Bridging the Age Gap: Maximizing the Potential of Multigenerational Teams in Tech

In today's ever-evolving tech landscape, successful organizations require a diverse and skilled workforce capable of navigating the complexities of innovation. Often, this leads to the creation of teams composed of multiple generations, each with their unique perspectives, experiences, and expertise. While this can introduce potential challenges, fostering a truly collaborative environment that leverages the strengths of each generation can empower organizations to excel in the competitive tech industry. In this talk, we will explore strategies to promote synergy and motivation across multigenerational teams, drawing on real-world examples to illustrate best practices and lessons learned.

We will begin by examining the benefits of multigenerational teams, including the complementary skills offered by different age groups and the potential impact on creativity, problem-solving, and decision-making. From the adaptability and tech-savviness characteristic of younger generations to the wealth of experience and well-honed instincts of older team members, we will discuss how inter-generational collaboration can lead to superior outcomes.

Next, we will delve into the potential challenges posed by age-diverse teams, such as communication barriers, resistance to change, and knowledge gaps. To address these potential roadblocks, we will outline proven strategies for bridging generational divides, incorporating examples of initiatives and techniques that can foster mutual understanding and collaboration. Key tactics to be explored include mentoring programs, skill-sharing sessions, and inclusive communication practices that encourage input from team members of all ages.

To conclude, we will discuss the importance of motivation and engagement in a multigenerational team environment, and how organizations can leverage their unique blend of talent to drive progress and innovation. From tapping into the core values and aspirations of each generation to fostering a sense of purpose that transcends age, we will provide actionable insights and recommendations to empower tech organizations to maximize the potential of their diverse workforces.

Why can't we get rid of this software??

It seems most companies that's been around for a while has this one software or system they just don't seem to be able to get rid of or update in any way. Often are we talking about the accounting system, CRM software or any other that holds a lot of
information that is crucial to our business. The biggest problem is that all of our other important business software is somewhat connected to this. Either with a direct integration or by mirroring of the system's data structure or business logic.

How to get around this spaghetti of integrations? Or even better; can we ensure this never happens (again)?

The answer is as complex as it is simple. And it will definetely be a hard discussion to have with management. It will also feel quite overwhelming if the company has been around for some years and has incurred a lot of technical debt.

And how can we make sure to highlight the return of investment this gives the company over time? Because it will cost a bit to do this, and to be honest, for most users a successful integration platform ensures that "everything works as it did before".

So to begin with, we will cover some of the pitfalls to avoid If you are so lucky that you can take this into consideration at an early stage. But most of us are not that lucky and therefore we will delve into common challenges, tangible methods and structures to use when mapping out the spiderweb of systems and software. These mappings will also be tremendously handy when it comes to sketching out an integration platform but also in order to demonstrate for management why an integration platform is important. The overview will actually make you able to remove these ingrained systems that seem too strongly tied to all your other systems and business logic.

Towards the session’s conclusion we will touch into how to take all the gathered information into the planning of structuring a "standardized" integration platform for your business. Standardized in quotes, because even if all components, infrastructure and resources are standardized, you will have to tailor this to your company’s needs and existing systems.

Maybe we can make it a bit easier (and cheaper?, more manageable, maintainable and easier to monitor in the future to implement new systems and software into your
business.

A bit deeper:

We know we need to gather all our integrations in an integration platform. In order to be able to monitor, handle and not at least swap systems with the least amount of "pain" - being work hours or money. We, as developers and architects, see that all our
point-to-point integrations are unmanageable, but the management only sees programs that work together, and information that flows as it should. How to persuade
management to use money to see no difference in their day-to-day life?

Since our target for the platform is that every program should work just as it did before we standardized all integrations, we will highlight the upsides of doing this, such as monitoring and design patterns, but also the most important pitfalls and challenges, for example the fact that especially from the start you'll be making at least two integrations for every system you want to plug-in. Hence it's important to understand
how this will affect the future. For management we need to propose a solution that will show that we'll saves money
in the future. And saves pain and potential downtime.

Target audience is everyone from developer to technical management. Some experience as a developer would probably be beneficial to get the most out of this presentation.

