Name: Going Green in the Desert: Lessons from ESG Initiatives in Las Vegas
Start: 2024-02-06T23:00:00Z
End: 2024-02-06T23:00:54.000Z
Location: BrightTALK
Rating: 3.5

The Enterprise Architecture channel  presents the next generation of Enterprise IT: recognizing the strategic importance of digital transformation and the data center to make companies more nimble and competitive. These presentations will help demanding IT and BizOps professionals achieve flexibility, scalability and performance with reduced risk and complexity.

In today’s evolving IT landscape, selecting the right storage architecture is critical for optimal performance, scalability, data governance, and cost-efficiency. Furthermore, AI workloads have uniquely influenced how we meet these demands from our storage infrastructure. This webinar provides a technical deep dive into three fundamental storage deployment models – on-premises, cloud, and hybrid – examining their architectures and operational trade-offs through the lens of two key concepts: indirection (accessing data through mapping layers that provide flexibility and abstraction) and redirection (rerouting data requests to enable failover, load balancing, and optimized performance). 

We are going to take some of the key stages of AI lifecycle development as sample use-cases (such as data ingestion, preparation, training, inferencing, and retrieval) and compare how each storage model can serve these use-cases across varying access patterns, data volumes, and performance requirements.

Attendees will gain a practical framework for aligning AI workloads with the most suitable storage architecture, balancing cost, scalability, and latency. Whether you are building AI infrastructure from scratch or optimizing existing deployments, this session will help you make informed decisions for AI-ready storage.

Learning Objectives and Key Takeaways:

• Introduction to the 3 different types of storage deployment models – on-prem, cloud, and hybrid
• Trade-offs for each deployment model
• Importance of indirection and redirection
• Understand how AI-specific data types and access patterns (e.g., embeddings, checkpointing) influence storage performance and design
• Evaluate trade-offs in latency, scalability, security, and cost when choosing storage for different stages of the AI pipeline
• Gain a decision-making framework for selecting the right storage model based on workload characteristics and infrastructure goals

AI Meets Storage: Comparing On-Prem, Cloud, and Hybrid Architectures Across the AI Lifecycle

As AI workloads continue to scale, the physical infrastructure supporting them must evolve to deliver the performance, reliability, and efficiency required by modern data-intensive applications. This webinar will focus on the interconnect foundations of AI infrastructure, including storage. There will be an emphasis on the form factors, connectors, cables, and transceivers standards that enable scalable and interoperable systems.

We’ll explore how SNIA’s SFF Technical Work Group is contributing to the development of physical layer standards that support high-performance interconnects and storage devices used in AI environments. Topics will include the importance of transceiver innovation and the need to evolve; the role that form factors like EDSFF play; and how innovative cabling and connector designs support the adoption of high-speed signaling technologies like PCIe 8.0 and beyond.

This session is ideal for architects, engineers, and technologists who want to understand how physical infrastructure standards are enabling the next generation of AI systems.

Key Concepts:
• Transceiver development for out-of-box signaling 
• Connectors and cables for high-speed inbox signaling
• Copper vs. optical and the challenges of both
• SSD form factor innovations and their impact on density and thermal design

Accelerating AI Infrastructure: The Role of 400G and PCIe 8.0 in Next-Gen Interconnects

Storage security changes and adaptations are a fact of life to deal with the ever-changing threat and regulatory landscapes. A black swan event, a new standard, or a regulation often serves as a catalyst for organizations to review their controls and practices. The recent publication of NIST Special Publication 800-88 Rev. 2, Guidelines for Media Sanitization, is drawing attention to storage security, but it is not the only development worth noting. SNIA, Open Compute Project (OCP), Trusted Computing Group (TCG), and IEEE are developing or have developed standards and specifications that could be important going forward. One central theme underlying several of the activities is in storage sanitization (i.e., controlled eradication of data).

This session brings together a unique panel of experts who have served as editors of some of the most important storage sanitization standards. These experts also have broad knowledge of storage security. As a panel, they will provide insight into these new developments as well as observations on what organizations are experiencing. A moderator will engage the panel with thought-provoking questions, but participants are also encouraged to bring their own questions.

