Wednesday, June 22, 2022
9:00 a.m. PT - 12:00 p.m. PT

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Featured Speakers


  • Jared Cheney
    Vice President of Services, North America
    SoftwareONE     Jared Cheney is the Vice President of Services in North America at SoftwareONE. He is a seasoned and solutions-oriented technology executive with over 20 years of experience in global strategy, technology innovation, operations, IT infrastructure, information systems, and support services for Fortune 500 companies. He also has experience in telecommunications, non-profit, and government industries. Cheney has a strong background in managing large IT infrastructure transformation programs, public cloud migrations, data center buildouts, telecommunications, and network projects in complex, dynamic environments. He has extensive experience in profit and loss (P&L) accountability and helping technology teams build, run, and manage complex global IT infrastructure. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Portland State University in business administration.

  • John Duque
    Application Services Business Owner, North America
    SoftwareONE     John Duque is the application services business owner for North America at SoftwareONE. He came to SoftwareONE during the acquisition of InterGrupo in 2019, where he was the Chief Technology Officer. He has worked for InterGrupo for more than 20 years, starting as a Software Engineer. At InterGrupo, he was responsible for the technology strategy, ensuring it was aligned with the industry trends and market needs. He was also responsible for implementing good practices frameworks such as SCRUM, CMMI DEV, ITIL, ISO 20,000, ISO 9001, and RUP. John has extensive experience in software engineering with an emphasis on agile software development methodologies. He earned his master’s degree in digital business management from the University of Barcelona and his master’s degree in digital transformation and business development from OBS Business School. John is also certified in finance and gamification.

  • Ashley Gaare
    President and General Manager, North America
    SoftwareONE     Ashley Gaare is the President and General Manager of North America for SoftwareONE, a leading global provider of end-to-end software and cloud technology solutions. She is responsible for the strategic direction and operations of SoftwareONE's North America region. Ashley has held several leadership positions for over 12 years, working in inside sales, business development, and marketing. Ashley realized her passion for leading teams and an organization while driving an underperforming territory into one of the United States' largest. From there, she took on the role of Vice President of United States’ sales and marketing, responsible for a $100M budget, overseeing 12 sales territories, and managing the support teams. Ashley believes in driving the success of everyone around her. Ashley’s competitive spirit and high energy allow her to deliver consistent double-digit growth while focusing efforts on supporting her client's transformation. Ashley lives in Mequon, Wisconsin, with her two young children and husband. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Advertising and Marketing from Marquette University. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.

  • Brett Hargreaves
    Cloud Practice Lead,
    Iridium Consulting     Based in the UK, Brett Hargreaves is the Cloud Practice Lead for Iridium Consulting. He has worked for some of the world's biggest companies for over 25 years, helping them design and build cutting-edge solutions. With a career spanning infrastructure, development, consulting, and architecture, he has been involved in projects covering the entire solution stack, including hardware, virtualization, databases, storage, software development, and the cloud. He loves passing on his knowledge to others through books (AZ303 & AZ304 Exam prep guides), blogging, and his online Udemy training courses.

  • David Totten
    Chief Technology Officer, US Partners
    Microsoft     David Totten is a leader in the Microsoft One Commercial Partner organization. The One Commercial Partner group manages field and partner integration and execution across specific disciplines, including technical capacity creation, practice development, partner profitability and experiences, and go to market investment areas. He has only recently moved to 100% partner focus, leaving his leadership role as the Americas Capability Lead helping to build digital transformation, industry, and technical sales skills for a workforce of over 5,000 individuals and managers. Previously, David was accountable for the United States’ go to market strategy for Office 365 across 18,000 accounts and 3,000 partners, blending all industries and verticals. He oversaw the Cloud Productivity value proposition, field and partner readiness, deployment programs, competitive intelligence, product evangelism and the customer experience across the entire Office 365 portfolio of solutions. David joined Microsoft in 2004 as a product manager within the Server and Tools Product Group.

  • Gladys Rama, moderator
    Editorial Director
    Redmondmag.com     Gladys Rama is the editorial director, and editor-in-chief of both Redmond magazine (Redmondmag.com) and Redmond Channel Partner (RCPmag.com). She's a well-respected technical journalist and has been covering Microsoft Azure since Microsoft announced it back in 2008.

Why Attend

Microsoft's Azure cloud technology has so much to offer enterprises, but most IT leaders can't keep up with all the relevant changes. And Azure can be the key to your digital transformation strategy, but only if you understand how it can lead your efforts toward application modernization, reducing technical debt, and more. That's why the editors of Redmondmag.com have joined with independent experts and MVPs, plus leaders from Microsoft and SoftwareONE, to walk you through what's new in Azure and how it can truly be the linchpin for your organization's digital transformation strategy. You don't want to miss this free, half-day summit -- register now!

Agenda

  • 9:00 a.m. PT:
    What’s New & What’s Hot in Azure in 50 Minutes
    Brett Hargreaves, Cloud Practice Lead
    Microsoft is constantly improving Azure, so much so that even Azure specialists have a hard time keeping up with all the new features and ways that Azure can be used to better manage, secure, and run your enterprise. In this session, the editors of Redmondmag.com along with an independent Azure cloud expert Brett Hargreaves will hit you with 50 minutes of the newest and hottest Azure features every IT pro needs to know about, plus you'll have the chance to get your burning Azure questions answered in the expert Q&A at the end of the session.
  • 10:00 a.m. PT:
    Top Ways Azure Can Transform Enterprises
    David Totten, Chief Technology Officer, US Partners, Microsoft
    Ashley Gaare, President and General Manager, North America, SoftwareONE
    Jared Cheney, Vice President of Services, North America, SoftwareONE
    Moderated by: Gladys Rama, editorial director, Redmondmag.com
    In this fireside chat, join executives from Microsoft and SoftwareONE as they share insights on the top trends in Azure and how they can transform enterprises. Topics will include:
    • Managing Hybrid & Multi-Cloud Environments
    • Container and Serverless Computing Services Are on the Rise
    • Embracing a Zero-Trust Security Model
    • Adapting Microsoft’s Modern Workplace
    • Industry-Specific Solutions that Drive Innovation
    • Hyper Automation Accelerating Digital Transformation
  • 11:00 a.m. PT:
    Technical Debt on the Journey to Cloud: You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide
    John Duque, Application Services Business Owner, North America, SoftwareONE

    Technical debt is the accumulation of all the technology work a company needs to do in the future. It’s the cost of required additional rework created by choosing an easy, limited solution now instead of using a better approach that might take longer. Technical debt is like financial debt in that if it is not repaid, it accumulates interest and compounds over time.

    Companies take on technical debt because they need something now that they do not have the technical resources to pay for in full. However, IT teams spend more time managing complexity rather than spending time on building and integrating new capabilities for the business. Companies that don’t take on technical debt free up engineers to spend more of their time building and modernizing applications, driving more business value.

All sessions will include a 5-10 minute Q&A with attendees. Bring your questions!

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