This speak was first delivered at Caribbean Developer Conference 2022, in the Dominican Republic

A lot of this speech will be based on my earlier published article in Computerworld Norway (https://www.cw.no/debatt-it-systemer/hvorfor-er-det-sa-dyrt-a-skifte-et-it-system/428594) (Norwegian), but with a slighlty more technical view on it. The article was directed more towards a management audience, while I want to turn this towards a developer / tech architect audience.

Securing your Azure integration platform

Most systems that have been around for a while has at least some form of integration with other services, software or systems around it. If your IT platform is a bit mature, you might also have an integration platform - a central hub that handles all your integrations and data flow.

But how about security? Your data is flowing around between all these systems and services, but who and how is it ensured that your precious data doesn't end up in someone that's not authorized to access it? Do you ensure that all systems only see what hey need, and how do you handle this?

Are you using passwords or API keys to secure your endpoint? And how does your systems exchange data between them on the "back side"? It may be hard to see where your back-end systems are more accessible than what you actually wish for.

The services in Azure is easy to set up. API Management, set up using some Logic Apps or Functions to do the data load and processing. But hos secure is it? Can you access your Functions omitting the security you built in to the API management?

The security isn't necessarily built in "out of the box", and you really need to consider this - and the earlier in the process the better. You can end up with your back-end systems being wide open to the world, and not even see the unauthorized access in your logs, because you are logging on the wrong level (the level where security actually is handled).

In this session we'll take a deeper dive into how to handle security and network isolation in an integration platform deployed in Microsoft Azure. The principals will absolutely be transferrable to other cloud platforms as well.

We'll discuss the implications of complexity and pricing, what considerations and trade-offs you might have to look into. All taken into consideration your project's budget and data sensitivity.

We'll look in to three main models, ranging from full network isolation to no network isolation. The lesser network isolation, the more work and planning has to be put down into how to secure your platform and your data.

We will guide you through some of the mistakes, so you don't have to make (and correct) them in your own projects, some of the most important pitfalls and some of the biggest cost drivers.

Beyond the Toy Phase: Harnessing the Power of AI for Business Impact

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our daily lives, from personalized recommendations to voice assistants. But how can businesses truly harness the power of AI, specifically large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Bing Chat, and Google Bard, to generate tangible return on investment (ROI)? In this engaging talk, we will delve into the practical applications of LLMs in the business world, focusing on driving value and managing associated challenges.

LLMs, comprised of enormous datasets, hold incredible potential, but only a small portion of their knowledge may be applicable to your specific business needs. How can we extract valuable insights from these vast resources? We will discuss strategies for employing LLMs effectively in enterprise contexts, maximizing their relevance, and deriving meaningful ROI.

Our session will feature live demos showcasing AI-driven integration projects, in which we implemented an LLM-based Chat Bot to streamline information sharing across organizational departments. Witness how effortless access to company-wide data can lead to increased efficiency and improved decision-making, benefiting various stakeholders.

We will also address potential pitfalls and risks associated with LLM utilization, underscoring the importance of striking a balance between leveraging AI for business growth and mitigating exposure to unforeseen challenges.

Join us as we explore the untapped potential of LLMs, sharing practical insights and examples to help businesses unlock the true power of AI and revolutionize their operations, in this demo focused practical approach to AI. Don't miss this opportunity to gain competitive advantage in the ever-evolving world of technology.

AI: The Good, The Bad, and The Certainly Unregulated

In a world where AI is everywhere, security concerns are increasing. Most people can't explain AI models or their behavior. We need to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and biases. It's also vital to know the datasets used for training.

Anyone can access tools like ChatGPT, transforming how we work but also introducing new risks. Cloud-based gen-AI and third-party tools can leak data and breach confidentiality.

Monitoring AI models and apps is critical. ModelOps helps keep them compliant and ethical. Continuous testing and re-testing of models are necessary to prevent adversarial and malicious attacks, which can cause financial, reputational, and other harms.

Regulations for AI are coming soon. The EU AI Act and frameworks from other countries will demand risk assessments. China has been working on AI regulations since 2017 with its "New Generation AI Development Plan."

AI TRiSM ensures the reliability, trustworthiness, security, and privacy of AI models. It drives better adoption, business outcomes, and user acceptance. Effective AI governance and protection measures are essential to manage cybersecurity threats continuously.

