Step Right Up For CXtec's NY Tech Summit 2008

CXtec, a Syracuse, N.Y.-based voice and networking solution provider and winner of the 2008 VARBusiness 500 Editor's Choice Award For Business Excellence, last week hosted hundreds of IT professionals at its fourth annual NY Tech Summit at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y.

The two-day event featured equipment demonstrations, deep dives into new innovative technologies and discussions on today's important voice and data issues. The summit gives attendees an opportunity to connect and network with the top IT pros across the Empire State and enables them to build new relationships and promote their brands. This year's event featured a packed agenda of educational seminars, peer-to-peer roundtable discussions and great food!

To Infinity And Beyond!
Col. Rick Searfoss (pictured), an astronaut with three space missions under his belt, keynoted the event and shared his perspective on some of mankind's most unique experiences. Searfoss commanded the Space Shuttle Columbia's STS-90 Neurolab flight, the most complex research mission ever flown. He also flew a joint Russian-American mission to the Mir space station.

Back Down To Earth
After Col. Searfoss took the stage, he took time to mingle. Here, astronaut Searfoss poses with Barbara Ashkin, CXtec's vice president and COO, just moments after Searfoss' keynote in front of 350 attendees.

An Inside View
Here attendees take a closer look at a cabinet at the Hoffman Enclosures booth. Little did they know the booth was looking back at them. Minnesota-based Hoffman Enclosures, a subsidiary of Pentair, manufactures water technologies and enclosures. Pentair itself offers automotive, construction, datacom, electronics, industrial, networking, telecommunications and water conditioning solutions.

New Products Abound
Rick Dallmann, a marquee account executive for CXtec, chats about some of the solution provider's new products. Dallmann (pictured, right) also delivered a case study on future-proofing the data center. Dallmann's presentation was one of 20 case histories showcased during the event, which covered such topics as health care, storage, security and global communications.

Managing The Cable
Dave Blanchard (center) and Ron Lim (right) from HellermannTyton show off some of the company's new products during the exhibition portion of the Tech Summit. HellermannTyton, a cable management solution vendor, has been exhibiting at the Summit since it first launched four years ago.

Nortel In The House
Nortel Networks' Jason Williams shows off some of the Toronto-based vendor's new offerings to an attendee (right) during the Tech Summit's exhibition.

Time Warner Cable Joins The Summit
Time Warner Cable Business Class exhibited for the first time at this year's Tech Summit. Here Time Warner's Marc Orlando (right) and Stan Smith (left) field a few questions from attendees.

A Hands-On Approach
With 25 exhibitors at CXtec's Tech Summit, it was hard to squeeze in all of the information. Here, CXtec's Dave Fredricks makes things a little easier by performing a hands-on demonstration of the solution provider's 10-gig aqua solution.

Cisco's Rolling Network
Attendees at this year's Tech Summit got to take a tour of Cisco Systems' Network On Wheels (NOW). Here, Cisco's John Killion takes attendees on a tour of the NOW van, which showcased Cisco solutions for SMBs. The rolling network offers an interactive experience to get IT professionals and others up to speed on the business relevance of Cisco solutions.

No Signs Of Slowing
Activity was brisk at the Eaton booth on the exhibition floor. Here Eaton's Dave Bates and others field questions about new Eaton gear. Eaton makes power quality solutions and UPSes, along with a host of other data center solutions for energy efficiency, high availability and uptime under its Powerware and MGE Office Protection Systems brands.

Dell Takes On Data Backup
Dell's John Powell presented "Data Protection and Disaster Recovery in a Virtual Environment" to a host of attendees at the NY Tech Summit.