Join us to understand: 
• Changes to storage sanitization and what that means to organizations
• Primary drivers for storage security
• Difference between Storage Sanitization and Data Sanitization
• Interplay and interdependencies for storage security standards/specifications

The Storage Security Shake-Up: Adapt Now or Get Left Behind

Magnetic RAM, Resistive RAM, Ferroelectric RAM, and other new memory technologies have been pushed to the forefront by issues with Moore’s Law scaling, but the ancillary benefits they bring to computing will provide significantly more important longer-term benefits.  In this session, analysts Jim Handy and Tom Coughlin will explain how these new nonvolatile technologies will help accelerate and cost-reduce inference through compute-in-memory engines while standard computing will also see lower costs and higher performance by bringing inexpensive persistence closer to, and even within the processor chip itself.  The session will also address ways that new frameworks like CXL will help provide persistence-friendly structures at all levels of the computing hierarchy.

How New Memories Will Accelerate Both Inference and General-Purpose Compute

Smarter data management is the key to unlocking the full potential of next-generation data infrastructure for AI. This webinar explores how the SNIA Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI™) standard enables government labs, HPC centers, and organizations leveraging the power of AI/ML to reimagine and innovate their infrastructure to meet next-generation data management demands. CDMI is a mature ISO standard (ISO/IEC: 17826:2022) with over 15 years of development and implementation, and is purpose-built for cloud data management. CDMI's extensive capabilities enhance key aspects of AI operations by transforming data management challenges into streamlined, intelligent workflows. 

CDMI 3.0 (in development now) will further extend the standard with:
• Automated resource discovery that accelerates AI workload efficiency
• Portable data movement that enables preservation of metadata fidelity during migrations, including graph relationships and knowledge graph
• MCP-based data management that enhances AI accuracy while improving access speed

Building on a proven, standards-based foundation, CDMI enables true machine-readable data management. CDMI 3.0 will further improve how teams discover resources, orchestrate AI agents, and protect data across complex cloud environments while establishing the infrastructure for automated, self-describing data ecosystems with full auditability that drive future innovation. 

Read the SNIA CDMI 3.0 white paper https://www.snia.org/educational-library/introduction-cloud-data-management-interface-cdmitm-30-2025

Intelligent Data Management: Shaping the Future for AI Workloads

Join us for an insightful webinar and demonstration as we explore the foundational process of training machine learning models, with a special focus on computer vision applications. This session will guide participants through the essential stages of model development—from data preparation to algorithm selection—highlighting how these steps influence performance and accuracy.
Through practical demonstrations and conceptual discussions, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how vision models are built and validated, and how these techniques can be extended to broader predictive analytics. We’ll also examine common challenges and share strategies to overcome them, emphasizing the value of simplicity, modular design, and thoughtful evaluation.

Key Takeaways:
• Core steps in the model training lifecycle
• Why data quality is critical to success
• Understanding inferencing and metrics for model validation
• Shifting from engineering mindset to modeling intuition
• Avoiding common pitfalls in training workflows
• Embracing parsimony and modularity in design
• Using checkpoints to monitor and refine progress

From Data to Decisions: Understanding How AI Models Learn

Storage networking consumers are fully aware of the classic benefits of Fibre Channel as a dedicated storage networking solution that provides reliable and lossless data transfer as well as high availability and redundancy.  What is less known is that Fibre Channel supports several Upper Layer Protocols (ULPs) including SCSI, FICON, NVMe, Avionics and RDMA. In this webinar, we explore the FC-4 layer of the Fibre Channel architecture that provides the services used by the various ULPs deployed in Fibre Channel products. Join us for an exploration into:

• The history of Fibre Channel’s versatility 
• Fibre Channel architectural layers
• Overview of the current FC-4 transports: FCP, FC-SB, FC-NVMe, FC-RDMA

Attendees of the webinar will become well versed in the scope and capabilities of Fibre Channel and develop a well-rounded understanding of the technology.

Versatility of Fibre Channel: Multi-Protocol Magic

Edge computing is transforming AI deployment by processing data locally rather than in distant cloud data centers. This session explores how distributed intelligence enables both sustainability and capabilities that centralized architectures cannot provide.

Through two contrasting deployments—precision agriculture in resource-constrained environments and real-time manufacturing optimization in advanced facilities—we demonstrate how edge computing addresses fundamentally different challenges using the same architectural principles. Both achieve 50-70% energy reduction with compelling ROI, while solving problems where cloud computing fails due to latency, connectivity, bandwidth, or data sovereignty requirements.

