Netcompany invites you to their event

Back to the Future of Tech

About this event

Although it isn’t powered by plutonium, the tech sector has certainly seen a rapid acceleration from the 1900s into the 2000s. Propelled by particular events in time and ground-breaking innovations, the sector has been inadvertently altered, changing the way in which we as humans interact with all forms of technology today.

It could be argued that no event or innovation has quite altered the trajectory of technology in the same way that the Covid-19 pandemic has. Pivoting to working from home almost overnight, to hybrid-working becoming the new normal for the majority of us, the events of the past 2 years have not only changed the way in which we think about technology today, but it will change the course of technological development for the future as well.


Join global tech podcaster IamITGeek and Netcompany Master, Shabaz Darr, on Thursday 22nd September as we welcome three of the UK’s most influential tech sector personalities and industry leading experts; April Edwards, Lisa Clark and Michael Cade to discuss:

  • What direction the tech sector was likely heading in before the Covid-19 pandemic arose
  • How these past couple of years have since affected the tech sector, positives and negatives alike
  • How the trajectory of technological development has altered as a result, and where might it be headed next
  • How we can be more prepared for possible future catastrophes


A little more about our speakers:

• April Edwards | Senior Cloud Advocate at Microsoft

Deep specialist in the DevOps world, April currently operates as a Senior Cloud Developer Advocate and DevOps Practice Lead at Microsoft. Focused on steering customers away from rigid legacy technologies, April helps the community to take full advantage of serverless containers where code comes first and the long list of associated DevOps benefits. As an industry leader, April often showcases the very latest Microsoft technologies to the wider community through real-life scenario demos to help level up the understanding of where the future of tech is taking us.


• Lisa Clark | Cloud Pre-Sales Specialist at Dell & Microsoft MVP

Having been in the tech industry for over 10 years, Lisa currently operates as a Cloud Pre-Sales Specialist focussing on Azure Hybrid at Dell Technologies, but her passion goes a step further than just enabling customers to harness the power of hybrid! Lisa also became a Microsoft MVP in Azure, which she was awarded for her contributions to the global tech community, then extending these insights further to her “Lisa at the Edge” podcast audience – sharing her personal insights and inviting other leading guests to do the same.


• Michael Cade | Community Technologist at KastenHQ and Veeam

As an industry leader across technologies such as cloud native, automation and data management, Michael is a community-first technologist for Kasten by Veeam Software. Currently operating as a technical thought leader, community champion and project owner, Michael spreads his technical visions, corporate strategies in his guest speaking appearances, and delivers all collated feedback into the product management process to help shape and influence the future success of digital world.


A little more about our host:

• Shabaz Darr | Master at Netcompany and IamITGeek Host

Global podcaster and IT enthusiast with over 15 years of experience, 10 of which in the Cloud Technologies arena, IamITGeek (AKA Shabaz Darr) currently operates as a Master at Netcompany with a focus on Azure IaaS, Azure Virtual Desktop, and Identity. With a keen interest for the power technology can bear, Shabaz became a Microsoft MVP back in August 2021, and continues his contributions to the community through his YouTube channel, book publications, and guest speaker slots at global conferences.  


This will be a physical event where you’ll have the opportunity to meet our guests, ask your most pressing questions and provide your thoughts as to where you think the tech sector might be headed in years to come. The event will be held in our Netcompany collaboration space in Leeds: 12 Greek Street, Leeds, 1st Floor, LS1 5RU.

For those who can’t make it along in person, the event will also be livestreamed so please indicate your preferred form of attendance when signing up.


Event agenda:

17:30 - Arrival, drinks & nibbles

18:00 - Talk

18:45 - Drinks & networking

Netcompany

By leveraging technology and digitisation responsibly, we contribute to a modern and mature Europe that prioritises democracy, justice, transparency, and social security. Our goal is to empower societies and citizens to stand independently and strongly and to lead the way in shaping a better future.