ITWC adds three new events to its flagship program

Events provide actionable insights from experts, peers

ITWC, Canada’s largest content provider serving the IT industry, is pleased to announce the 2021 schedule for its flagship events and signature awards programs.

“We have all seen unprecedented change in 2020,” said ITWC President Fawn Annan. “I am proud to say ITWC turned those challenges into opportunities for our audience as we sourced experts for their advice and shared that information at our virtual events held throughout the year.”

Recognizing that screen fatigue is a real thing, ITWC’s goal has become the delivery of more than just interesting video content, said Annan. Its ongoing event mission is to deliver a mixture of live, recorded and interactive material to create fresh, dynamic, community-focused experiences.

“This makes our virtual events opportunities to connect and grow rather than just endless groupings of dry pre-recorded content.”

This year, ITWC has added three new events: Technicity West, Analytics Unleashed, and the Top Women in FinTech/Blockchain, the details of which will be outlined below.

The Year At A Glance: Mark your calendars

NEW! Technicity West: February 9
Channel Innovation Awards: April 28
NEW! Top Women in FinTech: June 1
Digital Transformation Week: July 13 – 15
Top Women in Cybersecurity July 28
NEW! Analytics Unleashed: August 10
Women in the IT Channel Recognition Luncheon: August 24
MapleSEC: October 5 – 7
Technicity GTA: December 7

TECHNICITY WEST (FEB 9)

After a decade of holding Technicity events in Toronto, Western Canada finally gets its own version of this popular event. Created as an exclusive half-day event designed for government tech leaders, policymakers and digital entrepreneurs with an interest in the public sector, the conference will look at digital enablement, the changing citizen experience and building partnerships.

“Technicity West is ITWC’s acknowledgment of the critically important – but often overlooked – importance of public sector technology innovation that’s taking place from Winnipeg to West Vancouver,” said Annan. “This event will offer presentations and panels, networking opportunities and a Town Hall discussion — all with a distinct western Canadian flavour.”

CHANNEL INNOVATION CONFERENCE AND AWARDS (featuring the Top 100 Solution Providers ranking) (APR 28)

Perhaps never before has innovation been as important as it is now. Companies in the channel are evolving to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. That innovative spirit will be showcased as part of our revamped virtual Spring channel event. The half-day 2021 Channel Innovation Conference and Awards will include a workshop, panel discussions and award presentations. The release of the Top 100 Solution Providers listing and celebration of the Top Solution Provider of the Year remain key pillars of the event.

TOP WOMEN IN FINTECH/BLOCKCHAIN (JUNE 1)

The Top Women in FinTech/Blockchain celebration recognizes the role women leaders play in the sector. Nomination for the Canadian industry honour roll will open on International Women’s Day March 8. The celebration will include panels, networking opportunities and recognition of the top women in the field as nominated by their peers.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WEEK (JULY 13-15)

In three-half-day sessions, the ITWC Digital Transformation Week conference will explore three distinct parts of the DX journey. This event will feature a daily keynote presentation, panels, breakout networking opportunities, and the presentation of DX Awards in many categories. The last day, July 15, will be devoted to the CIO perspective and feature the presentation of the CIO of the Year Awards in conjunction with the CIO Association of Canada.

TOP WOMEN IN CYBERSECURITY (JULY 28)
Based on the phenomenal success of the 2020 celebration of the Top Canadian Women in Cybersecurity, this celebration returns bigger and better than last year. Nominations for the 2021 honour role will open soon and the celebration will held, fittingly, on International Women’s Day. The three-hour virtual experience will include panels, presentations and special video recognition for the 2021 winners.

ANALYTICS UNLEASHED (AUGUST 10)

Business leaders today don’t have data on their minds as much as how to derive real value from the data they already have. New in 2021 is ITWC’s Analytics Unleashed — a nationwide half-day virtual conference in June focused on how Canadian companies can better leverage their data and analytics, turning insights into measurable results.

“Canadian business leaders are embracing digital transformation to move their organizations through this challenging time,” said ITWC CIO Jim Love. “Analytics Unleashed will help those organizations build on their progress by showing them how to get business value out of the data they are collecting.”

WOMEN IN THE IT CHANNEL LUNCHEON (AUG 24)

The summer tradition continues. Join us over the lunch hour to celebrate the accomplishments of women in the channel. With a special focus on diversity, the virtual three-hour event will once again offer an inspiring keynote that attendees will be raving about. Who will be inducted into the Women in the Channel Hall of Fame? Who will be the Mentor of the Year or the Rising Star? You’ll have to attend to find out.

MAPLESEC (OCT 5-7)

Held to coincide with Cyber Security Awareness Week, MapleSEC brings together Canada’s premier security experts for three-half day session on security topics ranging from ransomware to training and governance. Learning will be practical, hands-on, Canada-focused. Virtual roundtable discussions will open things up for attendees.

TECHNICITY GTA (DEC 7)

The 2021 edition of Technicity GTA will be the 11th year for this event. Both an update and a celebration of the many innovative ways technology is being used across the region, it’s planned as a virtual event. But, hey, it’s a year out, so we are keeping our options open. Maybe a live event will be safe and welcome by this point next year.

When marking these events in your calendar, bear in mind this list represents but a small portion of the learning opportunities ITWC will be offering in 2021. Check out our Events page for a comprehensive running list of our large and small group events tailored to the needs of our diverse audience from coast to coast.