communications technology (ICT) profession, announced its keynote speaker lineup for its 2021 Winter Conference & Exhibition, a virtual event being held from February, 28 through March 4. Speakers will include world-renowned industry leaders from Microsoft and Cisco, as well as a celebrated comedienne from Canada.

For the event's opening keynote to focus on sustainable building design, in his presentation entitled, "The World Is Flat… Well, At Least the Building Network Is!", Jeremy Witikko, global director of smart buildings for Cisco, will explore how a single converged network can power, connect and secure buildings systems with Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology "in ways never previously imagined," driving complexity and cost out of projects and simplifying the on-going operations. Witikko leads the Global Smart Building team at Cisco and is accountable for the company's overall go-to-market strategy. He has extensive experience in innovation, leadership, and IT consulting across multiple industries.

In a mid-week keynote to address safety, diversity and inclusion in the construction industry delivered by Doug Mouton, vice president of global datacenter construction for Microsoft, will present a talk titled "Construction Safety, Diversity & Inclusion, and Technology Innovation." This keynote will address how the expansion of the data center industry has raised new and important questions around safety, diversity and worker welfare. Mouton will offer his thoughts on how the industry can come together to empower people and organizations to set a higher standard for the data center industry. Mouton is responsible for the data center construction execution for all Microsoft data centers at Microsoft's Cloud Operations + Innovation organization (CO+I).

To end the conference week on a high note, for the virtual event's closing keynote focused on helping to build resilience through humor, celebrated comedienne, author and mental health advocate Jessica Holmes will deliver her presentation titled, "Power Laughs: Using Humor to Build Resilience." Holmes has been a perennial favorite on Canada's "Royal Canadian Air Farce" program for 15 years, and has brought the house down opening for giants such as Ellen DeGeneres, Russell Peters, Jerry Seinfeld, and Oprah Winfrey.

Billed as the premier ICT infrastructure and technology event of the season, the 2021 BICSI Virtual Winter Conference & Exhibition will bring together thousands of ICT professionals from around the world to share industry best practices and innovation through technical presentations. In addition, the online event will feature a virtual Exhibit Hall and ICT Field of Vision presentations with industry thought leaders and experts. Presentations will cover critical topics that are shaping the ever-changing ICT landscape, including: