NETech

Waterville Peers & Beers co-sponsored with Robert Half Technology
2019-10-23 16:30 - 18:30 UTC | Waterville Brewing Company, Hathaway Center, Waterville, 10 Water St #111, Waterville
On October 23, MTUG hosted our first “Elm City” Peers & Beers — cosponsored by Robert Half Technology!
Waterville Brewing at the Hathaway Creative Center was stop #2 on our Maine 5-brewery tour, with catering by Holy Cannoli!
TECH SPOTLIGHT TOPIC: “Preventing Your Next Cyber Loss” with Frank Appunn, Security Consultant, InfraGard Member, and IT & Management Professor at Thomas College
Frank brings his experiences and recent research to this fast-paced overview of some specific and surprising security concerns we should anticipate in 2020 to 2024, affecting smaller and large organizations, including government, healthcare, manufacturing, service providers, and finance/banking sectors.

MTUG is grateful to our Peers & Beers Co-Sponsor — Robert Half Technology (www.roberthalf.com) — for their generous support of this event!

MTUG also thanks our volunteer board members Eugene Slobodzian and Jamers Harder for assistance coordinating the speaker/topic for this session.
MTUGs Peers and Beers events are a chance for IT professionals and enthusiasts to network in an informal setting while learning about a unique technology topic. There are usually four or five Peers & Beers events (in addition to MTUG Webinars) held each season at locations across Maine.
Would your organization like to sponsor an MTUG Peers & Beers event or get involved in another way? Visit the Get Involved page for information on how to be an event sponsor, or other opportunities!

Webinar: 5G Deployment Strategies, Capabilities, & Use Cases
2019-11-13 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
Telecom industry leaders Joshua Broder, CEO of Tilson Technology Management, and Thomas Hulings, Senior Manager of Business Strategy, U.S. Cellular, take a detailed look at 5G capabilities, deployment strategies, and use cases.
Thomas Hulings discusses the capabilities of 5G and how these capabilities are enabling new use cases across a diverse range of industries and segments. Specific use cases covered include Broadband Fixed Wireless Access, Education and Healthcare. Thomas also discusses the timing of 5G and evolution of 5G networks.
Joshua Broder describes 5G networks, provides an overview of how they will be delivered, and provides some technical details and use cases about the next generation of fixed and mobile wireless tech. At the time of this presentation, Tilson was deploying 5G networks for several major carriers, as well as consulting with business and government users on how to leverage these networks. Josh provides some field notes about pilot projects and some of the first commercial scale deployments.

MTUG thanks our board members Michael Begin and Tonia Ennis for arranging the speaker and topic for this session.

Webinar: Internal Collaboration Tools - which one is right for my organization?
2019-12-11 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
Join Heather Bouffard, Director of Marketing and Communications at Community Health Options, for an overview of current industry offerings and trends in workplace collaboration tools. We will review the top competitors in this hotly contested market and discuss what organizations should consider when deploying and managing a company wide collaboration tool.
Will Kilbreth, Chief Information Officer at Community Health Options, and an MTUG volunteer Board Member, arranged for the speaker and topic for this event. He will be working with Heather during the presentation, to help with questions, and add related experience as well.

Webinar: Agile in the Trenches - A Technologis s View of Agile in the Real World
2020-01-15 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
Let’s face it, the implementation of a pure Agile methodology is hard to attain. Project teams are distributed, resources not fully committed, and there are so many tools to support collaboration it can be hard to know what will work best.
This Webinar explores applying the Utopian concepts of Agile software development in a hybrid IT Organization. Topics include:

team make-up,
effective practices,
tooling,
process, and
workload balancing.

Saco Peers & Beers at "Run of the Mill" - TOPIC: Launching a Tech Startup in Maine
2020-01-29 16:30 - 18:30 UTC | ME
MTUG and a great crew of over 35 gathered at “Run of the Mill” Public House & Brewery Wed. Jan. 29 — Co-Sponsored by FirstLight!
Tech Spotlight Topic presenter Rob Simopolous, Co-Founder of Defendify, shared his experience “Launching a Tech Startup in Maine.”
Rob discussed his experience and process launching Defendify, a local startup that makes cybersecurity possible for small business. The group learned about Defendify’s wins, challenges, and journey from idea to inception to current state. Defendify has been a Portland, Maine-based company from the beginning, and Rob and business partner Andrew Rinaldi are proud to have worked with many exceptional organizations such as MTI (Maine Technology Institute), FAME (Finance Authority of Maine), and MVF (Maine Venture Fund), as well as other entrepreneurs throughout the state.

MTUG is grateful to our Peers & Beers Co-Sponsor — FirstLight (www.firstlight.net) — for their generous support of this event!

MTUG also thanks our volunteer board members Jamers Harder and Mark Hopper for assistance researching the speaker/topic for this session.
MTUGs Peers and Beers events are a chance for IT professionals and enthusiasts to network in an informal setting while learning about a unique technology topic. There are usually four or five Peers & Beers events (in addition to MTUG Webinars) held each season at locations across Maine.

Webinar: Economy, Demographics, and Meeting Maine's Technical Workforce Needs
2020-02-26 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
Join MTUG for the big picture discussion of Maines economy, demographics and how it impacts our unique challenge for meeting the tech-skilled workforce needs of all Maine businesses.
Amanda Rector, State Economist of Maine, will present on “Maines Economic and Demographic Outlook” — an overview of Maines current economic and demographic conditions, and the outlook for population, employment, and macroeconomic trends. In this presentation with MTUG, Amanda will bring some additional information on tech-related sectors in Maine, as well as educational trends, to give the background of the forces impacting Maine businesses in their ability to find and employ a skilled technical workforce.
Jeremy Qualls, Dean of the College of Science, Technology, and Health at USM, will present his experiences “Advancing STEM programs and the Technical Workforce” at the University of Southern Maine. USM — a regional, liberal arts, comprehensive public university with campuses in Portland, Gorham, and Lewiston, is charged with addressing both Maines workforce challenges and serving the higher education needs of northern New England. This two part mission presents numerous educational and STEM pathway opportunities and challenges. Jeremy will provide an assessment of trends in STEM education, and introduce new programs and initiatives at USM designed to meet these opportunities.

MTUG thanks volunteer board members Uli Stewart, Ron Brown & Tonia Ennis for arranging for this session’s speakers & topic.

Webinar: Microsoft Teams - Remote Collaboration in the Time of Pandemic
2020-03-25 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
On March 25, 2020, we heard from two organizations trying to make remote work “work” over their existing Microsoft Teams infrastructure during the current global pandemic. Please enjoy the attached recorded video of this session.
Amanda Downing of L.L.Bean presents their experience deploying Microsoft Teams for workgroups, leveraging Teams conversation based workload management, chat, meetings, and connections to other O365 applications. She shares an earlier “day in the life” remote worker profile, as imagined when some employees had to work remotely due to office construction. Amanda then reveals what they’ve learned during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic crisis, and which aspects of Teams have turned out most valuable. Amanda also demonstrates portions of their environment in her discussion.
Roo Dunn opens with H+K Strategies global Teams migration experience: organizational integrations with MS Teams components, why, when, and how. Then he shifts toward their late-deployment reality — the global COVID-19 pandemic — and discusses lessons learned so far as some strategies shifted “on the fly.”

MTUG thanks our volunteer board members Kristen Kucera and Joe Bourgault for assistance in coordinating the topic and speakers for this session.

Webinar: BYOTech & Nosh - A Smart Home Walkthrough with Sam Gaudet
2020-04-29 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | ME
Cheers! Sam Gaudet walked us through his modest smart home setup, and shared his endeavors and decision-making process for various parts of his solution. Recording available by the end of May; Materials List available below.
Having lights turn on as dusk, turning a car on with your voice, adjusting the thermostat from anywhere in the world are just a few of the simple, but convenient tasks that Sam will demonstrate. Feel free to invite any homeschooling teenagers as well!
Sam’s List of Materials for His Setup: https://github.com/sgaudet/sgaudet.github.io/blob/master/mtug-smart-home.md
On our first-ever “BYO Tech & Nosh” we featured Maine / Northern-New-England sourced beverages/snacks our host, speaker, and select viewers bring to the session. Share with us about your fare of choice during BYO Tech & Nosh in the chat feature and we’ll call it out at these events! Email us in advance at programs(at)mtug.org and — if your beverage/snack comes from an establishment with a good online product listing and/or order form — we’ll include it in our announcements! Must be online by 4pm to play along!
What is the purpose of the BYO Tech & Nosh webinars?

Many of us are working remotely at home with whatever equipment we have — these sessions may include sharing of the tech tweaks for our home environments. Sessions may also cover less-business-focused “after-work” tech subjects.
MTUG’s “Peers & Beers” sessions are not possible right now — but there are lots of local vittles vendors we’d love to feature! Share with us your local baked goods, libation, take-out vendors of choice — we’ll get your favorite Maine/NorthN.E. purveyors some visibility!

MTUG thanks volunteer board members Mark Hopper and Eugene Slobodzian for their assistance coordinating this session

Webinar: DNS New World Order - QuadX! DoH! DoT!
2020-05-27 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
DNS is the fundamental glue that makes the Internet function, but it often goes unloved — unless you are an ISP looking to further monetize subscribers, or you are trying to track malware on your network. Recently, new ways to provide and secure DNS for end-users have been created and are being rolled out in some browsers. Additionally, there are multiple vendors offering the use of easy to remember public DNS resolvers.
Technology Consultant and NNENIX director, Jim Troutman, covers the technical aspects of DNS over HTTPS (DoH), DNS over TLS (DoT), original RFC882 DNS, and discuss various privacy and operations challenges that are looming.

MTUG thanks volunteer board member Austin Brower for assistance coordinating this session.

CANCELED: 2020 Annual Summit & Tradeshow
2020-06-11 07:30 - 16:00 UTC | Holiday Inn by the Bay, 88 Spring St., Portland, ME, 88 Spring St, Portland
Unfortunately the MTUG 33rd Annual I.T. Summit & Tradeshow has been canceled due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic.

MTUG’s board and staff are actively planning for an alternative/rescheduled program of informative, timely online sessions.
Please watch the MTUG home page for announcements for a new, expanded calendar of webinars and resource offerings. And, please Save the Date for MTUG’s 2021 Summit — scheduled for Tuesday, October 5th, 2021.

The MTUG Summit & Tradeshow is Maine’s largest business tech event, with 500+ tech professionals, 50+ exhibit booth packages, 15 competitively-selected
workshops, 2+ food events, and plenty of door prizes.

Webinar: Maine's Internet Infrastructure, Libraries & Workforce - the Impact of COVID-19, and the July Bond Vote
2020-06-24 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
This webinar presentation discusses Maine’s Internet Infrastructure as it has been endeavored to be made available through the Maine Library System. How connectivity concerns have been amplified during the pandemic, and how our perspective on high speed / high quality internet infrastructure will be different going forward, are further extended in this discussion.
Lisa Shaw, Maine State Libraries specialist for Rural and Small Libraries, brings a unique perspective on educational and workforce demands across the state. Andrew Butcher discusses the details of the (then) upcoming High Speed Internet Infrastructure bond issue in up for vote on July 14, 2020, as well as the changing landscape of internet connectivity across Maine’s communities. (This webinar happened 3 weeks before the bond vote.)

MTUG’s position on the July 14th ballot, Question #1, regarding the Internet Bond, can be found here:
mtug.org/news/2020-06-18-mtug-supports-july-14-2020-internet-broadband-bond-referendum

Early-Summer Webinar: Business Continuity in the Cloud - Disaster Recovery as a Service
2020-07-22 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
Organizations are responsible for implementing technologies to enable the business while keeping critical data, applications and processes secure and running 24×7. Would failure to prepare for technological or natural disaster disrupt your business and lead to financial catastrophe? Is cloud based virtualization DR technologies for your servers, desktops and backups appropriate for your IT environment needs and budget?
David Andrews, Infrastructure Manager at Mass Property Insurance, and Brian McCarthy, Senior Cloud Specialist at Whalley Computer Associates discuss cloud building blocks and present a customer perspective as to the automated processes they have put into place ensuring that computing resources are verifiable and available.

MTUG thanks our volunteer board member James Harder for his assistance coordinating this event.

Mid-Summer Webinar: Maine IT Micro?Credentials
2020-08-19 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
A diverse panel discusses the development and implementation of a series of aligned micro-credential pathways in digital literacy and technology using a unified state framework.
We will discuss:

What are Maine employers IT and foundational skill needs?
How can we implement a series of micro-credential pathways to fill those skill gaps?
What industry credentials are most valuable for Maine citizens to obtain?
What are the challenges and barriers within a rural state?
What input, support, and in-the-job training can employers offer?

The University of Maine System, in close partnership with the Maine Department of Education has received a grant to work with partners across the state to build I.T. Micro-credential pathways to aid in hiring, workforce development, and adult degree completion. In addition to the Maine DoE, parters includ the Maine Dept of Labor / State Workforce Boards, the Maine Department of Corrections, Educate Maine, the Maine Community College System, and employers and others to achieve Maines 60% Credential of Value attainment goal by 2025 (see link info below). IT employers and tech industry involvement and input are crucial to the success of these efforts — this session features a request from employers and tech professionals to give their input about this program. This is an ongoing request – Please see the slide deck PDF below for team contact information if you would like to get involved.
Learn more about the Maine I.T. Micro-Credentials program & grant at these links:

Maine Spark 60% “Credential of Value” Goal for 2025: https://mainespark.me/
Educate Maine: https://www.educatemaine.org/about
Lumina Foundation’s “All Learning Counts” Grant Program: luminafoundation.org/news-and-views/recognizing-learning-outside-the-classroom-lumina-foundation-awards-3-5-million-in-grants-for-all-learning-counts-initiative – Maine is one of 9 such Micro-Credentialing programs funded across the nation.

MTUG thanks volunteer board member Uli Stewart for coordinating this month’s speakers and topic!

Late-Summer Webinar: Upgrading Your Scripting Toolkit
2020-09-02 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
Long time MTUG community participant and tech consultant William Wade discusses his perspective and key tips in using a variety of scripting tools and environments, including PowerShell, Visual Studio, Source Control (such as GIT), and more.
This session’s goal is to introduce these tools — traditionally thought of as the domain of the programmer/developer world — in an accessible way that shows their importance to a range of IT professionals. For instance, knowledge of PowerShell is key in many Microsoft network/server certification exams. William’s session gives an overview of these tools, including demonstrations of major features, and some quick useful tips relevant to developers and non-developers alike. His presentation also includes reference articles and books to extend your learning further.

MTUG thanks volunteer board member Tonia Ennis for assistance coordinating this month’s speaker and topic.

MTUG ExecTech Webinar #1 - HACK the SHIP - Maritime Transportation System Security
2020-09-30 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | ME

ExecTech Webinar: HACK the SHIP - the Security, Functionality, Usability Triangle Gone Wrong
2020-09-30 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
MTUG thanks Josh Moss and Jockel Carter for bringing this unique presentation to the MTUG audience: “HACK the SHIP: An overview of Shipboard ICS Cybersecurity… OR… the Security, Functionality, Usability Triangle Gone Wrong.”
In this session, presenter Joshua Moss explores the lack of applied security across the Maritime Transportation System (MTS). Merchant shipping is especially vulnerable due to the insecure protocols used in the Industrial Control Systems (ICS) aboard large merchant ships. Josh walks users through the network layout of a merchant ship, and discusses how a malicious attacker can take control of ships similar to the large, liquid natural gas, and bulk carriers that come to port here in Portland, Maine. The lack of “baked in” security is then used as an analogy and a reminder to Maine technology users to have foresight when designing processes and technologies, and ensure that security is always a thought, not an afterthought.
Participants are exposed to a common security situation that is typical for naval systems, industrial controls systems, and other infrastructure that is often considered beyond the reach of cyber-attack but is not. Co-collaborator in this session, Jockel Carter, represents the layman’s voice, assisting in clarifying concepts and questions to key sections of Josh’s presentation, and how similar issues impact a variety of environments.
To get involved with Hack the Ship and similar events, please visit https://HackTheMachine.ai

MTUG thanks our volunteer board member Kristen Kucera, who coordinated this event’s speakers and topic.

Webinar #2 - Cyber Threats vs Humans & the Future
2020-10-14 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | ME

ExecTech Webinar: Cyber Threats vs. Humans & the Future
2020-10-14 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
Cyber threats are increasingly targeting individual users in small to large organizations  initiating attacks via social engineering, spear phishing, or even attacking through their trusted suppliers. Technology based counter threats are trying, but sometimes failing, to keep up with the constant pace of threats change. More future focused strategies are needed.
This workshop explores current cyber threats targeting technology users, and presents and discusses technology based as well as other strategies to help counter those threats. Predicting future threats and preparing for future threats is a further emphasis.
This session helps attendees:

Understand current landscape of key technology based threats targeting our users.
Learn of proven strategies to counter those threats  both IT technology based and helping users be part of the defense (and response).
Learn how to predict future threats and identify needed defenses.

MTUG thanks our volunteer board member Eugene Slobodzian, who coordinated this event’s speakers and topic.

Webinar #3 - PANEL: Tech User Groups - Catalyzing Maine Tech
2020-12-16 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | ME

ExecTech Webinar: Tech User Groups - Catalyzing the Maine Tech Community
2020-12-16 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
his MTUG webinar panel introduces several regional User Group leads, and explores the purpose and activities of tech user groups in Maine.
Panelists from 4 regional User Groups discuss the role of tech groups in the Maine technology community. Panelists include: Larry Cushing who runs the SMMUG users group (SMMUG.info – formerly Southern Maine Microsoft Users Group), Ben Allen who organizes the InfoSec/hacker group DefCon207 (DC207.org), Dave Moran, board member and longtime participant in AgileMaine and Agile coach (www.agilemaine.com), and Gary Soucy, an officer and longtime member of the security users group, (ISC)2 Maine Chapter (isc2mainechapter.org).
Panelists discuss the contributions of tech user groups in the tech education/career pipeline, lifelong learning and professional development, tech community networking, and in fostering tech adoption in Maine organizations. We also highlight the MTUG “Tech User/Advocacy” Groups Directory, self-service Community Tech Events page, and point out various ways to find tech groups in your region.
MTUG thanks our volunteer board members James Harder and Eugene Slobodzian, who assisted with this event’s speakers and topic.

