I want to start this newsletter by sending our members my best wishes for 2016. During the holidays I had time to reflect on all that we have been able to accomplish as an association in the past years. I feel sincerely grateful. We have a vibrant association with lots of energy put towards a good common cause. I'm also very excited about what lies ahead. As I have shared lately in a
Control Engineering article, I think that SIs are faced with a very real growth opportunity, not that different from what the system integration market faced when large end users began opting to outsource their SI services beginning in the 1990s. I believe that the present opportunity is based on the real underlying drivers behind heavily promoted terms like IoT, IIoT, Smart Manufacturing and Industrie 4.0. Taking advantage of this opportunity will require changes in the traditional role of system integrators, yet it stands to deliver very rewarding outcomes. I can’t help but think of the famous book titled
Who moved my cheese?
As you might imagine, it is the time of the year when CSIA staff is extremely busy renewing memberships and preparing for our exciting 2016 Executive Conference in April in Puerto Rico. The
event website is up and running now, and is accepting early bird registrations. I have heard that some system integrator members have been saving up to join us in Puerto Rico. If you haven’t attended an Executive Conference lately, try to make it happen this year. You won’t be disappointed. If you attend our events regularly, we welcome you back again and encourage you to consider bringing along your up-and-coming next generation leadership.
Please keep your eyes open for information on the release of our Project Management Training course. We are working toward releasing it in March. Jeff Miller (Interstates Control Systems) and Eric Schaefer (Stone Technologies) have collaborated extensively to customize the content and ensure complete relevance to our SI members. By providing this training, we are addressing a request expressed by members that we better leverage distant learning technology. Training will be delivered in short sessions scheduled during four days spread out over two consecutive weeks. This format allows attendees to continue their regular job functions and immediately implement the acquired knowledge on their actual work projects.
I look forward to a very successful 2016 for you, your companies and for our association. Thank you very much for your ongoing participation and support.