SpiceWorld Virtual 2021- 4 Key Highlights from Day 1

SpiceWorld Virtual 2021 kicked off on September 27 with the promise of three days of exciting discourse on some of the hottest topics in enterprise technology along with technical sessions, networking opportunities and a virtual exhibit hall for IT professionals. 

The three-day virtual technology mega conference, SpiceWorld Virtual 2021, features the likes of Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple as the keynote speaker, as well as industry honchos from Google, Intel, Cisco, Dell, and CrowdStrike and other tech companies. 

SpiceWorld 2021 brings together a full roster of IT professionals representing 142 countries and the who’s who in the world of technology, be it RingCentral, T-Mobile Google Android Enterprise, Barramundi, Chrome Enterprise, ManageEngine, or Salesforce. Stay tuned for exclusives, hot takes, and interesting insights on all that’s trending in technology, plus a suite of exciting product launches from  Spiceworks. 

The much-anticipated technology conference comes packed with over 60 engaging sessions. From Cisco’s Secure Email product manager Aniket Arondekar talking about managing and hardening email security, Intel’s director of Global Partner Technical Enabling Oscar Badillo walking participants through the company’s endpoint management tech for remote PCs, and Alicia Browning, program manager at Dell Technologies, walking IT pros through the next level of endpoint security for the modern enterprise, there’s a wealth of insights for you to binge on with each session lasting 30 minutes.

At the event’s curtain-raiser, Spiceworks Ziff Davis’ VP of Product Elizabeth Ronco Opens a new window walked us down the events of the past year that saw businesses taking in the impact of shutdowns and unforeseen disruptions and then embracing remote work and doubling down on innovations to keep the technology space thriving. “Last year we talked about the rush to remote work — we knew you all told us that the budgets were stagnating and that organizations were no longer investing in emerging technologies. But we see that shift going into 2022, and it’s not the same,” she said. 

“Businesses are confident that their revenues are going to be up which means they are reinvesting in their IT budgets. 88% of businesses plan to spend more on IT next year, which I know all of you are thrilled about and have been waiting to get that new tech inside your business and help drive your business to the next level. 

But it’s not just businesses or budgets or emerging tech where we are seeing a big shift. It’s all of you. 25% of IT professionals are considering a job change in 2022 and 86% are only considering jobs with remote work flexibility options,” she added.

Ronco also offered a sneak peek into what’s new, what’s hot and what’s ahead — right from the company’s upcoming Cloud Help Desk Mobile app that will be available on both iOS and Android to the keenly awaited Spiceworks Ziff Davis’ annual State of IT report 2022Opens a new window . 

Spiceworks’ tools and apps cater to 25 million IT professionals who spend 1.6 billion hours on them every year. Ronco talked about an upcoming inventory online integration with Intel EMA (endpoint management assistant), which would help IT pros leverage Intel’s V-pro technology. 

Lifting the lid on Spiceworks Ziff Davis’ annual State of IT report 2022, which will be released later today, she said, “We talk about the state of IT every year because it is extremely important to us. It’s what we are founded on. Since 2006 when the beta version of Spiceworks was launched, we have been helping technology professionals learn and make best business decisions. SpiceWorld is the epitome of our community coming together to learn and connect with peers and tech marketers. Our mission is still the same to empower people to use technology and improve their organization, community every single day.”

The other highlights of the day included a session by James Nugent from Google Android Enterprise on making mobile security and management simple without breaking the bank, followed by Crowdstrike’s Jason Rivera’s session on getting ahead of the ransomware operations life cycle. There was also a session by cybersecurity industry veteran Roger Grimes on multi-factor authentication tools.

Must Watch: Check out the fireside chatOpens a new window between Richard Jalichandra, the global executive vice president and general manager of Spiceworks Ziff Davis (SWZD) with Steve Wozniak at 9 am CDT on September 28.

Next Level of Endpoint Security

With endpoints here, there and everywhere, securing vulnerable devices has never been more critical. Alicia Bowling of Dell Technologies and Eric Townsend of Intel held a sessionOpens a new window on “Next Level Of Endpoint Security For Today’s IT Pro.” They shared insights on how companies can prepare for the next ransomware attack and explained how organizations could level up the security posture and become more resilient with new technologies.

