BICSI, the global association dedicated to the advancement of the information and communications technology (ICT) profession, welcomed both in-person and virtual attendees to its first-ever hybrid event for its 2021 BICSI Fall Conference & Exhibition, which ran from August 24-26 in Las Vegas at the Sands Expo/The Venetian Resort and online.
As the first in-person BICSI event since the pandemic, in-person attendees enjoyed a full conference experience, while observing the location's many health and safety precautions based on state and CDC guidelines. BICSI Chief Executive Officer John H. Daniels, CNM, FACHE, FHIMSS, said the dual-platform hybrid conference was tailored to meet the specific needs of today's multitasked ICT professionals.
"BICSI represents a truly global community of ICT professionals, and we are leveraging all available assets to help them connect, network, educate, and innovate," Daniels said. "We want to give those in our profession the best available opportunities to succeed. Offering a hybrid conference where both in person and virtual attendees can get the same great BICSI conference experience is just one way we are able to support the ICT profession."
Keynote details
At the conference keynote event, Executive Director of the American Society of Civil Engineers Tom Smith, ENV SP, CAE, F.ASCE, and BICSI President Todd W. Taylor, RCDD, NTS, OSP, partnered to deliver a forward-looking opening address titled, "FUTURE WORLD VISION: Infrastructure Reimagined."
After an overview of ASCE's Future World Vision given by Smith, both he and Taylor discussed the many exciting innovations leading the ICT world into the foreseeable future, in areas including autonomous vehicles, intelligent buildings, and the many factors that are currently reshaping the built environment.
"These changes breed challenges, and we cannot address tomorrow's obstacles with yesterday's infrastructure," said Smith. "A new approach is required to keep pace with today's rapidly evolving landscape."
Smith and Taylor identified multiple obstacles to anticipate in the coming years, including those listed in the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the U.S. infrastructure limitations highlighted in ASCE's report card and failure to act studies. They concluded by suggesting numerous feasible solutions.
The keynote day continued with the ICT Field of Vision presentation, "Exploring Connectivity Requirements Supporting Financial and Trading Markets," by Joshua Seawell of Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, the conference's Diamond Level Sponsor. Seawell's presentation is one of more than 30 technical sessions that was scheduled over the three-day event.
In-person and virtual attendees also interacted with dozens of exhibitors in both the physical and virtual BICSI Exhibit Halls. Companies were eager to share their latest products and solutions and create new business relationships. Each day of the conference, all attendees were able to watch presentations as part of BICSI's popular "What's New, What's It Do?" (WNWID) showcase, where participating vendors featured their newest products and services during five-minute interactive sessions.
Engaging technical sessions took place through Thursday, August 26, covering critical ICT topics such as smart cities, intelligent buildings, Internet of Things (IoT), Power over Ethernet (PoE), data centers, audiovisual technologies, optical fiber, passive optical networks (PON), wireless, and distributed antennae systems (DAS). Both in-person and virtual attendees receive access to all event content for 30 days post-conference.
The ICT industry's premier hybrid event closed on Thursday with two more ICT Field of Vision presentations by Corning and CommScope, followed by an inspirational closing keynote titled "What is Your Leadership Blueprint?" by Lieutenant General Ronald L. Bailey, USMC (Ret.), Vice President of Industry Development at NECA.
The complete 2021 BICSI Hybrid Fall Conference & Exhibition schedule of events and conference presentations is available at www.bicsi.org/fall.