FutureIT Canada 2025 Agenda: Sessions on Tech Innovation & Leadership

Join FutureIT Canada 2025 for an action-packed day exploring the latest in AI, cloud, and cybersecurity. This virtual conference brings together IT decision-makers, CIOs, and technology leaders to discuss emerging trends, real-world case studies, and strategic insights that drive business innovation. From AI-driven automation and enterprise security to data governance and digital transformation, expert speakers and interactive sessions will provide the knowledge and tools needed to navigate today’s rapidly evolving tech landscape. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with industry leaders, gain actionable insights, and shape the future of IT in Canada.

All times are listed in Eastern Standard Time.

Thursday, October 2

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Login and View Platform

Login early and check out the virtual environment, join the contest and explore the on-demand content.

12:00 PM - 12:10 PM
Welcome to FutureIT

Our host welcomes you IDC’s FutureIT Canada Q3 virtual event. They’ll set the stage for the day ahead, share how to navigate the virtual platform and provide an overview of the strategic insights and tech trends you will experience

Host
Allice Shandler Events Director IDC
12:10 PM - 12:40 PM
AI Adoption: The Maturity Journey to Agentic AI

As organizations accelerate their AI initiatives, the journey from experimentation to enterprise-wide adoption is evolving rapidly. Drawing on IDC’s global AI MaturityScape Benchmark survey and insights from C-Suite, CEO and CIO research, this keynote explores the critical stages of AI maturity, from automation to the emergence of AI agents that act with autonomy and strategic intent. Attendees will gain insights to align AI investments with business outcomes and accelerate value realization.

Speaker
Tony Olvet Group Vice President, Worldwide C-Suite and Digital Business Research IDC
12:40 PM - 1:10 PM
Empowering Canadian Enterprises: AI-Driven Cloud Transformation for Scalable Success

Join us for a dynamic panel discussion tailored to Canadian IT leaders and CIOs. This session will delve into how organizations across Canada are embracing cloud-first strategies and AI innovation to drive digital transformation. Our expert panel will share key milestones, frameworks, and actionable insights that enable scalable operations, enhance customer experiences, and foster business agility. From navigating modernization in regulated industries to optimizing data for intelligent automation, this conversation will provide practical guidance for IT leaders aiming to future-proof their enterprises in the Canadian market.

Speaker
Neda Parnian, PhD VP of Innovation and Digital Transformation Summit Interconnect
Moderator
Erin Lawrence Executive Editor TechGadgetsInternational
1:10 PM - 1:30 PM
Simplifying AI and Unlocking Enterprise Innovation with AI Factory

AI is everywhere, it is shaping the way we work, communicate, and solve problems across the globe, and it continues to evolve. However, complexity is one of the main barriers to its successful adoption and value realization. Let’s simplify it! Learn how to get started, and how enterprises can accelerate innovation, streamline deployment, and empower their organization to turn data into actionable insights.

Speaker
James Scott Field CTO Dell Technologies
Speaker
Ivan Nekrasov NVIDIA AI Field Product Manager Dell Technologies
1:30 PM - 2:05 PM
Navigating AI Adoption: Insights from IT leaders in Complex Enterprises

Embarking on the AI journey within a large, established organization is no small feat. There’s no one-size-fits-all playbook, and the path is often fraught with challenges. In this candid panel discussion, leading CIOs and IT executives will share their firsthand experiences of initiating AI adoption in complex enterprises. From overcoming early hurdles like stakeholder alignment and data management chaos to evaluating a sea of technology options and fostering internal momentum, this session dives into the realities of starting without a prototype or a dedicated AI team. Join us for a peer-driven conversation that explores what’s working, what’s not, and how organizations are finding their footing amidst uncertainty.

Speaker
Thomas Kampioni, MBA Chief Information Officer The Law Society of British Columbia
Speaker
Hong-Lok Li Chief Technology Officer Alma Mater Society of UBC, Vancouver
Speaker
Dr. Peter Holowka Director of Educational Technology West Point Grey Academy
Moderator
Erin Lawrence Executive Editor TechGadgetsInternational
2:05 PM - 2:08 PM
Cisco AI: Preparing IT Leaders for the Next Wave of Enterprise AI

As enterprises confront thetransformative power of agentic AI, this session highlights the challenges that emerging AI systems bring to operations. Attendees will learn how leveraging state‑of‑the‑art AI‑ready infrastructure can meet increasing performance needs, control escalating costs, and safeguard data security.

