IT Martini Hour 16: Mobile Madness | Presented by Sprint & MTCI

Theme: Impacts of 4G on Technology Convergence
Executive Briefing: Panelists John Cox,  Larry Chaffin,  Jay Naik, Christopher Derouin with Moderator Guy Guckenberger Jr.
DEMOs: VenueAgent, homescreen, Open Source Ohio, b2bee, wearcast,  Welcome to College, Venturepax, elan Technologies, Expedata, CradlePoint Routers, Asterisk, The Overdrive, HTC EVO, Samsung Epic, Dell Inspirion 11Z, Creative Labs
Exclusive Sponsors: Sprint, MTCI
Top Shelf Sponsors: Pride Technologies, CincyTech, Fifth Third Processing Solutions
Location: Hyatt Regency Downtown Cincinnati
Charities: $1000 raised for The Bootsy Collins Foundation

Winter still had Ohio in its tight grip as IT Martini Hour 16: Mobile Madness Presented by Sprint and MTCI kicked off at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Cincinnati. Fortunately, the deep cold and periodic snow didn't keep IT Professionals away, as a record IT Martini crowd checked in via iPad.

The event kicked off with a standing-room-only Executive Briefing. Moderator Guy Guckenberger Jr., general manager of MTCI data division, led panelists John Cox, vice president of IT services for Rockfish, Larry Chaffin, CEO, chairman and founder of Pluto Networks, Jay Naik, senior vice president, research and development lead for CitiGroup and Christopher Derouin, regional manager of channel sales at Sprint, in a discussion that examined the impact of 4G mobile on technology convergence. It was a thought-provoking and well-presented conversation - with delicious giant cookies. Stay tuned for video coming to YouTube soon.

Following the discussion, event attendees got a closer look at fifteen DEMOs: seven Sprint & MTCI DEMOs and eight early stage company DEMOs including IT Martini Hour 16 Community Choice Award winner VenturePax. VenturePax uses web and mobile technology to make it simple for people to find outdoor activities.

Other early stage company DEMOs included were: 

• homescreen, which allows users to manage web applications on their laptop or desktop the way they would on their iPad

• Open Source Ohio, a non-profit that “connects graduates, students and displaced workers with small to medium size software development projects within local companies

• b2bee is for companies doing B2B who want to go “green” and save bees through online tracking of invoices, expenses and profit reporting

• wearcast lets you type in your message and get a cool retail quality t-shirt in seconds

• Welcome to College helps students involved in campus tours obtain more information about the colleges they consider attending by rating their experiences and seeing the ratings of others

• elan Technologies showcased 'Mix it Up', an app they created for Dole

• Expedata provides digital writing solutions by capturing handwriting and making it available to back-end systems in seconds.

• VenueAgent is a website that lists venues with availability and a discount

Sprint & MTCI DEMOs included:

• CradlePoint Routers, which can be configured for automatic failover to Sprint 4G in the event that your wired or fiber internet connections are interrupted

•  Asterisk is a mobile VOIP that enhances portability and disaster recovery capabilities of IP telephony when used with Sprint 4G

• The Overdrive is a small, portable, 3G/4G mobile hotspot for up to 5 users

• The HTC EVO is the first 4G phone available in the US

• Samsung Epic has a slide out keyboard

• Dell Inspirion 11Z showcased Dell's videoconferencing abilities, speed tests and easy access to Google cloud based apps

• Creative Labs is a wireless videoconferencing unit that is about the size of a notebook computer

Once again, congratulations to Venturepax for winning the IT Martini Community Choice Award! We also want to thank all the DEMO participants for supporting IT Martini and bringing your enthusiasm and terrific ideas to the event.

IT Martini Hour 16 had a lot of big moments - including the giveaways to support The Bootsy Collins Foundation. The room buzzed with excitement each time Aladin took to the stage to give out T-shirts, Sprint coolers packed with prizes, an iPod, Nook, Best Buy & Apple gift cards, Reds tickets and more.

Even the funk legend himself took the stage late in the evening - to give away a signed acoustic guitar! And Fifth Third Processing Solutions gave away an iPad 2, while looking out for a few great IT professionals to fill the 70+ open positions they have available.

Top notch venue, conversation, information, ideas and IT Professionals came together to make this a spectacular event. We would like to again extend a special thank you to our Exclusive Sponsors Sprint & MTCI and Top Shelf Sponsors Pride Technologies, Cincy Tech and Fifth Third Processing Solutions for building the IT Community in Cincinnati.

Here's some Twitter feedback via @ITMartini and #ITMartini:   

@JeffCrawford: "IT Martini Hour 16  @ITMartini was by far their best event yet! Stay tuned and be at the next one!"

@Stringcan "Fabulous night at @itmartini; tons of great companies worth learning more about like @bluekaboom & @welcome2college #ITMartini #Cincinnati"

@jeffreywyckoff "GREAT night last night @itmartini #willbeback! and HAPPY #OPENINGDAY! #GOREDS!"

@DENVERallison " Great time at @itmartini event in #Cincy tonight. Be sure to check out awesome projects like @welcome2college and @startupcincy #ITMartini"

@HCESCtech "Gr8 time @itmartini this evening. Shaking and stirring with Cincinnati's IT community!  #ITMartini"