Tech Coast Conference highlights industry diversity, innovation here in Jacksonville (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — The 2024 Tech Coast Conference was held at the University of North Florida.
Hosted by the Jacksonville IT Council, the TCC brings together technology leaders from a multitude of backgrounds to share their insights, inspire innovation and connect people in the industry.
“You’re out there on the cutting edge of taking what’s great about Jacksonville and merging it with the future of what’s coming, and giving this place a chance to be a shining city on a hill for other companies and other people,” Jacksonville Jaguars play-by-play announcer, Brian Sexton, told the gathered audience.
TCC accomplishes this mission through a variety of speakers, sponsors and attendees.
These people include nonprofits like the SQL Server’s Group that helps its members shape the back end of Microsoft servers.
“We help other data professionals improve their skill set and improve their knowledge,” consultant and SQL administrator Jeff Taylor told the Business Journal. “We help the data professionals who manage anything like e-commerce or banking, any systems.”
There are tables that represent JAX Women In Technology, marketing its meetups like a presentation next week on successful transitions from IT into cyber security.
“Because cyber security is still a really male-dominated field,” table host Dawn Carrie Montemayor said.
At the opening panel, local CIOs discussed how they entered the technology field, how tech interacts with business and its impact in health care, palliative care, real estate and for the Jaguars.
“The people that actually have that love of technology built in are the people most successful in this field,” Jaguars CIO Mike Webb told the crowd. “If you have that, the world’s your oyster.”
Panel host Melissa Fulmore-Hardwick, CSI Companies CIO, is using the TCC platform to reshape the image of the tech industry in Jacksonville.
“I am changing the face of what a CIO traditionally looks like,” Fulmore-Hardwick said. “I’ve worked for Oracle. I’ve worked for a couple of the big fours and in this space. I represent all of those women who are amazing technologists that make this game fun.”
Alivia Care’s CIO Mike Helinsky is thinking about how technology can come together to create a better experience.
“How do we make everything an endpoint? Our cameras, our badge readers, IV pumps, everything is talking back to the system. Digitizing all those endpoints allows us to put that hospital room anywhere,” Helinsky said.
This leads to such new Alivia services such as Hospital at Home, which connects patient care to the hospital so people can be treated and monitored at home and still be part of the hospital.
For the Jaguars, this means launching biometric facial screening to more efficiently access football games.
“You’re not even going to have to have a ticket, even on your phone. It’s going to see your face and you can walk right in the stadium,” Webb said.
Biometric facial screening is being introduced this year at premium entrances. Once fans submit a self image, they will be able to enter Everbank without a ticket and will be registered at every NFL stadium.