MTUG Webinar #4 - Legal Considerations for Technology Contracting
2021-01-27 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | ME

Webinar: Legal Considerations for Technology Contracting
2021-01-27 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
As businesses rely more and more on third party software, data, and technology in order to function, those third parties have become increasingly critical to ongoing operations, security, and legal compliance. In this presentation, attorneys Kyle Glover (Pierce Atwood) and Kara Alesi (IDEXX) discuss the legal considerations in entering into contracts with these third parties and how businesses and IT and technology professionals can work to better protect against these risks and ensure efficient and effective management.

MTUG Webinar #5 - Decision Making in a Crisis - OODA Loop
2021-02-24 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | ME

Webinar: Decision-Making in a Crisis - Preparing for Your Next Tech Disaster
2021-02-24 08:00 - 17:00 UTC | ME
Jamie Popkin, digital technology strategist and former vice president and research fellow at Gartner Inc. will bring the MTUG audience through a tabletop exercise of rapid decision-making using the OODA Loop approach in IT.
The acceleration of digital business has been turbo-charged by the COVID pandemic. Innovative and leading edge technologies surrounding work-at-home, online customer support and the move to all-digital commerce has overwhelmed the decision-making capabilities of many organizations.
In this session we will introduce an approach for applying Colonel John Boyds OODA Loop to your decision-making processes.

Webinar: The SolarWinds Hack - What We Know, and What to Look for Next
2021-03-18 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
In this session, industry experts Douglas Mauro of FirstLight and Frank Appunn of Infragard Maine Chapter, pull back the veil on the SolarWinds hack.
Douglas explains what happened in the SolarWinds “back door” attack, explore its extent, and get into the details of its methods. He’ll discuss how so many entities became so vulnerable, and what the response has been thus far.
Frank explores which entities were targeted, and what we know about foreign influence in the attack. The presentation will then propose who may still be vulnerable to this and future attacks, and what prevention tactics enterprises can implement. Our speakers close with a broader discussion of the pivotal nature of this escalation of cyber threat, and how the industry can meet it.

Managing Complexity in Tech Projects - Interaction Agility
2021-04-29 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | ME

Webinar: Managing Complexity in Tech Projects
2021-04-29 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
In this casual, interactive discussion, Kevin Callahan of Interaction Agility Inc., along with panelists Jennifer Thomson of Liberty Mutual Insurance, and Kathy Warren of the Maine Department of Education, will focus on the audience’s favorite capacity planning and prioritization topics in the dynamo of tech project management.

Audience members were invited to contribute discussion points and questions to the panelists via email or the LinkedIn Group and throughout the session.
Topic Description:
Deciding what to do, how, and with whom, can be daunting, paralyzing, and carry substantial risk. If the world were perfectly predictable, we would always know what to work on, how long it would take, the impact it would have, and who we would need help from.
For better or worse, this isn’t today’s world of business. On the contrary, organizations are constantly reacting to new information and having to make critical decisions in the midst of uncertainty. While there are no easy solutions, there are some proven rules of thumb to help stack the deck in your decisions.

MTUG Summer Webinar #1 - How to Create an Incident Response Exercise - Jockel Carter Gary Soucy
2021-07-01 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | ME

Early-Summer Webinar: How to Create an Incident Response Exercise
2021-07-01 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | ME
Jockel Carter and Gary Soucy, active members of the Maine Chapter of ISC(2), discuss how to build an Incident Response exercise for your organization. Such exercises are key to understanding how prepared you and your team are for the next, inevitable breach or other incident.
This session explores:

How to set objectives and goals for the exercise.
How to build an engaging story to draw in participants.
How to operate the exercise to get maximum value for the time and effort spent.

Questions and scenarios from attendees encouraged!

About (ISC)2 Maine:
(ISC)² is an international nonprofit committed to helping their members learn, grow, and thrive in the information #security industry. The (ISC)2 Maine Chapter meets once a month from September to June to network and learn more about IT Security in its many forms, with the hope that attendees find IT Security as much fun as they do. www.isc2mainechapter.org

MTUG Summer Webinar #2 - Accelerating Tech Internships in Maine
2021-07-28 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | ME
