SESSION DESCRIPTIONS 

Software & Protection of Rights 

Protecting Intellectual Property in Vendor Contracts 

Presenters: Luke Montoya & Robert Wright 

Intellectual property (IP) protection and confidentiality in our global supply chain is a major risk, and most companies are still underestimating the ability of counterfeiters, rogue employees and thieves. It can trigger devastating effects on a company’s profits, reputation and supply chain, due to potential product recalls, reputational damage, lawyers and loss of future contracts. In this session, you will learn how best to mitigate and protect yourself against losing control of any Intellectual Property right, defined, and protected in law by 

• Patents 
• Copyrights 
• Trademarks 
• Licenses 
• Trade secrets 

Audit — Offense or Defense? Would you rather be proactive or reactive?

Presenters: Sarepta Ridgeway & Melanie Berry 

If you've been audited by a software company or one of their audit firms, you know that a software audit can be a time drain as well as a financial budget killer. In this session, we will discuss 

• the importance of understanding and gathering Software Grant & Access Rights 
• using a SAM (Software Asset Management) tool to capture your usage rights 
• knowing where Resellers fit in the audit 
• the importance of issuing a good P.O. and what should be included
  

• a Top 10 Questions Checklist 
• an Audit Checklist 
• checklist of internal partnerships 
• a form to capture your license data to help you ensure that you have gathered information on the usage rights 
• the basics and the purple bunny rabbit
  
  

Negotiating Cloud deals in 2022: Holding Providers Accountable and Avoiding Pitfalls

Presenter: Elgin Ward 

Cloud failures continue to increase, negatively impacting business productivity. Learn how to negotiate deals that hold cloud providers accountable and avoid common cloud contracting missteps. 

Technology Licensing in 2022: How the Customer can win against a stacked deck 

Presenter: Elgin Ward 

By owning the IP in hardware, software and cloud services, technology vendors endeavor to use technology licensing to maximize profits and minimize their risk not only at the time of sale, but for as long as the customer uses the technology. Learn how to negotiate and structure technology deals that enable the customer to keep its costs down while maximizing its protections at the time of purchase and throughout the use of the acquired technology. 

The Great Gotcha: Issues with Open-Source Software Usage 

Presenter: Tim Swan 

With more than 90% of companies using freeware or open-source software (OSS) for critical processes or innovation, they have become a critical driver of both innovation and value. But how do you know if OSS is right for your organization and if the risks are worth the benefits? What are the risks and benefits? In this session, you will learn about some key legal issues facing the adoption and development of free and open source software and some best practices, including

• The “infection” risk of copyleft software 
• How savvy OSS users ingest and track its use 
• Non-legal risk of OSS, including security and support failures 

Vendor Negotiations from Sourcing and Outside Counsel

Presenters: John Cooley & Tim Swan 

A candid discussion on negotiation of contracts between a vendor, Strategic Sourcing, and Buyer's Outside Counsel. 

Vendor Management 

Effective Vendor Management

Presenters: Jenni Gardiner & Andrea Shumaker 

Navigating Security Risks in the Contract Process

Presenter: Tracy Janes

IT procurement professionals are the front line for every organization that seeks to acquire products and/or services from suppliers. This is true whether the organization has a third-party risk program matures enough to support these professionals or not.

In this session we will explore

• Security risk assessment contract enablers for large and small organizations regardless of maturity of your third-party risk management program
• Key questions you can ask if your organization does not have a robust vendor security risk management process
• Key components of a security addendum and why they are important
• And much more

 Transformation 

The (Not So) Secret Life of Contracts

Presenter: Cynthia Meyer 

Like all living things, contracts have a lifecycle – they are born, live for a period of time and then pass away. A Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) platform with AI can not only speed up and standardize contract development but can provide the ability to collaborate with version control, manage important dates and key obligations, and perform advanced analytics. Do you need to 

• track auto-renewals and notice requirements 
• get approvals from stakeholders aligned to DOA charts 
• maintain supporting documentation 
• integrate with CRMs/Outlook/Word 
• use e-signature and SSO? 
  

then bring your contracts’ lifecycle to light with CLM and AI. 

Agile Best Practices across the Contracting Process

Presenter: Robert Wright 

Sooner or later, you will need to become more agile. Thus, agile principles can harness and manage change. For practitioners, this usually means finding cost-effective ways to build in flexibility at all stages for procurement to accommodate last-minute changes or disruptions. In this session, you will learn some key principles and how best to apply them in your procurement journey. 

Learn Evolving Role for CIOs in Digital Procurement

Presenter: Jeff Spires 

Digital transformation in the procurement industry is on the rise and it is being driven more and more by the CIO. This explosive growth of digitalization with more options and technologies does not equate to success. In this session, you will learn how to 

• better prepare your own CIO 
• understand your entire value chain 
• better contribute to the organization's overall growth and value, such as selecting the right partners and technologies
  
  

Get in the Trenches: A Unique Way for IT Procurement Organizations to Find Top Talent 

Presenter: Matt Smith 

A breakout session on how tech procurement groups can leverage military talent to fill the hiring gaps in their organizations. 

Internet Connections & 5G

Presenter: Kevin Francis 

5G, oh no!!! One more internet connection type!! We will review why there are so many different types of internet connections and discover why there are so many types and how you will know what types are needed to be used for your business. We'll also review what 5G will bring to the table and how it will complement the current internet connection options. 

• Why so many Internet connection options? 
• How am I going to use them? 
• Why should I use more than one type? 

Relationships 

Collaborating with Virtual Teams

Presenter: Kasey Frank 

The sudden transition to remote work for all business departments is challenging to all organizations. Your teams, vendors (suppliers) and customers are all experiencing the same change and frustrations. As a leader, it's critical to ensure people stay safe, empowered and successful. In this session, we examine three ways procurement teams can improve communications and stay connected while working remote.

• Adjust mindset 
• Use the right tools 
• Improve communication 
  
  

Building Rapport with Stakeholders 

Presenter: David Hatch 

The theory of stakeholder relationships is now an increasingly significant area for procurement practitioners. In this session, you will learn how to profile, classify and connect with various internal and external stakeholder groups to improve your 

• Communication 
• Understanding 
• Decision-making 
  
  

How To Talk to Executives

Presenter: Michael Swanson 

Many corporate initiatives fail for the same reason many great ideas by employees fail. People are unable to effectively sell their ideas to their executive. Communicating to an executive is very different from communicating to a peer or a manager. This presentation will draw on over 30 years of successfully selling ideas to hundreds of executives. At least one case study will be from an idea that was once perceived as wild and crazy but has impacted everyone in IT procurement. 

Featured Presentations

What's Old is Now New Again:  Opening Remarks—Principal at ICN Robert Wright (Sunday Evening) 

How Software is Killing Corporate Budgets – Top Selling Author Bradley Veech 

Keynote Panel — The State of Procurement & Ice Breaker 

Presenters: Sarepta Ridgeway & Joani Scott 

Final Session: Panel Discussion on the Evolution of Procurement / Sourcing

Panel: Sarepta Ridgeway, Joani Scott, Phil Rolfs

Where we were and where are we today? 

CTPS Express Pre-conference Sessions (2:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. on Nov 6)

Procurement Module Exam Review Presentation | more details

Contract Management Exam Review Presentation | more details