Beyond the case studies, attendees learn decision frameworks for edge versus cloud architecture, strategies for deploying AI in environments with limited infrastructure, and how to build business cases that balance sustainability goals with operational performance. The session provides actionable guidance for organizations seeking to scale AI deployments while reducing their environmental footprint and enabling new capabilities.

Edge AI from Farm to Factory: Building Sustainable Intelligence across the world

On-premises enterprise data centers have been in decline since the creation of co-lo’s and the cloud, but a new age is emerging with the advent of AI. While most AI is served by the mega data centers mushrooming in “data corridors”, some applications require the low latency response times that edge computing was designed to provide. The industry readily builds large numbers of small processing centers at the edge to serve things like 5G cell service. But constructing AI data centers close to every high demand user is financially impractical and subject to local restrictions due to their enormous demands on power and water.

Tune into this session presented by industry thought leader Bob McFarlane to learn how reviving enterprise data centers as edge facilities may be the answer to acquiring virtually instant response times. Despite significantly greater power and cooling demands, they are unlikely to reach the levels that concern local citizens, enabling them to be renovated or built where necessary without pushback. Companies with significant AI demands may need to start planning and budgeting for high capacity, high reliability infrastructures with costs and staffing beyond anything they have previously experienced.

Learning Objectives:
- Understand the key elements of Edge Computing, and how they relate to AI applications.
- Learn the limitations AI services providers confront in constructing edge facilities.
- Learn to identify AI applications that require the fast response times of the “edge”.
- Prepare for the challenges your organization may face in utilizing AI in critical applications.

Will Enterprise Data Centers Become ‘The Edge’ for AI?”

This webinar will explain the process of model inferencing and deployment options. We will discuss how trained models are used to make predictions and the considerations for deploying models. Attendees will understand the challenges and strategies for optimizing model performance, covering:
 
• What is model inferencing  
• Model inferencing process 
• How inferencing deployment differs in Gen AI and visual inspection
         - Inferencing deployment software options 
          - Inferencing hardware considerations (e.g., on the edge, on-prem, etc.)
• Deploying AI models for production best practices and lessons learned 
• Strategies for maintaining model performance post-deployment

AI Model Inferencing and Deployment Options

As breakthrough technologies like AI mature, they inevitably evolve from centralized to decentralized architectures. With global edge computing spending projected to reach $378 billion by 2028, organizations that continue relying solely on centralized AI risk falling behind in both efficiency and performance. The pervasive waste and expense of centralized generative AI models have underscored the urgent need for intelligence at the edge.

While edge computing concepts have existed since the 1990s with content delivery networks, today's businesses face the complex challenge of transforming their architectures to process data closer to its source. This session explores how leading organizations are navigating this transition, reducing latency and costs while competing with decades of established centralized cloud infrastructure.

Join Alan Morrison (Advanced Data Technologies Consultant and Writer) to discover how decentralized AI and edge computing are revolutionizing data processing across industries.

Key Takeaways:

- Understand why centralized AI approaches are becoming unsustainable and how edge computing addresses these limitations
- Learn practical strategies for implementing edge intelligence from organizations already succeeding with this approach
- Discover the economic benefits of processing data at the edge versus transmitting everything to centralized systems
- Gain insights into market growth projections and how to position your infrastructure investments accordingly
- Identify the architectural transformation challenges of edge computing and how to overcome them

Decentralized AI: The Future of Edge Computing

Today’s enterprise workflows don’t live in one place — they move across edge devices, cloud infrastructure, and on-prem systems in milliseconds. Some start at the edge — like sensor data or customer interactions — while others finish there, after running through cloud analytics or AI inference. The result is a constantly shifting architectural boundary where speed, security, and compliance collide.

This session looks at how to design cross-architectural workflows that maintain consistency, security, and data integrity from end to end. We’ll unpack how different architecture types — edge-native, hybrid, and multi-cloud — impact data handling, governance, and latency. And we’ll dive into the new layer of complexity AI introduces: model hallucinations, prompt injections, and evolving regulatory constraints when sensitive customer data moves from edge to cloud.

Join Eugina Jordan, CEO of YOUnifiedAI, as she breaks down how to architect distributed systems that are both intelligent and compliant — not in theory, but in practice.