What Will I learn?

Learn how to articulate the details of AI models, including their strengths, weaknesses, and potential biases.

Understand the new risks associated with widely accessible gen-AI tools and how to mitigate them.

Discover the importance of ModelOps in maintaining compliance, fairness, and ethical standards in AI.

Gain insights into how continuous testing and monitoring can fortify AI models against adversarial and malicious attacks.

Get prepared for upcoming AI regulations and understand how they will impact AI governance.

Explore practical examples of AI monitoring and how AI itself can be part of the solution.

Join us to explore how AI TRiSM can secure AI's future.

Target Audience: Security, Mid-level management, CTO, CSO, CIO, Tech lead

Advancing Azure Security: Modern Solutions for Integration Services

Join us to explore cutting-edge techniques for securing Azure Integration Services,
focusing on landing zones, function apps, and logic apps. Discover how:

Zero Trust Architecture (ZTNA) moves beyond traditional security models,
requiring continuous verification for all access attempts using Azure AD Conditional Access.

Managed Identities for Azure Resources (MIAR) and Keyvaults eliminate the need to store secrets in code, significantly reducing the attack surface.

How to use landing zones, policies and automation to ensure that security and productivity are not complete opposites

Azure verified modules. What is it and how can it help your productivity.

Azure networking and private endpoints. How to isolate your integration platform from attacks from the outside.

Cloud Native Application Security Patterns (CNASP), such as the "Ambassador Pattern" and "Backend for Frontends,"
isolate components to limit breach impact.

Threat Detection and Response (TDR) integrates with Azure Monitor and
Azure Security Center for real-time threat analysis and automated incident response.

Learn how these strategies create a holistic and proactive security posture for your Azure Integration Services.

Event-Driven Architecture: From SMS to Now, Why It Still Matters

Flashback to the early 2000s when SMS was the hot new thing – expensive, yet super exciting. Young and ambitious Manfred set out on an adventure that many called bold (and some called a bit foolish). He built a website where users could register, showcase their profiles, upload photos, and send a generous amount of SMS/MMS every day, for an affordable subscription fee.

But here's where it got interesting: Manfred didn't have a fancy dev server or a big budget for his backend. So of course all development was done in production. There he crafted a lean and mean system using Windows Services, async communication, and Microsoft MessageQueue to handle the messaging magic. Little did he know, his architecture had a fancy name: SEDA (Staged Event-Driven Architecture).

Fast forward nearly 20 years, and event-driven architecture is still the talk of the town. So why is this old dog learning new tricks all over again? Has much changed? And if it's so "cool," why aren't more people actually using it?

In this light-hearted session, we’ll dive back into Manfred’s original design and contrast it with today's "new" event-driven approaches. We'll explore why this method is still relevant, its interactions with Master Data Management, data ownership, and data lineage. No hotel booking system examples here; we're all about fresh, practical insights.

Stick around till the end for a playful live demo where microelectronics meet chaos – because why not? Manfred, the ever-enthusiastic nerd, promises some controlled (and fun) madness.

Come with questions, leave with answers (hopefully in that order), and maybe, just maybe, a bit of inspiration for your next project.

From Scatterbrain to Superbrain: Harnessing the Superpowers of Neurodiversity

Join me on a rollercoaster ride through the world of neurodiversity, where ADHD isn't just a challenge but a superpower! In this lively and not so serious talk, I'll share my personal journey of discovering ADHD pretty late and how it transformed my life from chaos to clarity. We'll explore the unique strengths that neurodiverse individuals bring to the workplace, like hyperfocus and creative problem-solving. Expect anecdotes, practical tips, and a fresh perspective on how embracing neurodiversity can lead to a more inclusive, innovative, and fun work environment. Let's turn our quirks into strengths and make the workplace a playground for all! I'll love your inputs and a great discussion at the end as well!

Key Takeaways:
- Embrace Neurodiversity: Understand and appreciate the unique strengths of neurodiverse individuals.
- Leverage ADHD Superpowers: Learn how traits like hyperfocus and creativity can be assets in the workplace.
- Create Inclusive Environments: Discover practical strategies to make workplaces more inclusive and supportive.
- Find Humor in Challenges: Use humor to navigate and manage the quirks of neurodiversity.