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April 2008 • Volume 13 Number 4
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Executive Director's Letter
In the last few weeks, I have been crisscrossing the country speaking at conferences, attending industry events and spending some time in Latin America. The question that everyone who knows me wants to ask is, “How is CTST2008 coming?" So, for anyone that I missed during my travels, let me answer that question exactly the way I have answered everyone else who has asked me in person, “Good, but I really don’t know yet.” The things that I know are good – and maybe even great – are the things we can control, such as the content of the program, the speakers and the topics they have been selected to speak about, the names and the titles of the registered attendees, and the companies who are exhibiting in the hall. All of these factors are known already and I feel really good about them. But what makes a conference great is what happens after the doors open. Industry people refer to it as the “buzz.” It is the energy that permeates the exhibit hall. It is the questions that follow the presenters' remarks. It is the discussions that take place in the nooks and crannies of the conference facility during breaks and at the receptions. That is when you know whether things are really good – or not. At our 2007 Smart Card Alliance Annual Conference in Boston last fall, the buzz was great. Whether we can make the same magic happen after moving the conference from the intimacy of a hotel ballroom with a single-track agenda serving a mostly familiar, loyal Smart Card Alliance audience to the grand stage of the Orlando Convention Center with five times the number of speakers presenting, people attending, and concurrent activities happening all over the venue is yet to be known. But I can’t wait to find out. Hopefully, you will be there with me and we will find out together! There are a couple of activities happening at CTST 2008 that may be confusing for some people, so let me briefly address them. The Smart Card Alliance Annual Conference Outstanding Smart Card Achievement (OSCA) Awards and Networking reception at the Rosen Centre Hotel on Monday evening, May 12th, is open to everyone. Alliance members and all conference registrants with a 4-day Platinum Pass or 3-day Gold Pass can attend at no charge with their badges. Smart Card Alliance members who did not purchase or receive a complimentary 3- or 4-day pass can register at no cost for the reception only on the Alliance member’s registration web site. All others can purchase a ticket to the reception through the CTST 2008 registration site or at the registration counter on the day of the event. The Alliance will be announcing the 2008 OSCA Awards winners during the reception. Secondly, the Executive Roundtable Sessions scheduled each morning at 9am are open to anyone with a CTST badge, including exhibitors and exhibits-only attendees. These sessions will give you free access to key industry executives in the smart card industry, payments industry, and security industry. We hope everyone will attend these sessions before the exhibit hall and track sessions start later in the day. Additionally, we are adding two free services in the exhibition hall – Tech Tours and Tech Talks. Tech Tours will be guided tours to selected exhibitors who will give short presentations about either security or payments-related demonstrations in their booth. Sign-ups will be posted in the hall. Tech Talks will be free educational presentations presented by speakers from exhibiting companies in the Innovation Pavilion Theatre located in the exhibit hall. The Innovation Pavilion has seating for up to 50 people and is located at the end of aisle 400. Lastly, make sure you stop by the Smart Card Alliance Pavilion, a large information center and gathering space where you can speak with representatives from our five industry councils (Payments, Identity, Healthcare, Transportation, and Physical Access) and learn what happens in each council and how you can get involved as a volunteer participant. We will have handouts and maybe a few fun things to see and do as well. As you can tell by this month’s letter, my thoughts are focused on only one thing. I apologize if you were looking for more topical news about the smart card market or non-conference news. Next month will be another chance to look forward again and discuss some of the interesting issues that lie ahead. In the meantime – all my thoughts are on Orlando, FL. Experience the “buzz” for yourself. Randy Vanderhoof
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