Key takeaways:

- Understand how modern workflows traverse edge, cloud, and on-prem environments — and where control points break down
- Design architectures that protect customer data and maintain compliance even when processing happens across geographies
- Implement AI workflows that minimize hallucination risks and prevent prompt-injection attacks at the edge
- Balance performance with governance — using architecture, not just policy, to enforce trust
- Build an operational model that lets security, data, and AI teams collaborate on a single distributed workflow

Building Secure AI Workflows Across Edge, Cloud & AI Without Breaking Trust

Information systems vary in their primary roles and objectives. Real-time information systems, in particular, impose strict deadlines for generating control responses, as delays in data generation, processing, or transfer may lead to critical failures. For such systems, ensuring proper transactions depends not only on their logical correctness but also on their ability to operate within the required time constraints—as excessive latency renders them ineffective.

Timely data processing is essential for data intelligence, influencing the methods and tools used for classifying and integrating real-time information. Achieving low-latency solutions requires leveraging local resources instead of relying solely on centralized servers or cloud infrastructure. This shift brings computing closer to the network's physical endpoints, introducing the edge computing paradigm. Expanding the network edge extends computational and data processing capabilities to the point of data generation, reducing cloud dependency while enhancing real-time analytics, security, and efficiency.

Discover the key technologies driving edge expansion, including edge computing, cloud-edge advanced communication protocols, and AI-driven edge networks, and gain expert insights into the future of edge computing.

Discover Technologies Driving the New Network Edge

In today’s data-driven world, ensuring the resilience of your storage systems is critical for long-term success. This vendor-neutral webinar, hosted by the STA, will bring together industry experts to explore proven methodologies for testing the robustness of Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) and other data storage infrastructures. Craig Foster (Teledyne LeCroy) and Paul Coddington (Amphenol) will discuss practical approaches and the latest standards that enable secure, reliable, and high-performance storage systems. Rick Kutcipal (Broadcom) will moderate the Q&A and offer other perspectives. Join us to gain insights on ensuring your storage solutions meet the demands of modern workloads and prevent costly data loss or downtime.

Key Takeaways:

- Understand the key factors impacting the robustness of Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) and other data storage systems.
- Learn about the latest testing methodologies and standards in SAS and storage infrastructures.
- Discover how vendor-neutral best practices can enhance the security and reliability of SAS-based storage.

Reduce Your Risk of Data Loss! "Critical Testing Insights for Developers"

In the midst of rapidly advancing technological progress, the rise of digitization and remote work has become a prevailing trend. As a result, critical infrastructures are increasingly susceptible to new risks, continually expanding the realm of cybersecurity threats and attack methods. 

Consequently, organizations are more inclined to entertain the notion of paying ransoms to threat actors. It is imperative for organizations to remain vigilant against these emerging threats to safeguard their systems. The recent proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has given rise to AI-powered cyber-attacks, which are experiencing exponential growth. This development has facilitated cybercriminals in creating sophisticated and innovative malware embedded with new zero-day vulnerabilities. 

AI-powered cyber-attacks leverage machine learning to adapt to evolving defenses and devise novel methods to circumvent them, all while remaining undetected. This enables them to establish an illicit, enduring presence within networks for the purpose of extracting highly sensitive data. 

In order to effectively counter advanced cyber-attacks, organizations must adopt a comprehensive approach and incorporate zero trust principles into their architecture. This involves: 
- Treating every device, node, or entity as a potential threat point. 
- Implementing explicit identification, authentication, and authorization measures. 
- Embracing a default deny model as opposed to a default access model. 
- Developing proactive incident response plans. 
- Providing cybersecurity best practices training for employees. 
- Deploying AI-powered cybersecurity solutions. 

We invite you to engage in thoughtful discourse on these topics, cultivating a clear understanding and exploring strategies for integrating zero trust into your scalable enterprise architecture.

Integrating Zero Trust in a Scalable Enterprise Architecture

This webinar will provide a foundational understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). We will explore the basic concepts, history, and applications of AI/ML, setting the stage for more advanced topics in subsequent webinars. Attendees will gain insights into how AI/ML technologies are transforming industries and everyday life and have the opportunity to see one of the earliest AI experiments: Training a neural network to recognize written letters.
 
