As one of about two dozen sophomores participating in Cincinnati Public Schools’ first year of its Cyber Academy at Robert A. Taft Information Technology High School, Lariya Guess is learning and honing highly marketable skills that she can one day craft into a lucrative, challenging career.

As the world’s leading authority in technology research and innovation, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Chief Data Officer and Information Quality (MIT CDOIQ) Symposium has served as a beacon of technological thought leadership since its creation 13 years ago, and is recognized as the foremost authority in the world in the field of data and analytics. The 13th annual MIT CDOIQ Symposium will be presented from July 31st to August 2nd, 2019. The goal of the MIT CDOIQ Symposium is to share and exchange the knowledge and ideas of technology experts and thought leaders around the globe.

Today there are two types of companies, the saying goes – those who have been hacked and those who don’t know they’ve been hacked. Unfortunately, many manufacturers fall into the latter category. Despite the constant news about the growing cyber threats in the manufacturing industry, many manufacturers, especially small- to mid-size companies, fall short when it comes to cybersecurity planning.

When it comes to technology solutions, an integral aspect of HealthSource of Ohio’s IT strategy is to utilize their partnerships to the fullest to avoid piecing together a variety of disconnected solutions. “We prefer a complete solution, we don’t want to just keep adding things,” says Joey Elam, HealthSource of Ohio’s senior director of information technology.

During the warm summer days of 2017, Scott Gates, Superintendent of Schools at Ross Local School District, began having conversations with Andy Klaber, the district’s Director of Technology, about the state of technology across the Ross School properties. One topic in that conversation began to raise serious concern for both Gates and Klaber. The district’s telephone systems were old, different in different school buildings and beginning to show their age with periodic failure of system components. Klaber pointed out that power outages had taken key components down recently and could again. Worse still, the phone system equipment was out of warranty and support, and the network lines and carrier services were out of date, expensive and had not been updated or renegotiated in years.

Most information crises arise from a natural disaster or a cyberattack, but in today’s hyper-connected world, a crisis can strike from anywhere and when you least expect it. We all know malware can infect a network, but something as seemingly benign as a social media post can be the start of a systemic “disease” process that quickly spreads across an organization’s entire infrastructure.

Anytime a group of tech-minded professionals focused on collaboration and innovation gather in one room, everybody benefits,” says Bryan Hogan, president, founder and CEO of Afidence. It is that philosophy that recently led Hogan to dedicate about one-third of his Mason-based technology consulting and services firm’s new, larger headquarters as a meeting place that will easily accommodate over 50 tech collaborators and innovators.

The city of Dublin is currently coordinating multiple projects on connected and autonomous vehicles that will ultimately join a larger, regional effort. According to Doug McCollough, Chief Information Officer for the City of Dublin, the 33 Smart Mobility Corridor is doing amazing things with regard to connected and autonomous vehicles.

Locally hosted, hybrid solutions provided by Flexential ensure high speed, secure access to applications and data.

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Worthington Industries, Inc. is a global diversified metals manufacturing company. Matt Schlabig, the CIO at Worthington Industries, credits the company’s success to the development of strong business relationships, a solid team, consistent delivery and a collaborative culture.

Bruce Barnes is the founder of Bold Vision, a senior consulting consortium of C-level executives focused on building an active and creative network of IT leaders devoted to sharing best practices, leveraging their strengths and perspectives, and raising the level of technical literacy within their own organizations.

RoundTower Technologies is a system integrator that provides innovative solutions and services in the areas of data center infrastructure, converged platforms, cloud automation, DevOps and data analytics. RoundTower is helping to enable its customers to drive positive business outcomes by becoming more agile and efficient through the use of technology.

There are a number of companies out there that work to keep your information safe from outside attackers, but Stealth Entry also strives to be a trusted name in cyber security and also be able to alert you to real world threats.

As technology solutions quickly evolve, the lines of what exactly constitutes “business intelligence” are getting blurred. Increasingly, as companies create a reliable “data lake,” that reservoir can turn into many rivers of actionable information. It means that an optimized business intelligence system also leads to new products and revenue streams.

