Today was Tech Connect 2024 hosted by MnTech at the Saint Paul RiverCentre. There were over 600 people this year and a number of good presentations.

Sessions I attended:

Overall observations:

  • There were so many references to AI. Everyone still talking about it and starting to show real-world use cases. There is still more hype than substance here, but the substance seems to be showing up. Multiple companies shared that AI adoption isn’t automatic and you have to make sure you bring people along.
  • The quantum computing session was more interesting than I expected and showed how far that technology has come. I think this is still a decade out and a big bet, but accessing quantum infrastructure via the cloud is an obvious go-to-market path to bring this esoteric tech to teams.
  • It is super fun to watch the Minnesota Twins technology team because their content is so fun and very advanced stuff. Plus they have a whole production team that makes super high-quality visuals.
Bald speaker in a blazer holds a microphone on a conference stage beside a podium, with a large screen reading Tech Connect Tech Innovation in the North Star State May 8 2024 Speaker at a podium presents a slide on quantum computing and cryptography to a small seated audience in a conference room Large conference ballroom with hundreds of seated attendees watching a panel of four speakers on a blue-lit stage with two large projection screens showing YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS Four men pose at the front of a conference room near a podium and a projected Tech Connect slide, two seated on stools and two standing. Large conference ballroom filled with hundreds of attendees seated at round tables facing a stage where five panelists sit for a CIO Leadership Panel, displayed on two large screens. Group of nine conference attendees smiling around a round black-draped table in a large convention hall filled with other guests