Townsend noted that we see more cloud activity, and more devices are coming from an IoT and 5G perspective. There are now more breach points, and to make matters worse, cybersecurity is facing a huge skill gap.

Talking about the ways to approach security, Townsend emphasized the importance of a three-pronged strategy to protect, detect, and recover. “When you think of protecting, you have to protect the system right at the edge, detect what is happening and recover when you can’t stop the specific breach, and you have to get that system back online or bring it back to a better image,’’ he added.

See More: SpiceWorld 2021: Steve Wozniak On Evolving Developer Roles, Data Transparency & More

Why Cybersecurity Isn’t Easy

Cybersecurity continues to be high on the priority list of organizations of all sizes. In this highly informative sessionOpens a new window titled, “Why Security Isn’t Easy: How Criminal Techniques Have Evolved,” Aaron Birnbaum from Seron Security shared how the rapid shift to remote work created an explosion of new attack vectors and gave hackers a chance to breach enterprise networks and steal data. 

Birnbaum from Seron Security noted that While criminals have become smarter and targets have changed, attack tools and techniques haven’t evolved significantly. Industries such as healthcare that used to be off-limits and government sites are now heavily targeted. Getting paid is now a lot easier with cryptocurrencies as they are harder to trace.

And malware has become more sophisticated. Some key factors have changed the environment. Effects of COVID-19 cannot be ignored as it had an impact on the attack surface. Unfortunately, there are an enormous amount of resources and tools to enable hacking. Birnbaum pointed out how a search ‘How do I hack’ fetched 533 million results with 154 million videos. Websites that offer crime as a service (CaaS) that carry out cyberattacks for payment are also growing.

It is tough to track a cybercriminal. Attribution is a huge challenge, so security needs to be treated as a global issue. Another factor that is expanding the attack surface is open source. “There is no guarantee that the code that you are pulling from open source libraries is safe. Javascript, Ruby and Python have major security issues. Package managers are vulnerable, be it APT, YUM or pip,” he added.

Miriam Kung From Cisco Speaking at a Session on Hybrid Work

Finding the Right Balance Between Security and Productivity in Hybrid Era

Up next, Jolene Tam and Miriam Kung from Cisco delved into the challenges that companies, especially small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), have faced in a hybrid work model. In their sessionOpens a new window titled “Finding Success in the New Age of Hybrid Work,” Tam emphasized the importance of the zero-trust approach and simplicity in security.

“In this hybrid world security cannot be complex. Simplifying security means native and turnkey integration, automation, spending less time on routine tests, reducing human errors and ultimately more time on business priorities,” she added.

Kang pointed out that it is even more challenging for SMBs as they grapple with limited resources and smaller budgets. “Back in 2020 we were transforming to remote work. We have seen the industry shifting to a hybrid work model in 2021. And that can come in a lot of different flavours. We are heading for simplicity and flexibility to easily adapt. Hybrid work comes with a lot of security questions,” said Kung.  

Tam shared how Cisco products such as Cisco Umbrella, Cisco Secure Endpoint and Secure X can help organizations balance security and usability at the same time. 

Buying Second-Hand Isn’t a Compromise

Richard KennyOpens a new window and Astrid Wynne from Techbuyer held an insightful sessionOpens a new window , “Why 2nd Hand Is No Longer 2nd Best,” that busts many misconceptions about using second-hand products at work. They emphasized that its adoption can reduce carbon footprints, improve IT performance, and save on costs.

Wynne notes second-hand products also provide IT buyers more freedom to design whole systems and freedom to choose by reducing the scope of vendor lock-in. 

According to Kenny, Techbuyer tested a brand new version of a generation 9 server side-by-side with a refurbished version of the same unit. They found no discernible difference in the test results of the two units. 

“Covid has shown that the equipment supply chain isn’t very resilient. We saw a massive upsurge in demand for secondary equipment. During the first lockdown, we saw an 85% increase in new customers. A lot of them came back to buy again,” added Wynne. 

What do you think of Day 1 sessions at SpiceWorld 2021? Comment below or let us know on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We’d love to hear from you!