In a business landscape steeped in screens, artificial intelligence and impersonal error messages, Stafford Technology – a boutique IT staffing consultancy and recruiting firm, based in Columbus, Ohio – has made it their goal to be a client-facing, human-oriented organization.

Integrity and reliability are keys to success and customer satisfaction at Level 12. Renamed in 2011 after the merger of RCS Computers and Intelicom, Level 12, based in the Louisville metropolitan area, serves clients nationwide with quality software development solutions.

At Nationwide Insurance, the focus is on growing, learning and improving. Steve Farley, Vice President of Software Development Services for Nationwide Insurance, is devoted to helping Nationwide stay connected to the Columbus community in a variety of ways. For starters, they participate in the Central Ohio CIO Council to help collaborate across the local IT Community.

Mobility management has evolved into something much more than just analyzing monthly invoices. Mobility Management today must be daily, not monthly, and manual processes must be supplemented – or even replaced – with automation. This translates into managing in real-time versus a month in arrears.

Locally hosted, hybrid solutions provided by Flexential ensure high speed, secure access to applications and data.

With corporate data breaches and technology privacy concerns regularly making headlines, chief information officers are always on guard. You’d think that they might even lose some sleep at night.

“Our model has been to find the best talent, regardless of where that talent lives, make them a part of the RoundTower Technologies family and then make them available to customers whenever they are needed and wherever they are located,” says Jim Burden, sales manager for RoundTower Columbus. “This model has proven to be very successful and enables us to have the very best talent working on our customers’ projects.”

In 2014, seven diverse Columbus area companies joined forces to create the Columbus Collaboratory. Working together on complex challenges common to member companies, the Collaboratory develops solutions that enhance operational efficiencies and competitiveness for the member companies and have application in the broader market. Now, in 2018, with an impressive track record of accomplishment in the areas of cybersecurity, data analytics and talent development, the Collaboratory plans to extend this unique model to include the Greater Cincinnati technology ecosystem.

Beginning in 1997, a core group of technology leaders in Central Ohio banded together to create what has come to be known as the Central Ohio CIO Forum. Although at that time in 1997, there were only 8 members, today there are over 160, representing many of Central Ohio’s best companies that total over an estimated $1 trillion in assets. This group worked together to address issues confronting each other and issues facing the community. Some of these have included helping to create a non-profit that solves problems for over 200 health service non-profits in the community, succession planning for the technology community, training for up-and-coming technology executives, and addressing talent shortage.

In our current age of instant access to information, it’s easy to forget that the internet hasn’t been around for long. The World Wide Web originally came about in 1990, less than 30 years ago. Amazon was established in 1994, and Google in 1998. But before there was Amazon or eBay, Jeff Wilkins was changing the way we use the internet. Wilkins’ innovation in eCommerce has changed the face of not only American buyers, but consumerism around the world.

There are many ways to run a successful company and still save money. In fact, many companies are realizing that purchasing refurbished IT hardware such as computers, servers and other necessary parts can save money and help the environment at the same time. Some companies, however, may associate the word “refurbished” with a negative connotation, assuming that items in this category are not only used, but are also out of date, mistreated and partially broken.

Thomas E. Simpson, Chief Operating Officer & Jason E. Praeter, President and General Manager of Cincinnati Bell Inc.

As a technology provider of managed services, project engagements and consultative hardware and software sales, we have to have a team of subject matter experts. RDI Intuitive Technical is led by a team focused on winning each and every day.

As a veteran of the recruiting industry, Ed Anderson knew exactly how he wanted to create his dream firm when he launched EDIS Group in 2015. He wanted it to reflect his fun, upbeat nature – a unique task in an industry not exactly known for rollicking good times.

In a fast-growing business, a technology infrastructure that enhances swift, efficient worker training and on-boarding is critical to be able to continue competing at a high level within a challenging field.