Key Concepts:
• Definition and History of AI and ML
• Differences Between AI, ML, and Deep Learning
• Real-World Applications of AI/ML
• Basic Terminology and Concepts

Introduction to AI and Machine Learning

In this webinar, we’ll introduce the PCI Express (PCIe) interface which is an essential component of AI systems due to its ability to provide high bandwidth and low latency over short distances. We’ll introduce the basics, then discuss the evolution, requirements and benefits. We’ll cover features in PCIe Gen6 including bandwidth, AER (Advanced Error Reporting), DPC (Downstream Port Containment), different modes and signaling techniques. We will also cover PCIe switching and its applications for AI. Join us for an insightful discussion on:
- What is PCIe and why it matters? 
- Discovery/Enumeration and Hot-plugging 
- NTB (Non-Transparent Bridging) applications and uses
- Shared credit/received buffer
- Selective NAK vs. Standard NAK for Flits replay
- PCIe Gen6 Enhancements
- PCIe Switch and applications for AI

Everything You Wanted to Know About PCIe But Were Too Proud to Ask

In the realm of cloud computing, the intersection of technological advancement and environmental sustainability is becoming increasingly crucial. As the cloud continues to permeate all aspects of business operations, its environmental footprint has become a major concern. This urgency is further amplified by the growing emphasis on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors in the corporate world. The challenge lies in striking a balance between leveraging cloud computing for business efficiency and minimizing its ecological impact.

In this evolving landscape, the role of IT leaders in championing sustainable practices is paramount. With stringent regulations and a shift towards a green economy, the need to integrate sustainability into cloud strategies has never been more pressing. This integration is not just about reducing carbon footprints but also about adopting innovative approaches that ensure long-term environmental viability.

In this session, Selma Ben Rajeb (Senior Manager in Technology Strategy and Advisory at Accenture) delves into the complexities of sustainable cloud computing, exploring both the challenges and the opportunities it presents, sharing a comprehensive roadmap to implement sustainable practices in your cloud strategy.  

Key takeaways include:
- How to drive a sustainable transition to cloud
- Practical strategies to achieve net-zero emissions in cloud operations
- And more...

Greening the Cloud: Strategies for Eco-Friendly IT

In the transition to a green economy, regulators, consumers and investors alike are keen to ensure that their money is going towards organisations with low ESG risk. In turn, it's never been more important for businesses to assess and monitor their own ESG performance.  

As operations become increasingly digitised, businesses have more intelligence than ever, providing them with a clearer view of efficiencies and challenges. By collecting valid and relevant data based around international indicators and the company’s self-assessment, businesses can harness data analytics to build a comprehensive ESG risk-assessment that monitors ESG tasks in real-time.  

The challenge is in analysing and interpreting the raw data in a way that makes it easier for business managers, CFOs and ESG officers to understand what the potential ESG risk factors are and what actions can be taken to overcome them. In this session, Compliance and Integrity Officer and Consultant Szilvia Andriasik she shares her insights on the power of big data and analytics to optimise ESG outcomes.  

Topics for discussion include: 
- Best practices for ESG risk analyses.
- Combine international standards with internal data to conduct comprehensive ESG analysis.
- Leverage business intelligence and tools like Power BI to spot ESG red flags. 
- And more...

Harness Big Data and Business Intelligence to Assess ESG Risk

Organizations are striving for IT sustainability, but having the right foundation in place is imperative to be able to work towards the sustainability goal. Tune into this session presented by industry thought leader Vincent Amanyi as he highlights the fundamentals to establish and  jump start the IT sustainability program in your organization. 

Attendees will learn:
- Strategies to design a comprehensive program.
- How to identify core factors that drives decision points.
- How to develop a benchmarking to manage the program.

Enabling the Foundation of IT Sustainability

Achieving IT Sustainability Goals

Las Vegas is notorious as the adult version of Disneyland -- 24/7 gambling, drinking and risqué shows in the Mojave Desert. Others call it the hospitality and conference capital of the world, hosting over 20,000 conferences every year. Yet behind all these disparate impressions of Sin City and the entertainment capital of the world, is a united and earnest effort among major publicly listed and Las Vegas-based companies to achieve sustainability goals and meet ESG targets while providing exceptional service to the over 40 million annual visitors and over 2 million residents who call the Las Vegas Valley home. 

In this presentation, long-time Las Vegas resident and hospitality professional Ralph Villanueva will talk about the ESG efforts of select companies based in his backyard, and what lessons can be leveraged by the audience to build a sustainable company in general and IT ecosystem in particular.

Going Green in the Desert: Lessons from ESG Initiatives in Las Vegas

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Going Green in the Desert: Lessons from ESG Initiatives in Las Vegas

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