Sophilabs at the 2019 Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo

In October, Project Manager Peter Distol attended the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo in Orlando, Florida. Gartner is a top advisory firm that provides strategic insights and tools to companies in a variety of industries. Their conferences enable attendees to learn about the latest research in their respective fields and network with other professionals. The IT Symposium this year did not disappoint. It featured a range of fantastic speakers and allowed us to learn a lot about the needs of enterprises interested in digital transformation.

Keynote speaker Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, gave an insightful talk on the future of tech. Other high-profile speakers included former Secretary of State Colin Powell; Enrica Porcari, CIO of the World Food Programme; best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell; and spoken word poet Sekou Andrews. Each speaker drew from their distinct professional background to offer their valuable perspective on IT today.

Ed Gabrys's talk, "Storytelling Techniques that Create Enthusiasm for Your Digital Journey," was particularly interesting and compelling. He argued that people are immediately hooked by a good story with a well-structured beginning, middle, and end. In the business world, however, vendors usually try to persuade people by starting with the ending (i.e., the results of a case study) and then jumping to the beginning, and this method is actually less effective. Telling stories in a more natural order gives the audience the opportunity to identify with the "hero" (i.e., a customer), hate the "villain" (i.e., the problem), and feel genuinely invested in the solution. Gabrys also stressed the importance of knowing your audience and focusing on one main idea or argument. His talk was especially relevant to organizations that are facing internal resistance to digital transformation and want to inspire people to jump on board.

At sophilabs, it's important to us to stay up-to-date and be active members of the tech community. Attending conferences like the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo is just one way we achieve that. We're looking forward to future events that allow us to continue learning and connecting with people who share our passion for problem-solving and innovation.