In a recent edition of JSA TV, our Dean Perrine interviewed DCAC (Data Center Austin Conference) founder Kirk Offel who shared what he characterized as the David and Goliath story underlying the birth of the event. Now entering its fifth year and expanding to a two-day summit, DCAC takes place September 24-25, in Austin, Texas.
“For people like myself who were just sick of the same type of tech conferences, we decided to break out our sling shot and go against the regular industry standard of what a conference should look like,” Kirk said. “So, we tried to create what is the anti-data center conference, which now is being discovered as one of the most disruptive data center conferences in our space. It’s not the largest, but hopefully it’s the most meaningful.”
This year’s DCAC summit will focus on augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) and consumer wearables, in addition to the edge, Artificial Intelligence, the cloud and hyperscale. However, AR/VR and wearable devices and the impact these technologies will have on Internet demand as they become mainstream will be taking center stage.
“The things that are really emerging and that are going to have the next big spike for us in our vertical, those are the things we’re going to be talking about,” stated Kirk.
Speakers at DCAC 2019 include Jennifer Cook, Head of Production at Dreamscape Immersive, Heather Dooley, Data Center Business Operations Chief of Staff at Google, and Dr. Julie Albright, a digital sociologist and author of the new book, “Left to Their Own Devices: How Digital Natives Are Reshaping the American Dream.”
DCAC is unconventional in its approach to format in that it merges speaking presentations, networking, out-of-the-box guest amenities, and music all within the same space, which Kirk refers to as “energy, action and traction.”
“When you put someone in an environment where they feel more relaxed and more comfortable, there’s a greater exchange of ideas,” Kirk explained. “We think that the networking elements at this conference are just as important as what you’re going learn or hear from the speakers.”
To learn more about DCAC and to register for the event, visit www.dcac-live.com.