Speaker
Magne Vange AI Executive Advisor Cisco Canada
2:08 PM - 2:15 PM
Lightning Insights by YASH Technologies

The presentation will highlight the current transformative landscape, specific technologies driving change, strategic opportunities they present, and significant challenges that must be addressed.

Speaker
Prakash Kajuluri Vice President, AWS Division YASH Technologies
2:15 PM - 2:22 PM
From Static Walls to Adaptive Shields: Revolutionizing Security Ops with AI

Traditional security operations, heavily reliant on static rules and manual updates, struggle to keep pace with the dynamic threat landscape. This lightning talk will explore a paradigm shift from a person-in-the-loop model to one where AI and Machine Learning models dynamically build and adapt security rules. We’ll discuss how leveraging predictive scoring can dramatically reduce the number of required rules, enhance responsiveness to emerging threats, and eliminate the need for laborious manual rule changes, ultimately building more resilient and proactive security defenses.

Speaker
Trey Guinn Field Chief Technology Officer Cloudflare
2:22 PM - 2:29 PM
Orchestrating AI Agents for Hyperproductivity

This session introduces Boomi AI Studio, the secure solution to design, govern, and orchestrate AI agents to unlock hyperproductivity, responsibly. We will explore how Boomi provides full agent lifecycle management by enabling you to design agents with confidence , centrally manage them to prevent agent sprawl , and integrate them into every business process for maximum impact.

Speaker
Shawn Aker Senior Solution Consultant Boomi
2:29 PM - 2:36 PM
The Blind Spot in Your Security Stack: Conversations at Scale

IT and Security leaders have spent decades locking down networks, endpoints, and cloud data. Yet, millions of daily customer and employee conversations remain an unmanaged blind spot – a massive threat surface for compliance breaches and data exfiltration. This session will explore how enterprise-grade AI is transforming this risk, moving beyond simple productivity to provide the critical governance, real-time redaction, and auditability needed to secure your most sensitive unstructured data.

Speaker
Alex Strener Senior Product Marketing Manager RingCentral
2:36 PM - 3:06 PM
The Challenges of Taking GenAI from POC to Production

Generative AI is transformative technology. Thousands of large language models (LLMs) have been built by enterprises, academia, and the open-source community. Many organizations are running GenAI POCs to assess feasibility, value, and tech fit. Moving to production is complex—requiring planning, testing, and integration. Often underestimated, this step can stall initiatives. This keynote will address how to overcome the hurdles from POC to production.

Speaker
Peter Rutten Research Vice-President, Performance Intensive Computing, Worldwide Infrastructure Research IDC
3:06 PM - 3:36 PM
Future-Ready IT: Overcoming Technical Debt to Maximize AI Impact

As AI adoption accelerates, IT leaders face the critical challenge of driving innovation while maintaining cost efficiency and operational sustainability. This dynamic panel session features senior IDC analysts alongside Canadian industry executives, offering fresh insights into leveraging AI to modernize workflows and tackle entrenched technical debt. Discover practical approaches to scaling AI solutions, measuring impactful outcomes, and sidestepping common obstacles that hinder digital transformation. Leave equipped with actionable strategies to enhance productivity, streamline operations, and lay the groundwork for an AI-powered future—free from the burdens of legacy systems.

Speaker
Tony Olvet Group Vice President, Worldwide C-Suite and Digital Business Research IDC
Speaker
Peter Rutten Research Vice-President, Performance Intensive Computing, Worldwide Infrastructure Research IDC
Speaker
Neda Parnian, PhD VP of Innovation and Digital Transformation Summit Interconnect
3:36 PM - 3:45 PM
Closing Remarks

Join our host for the closing remarks to reflect on a day full of learning from the best in the industry. We’ll also revewal the event day contest winners, live!

Host
Allice Shandler Events Director IDC