The desert is hot, but the buzz surrounding ITEXPO (News - Alert) 2014 is downright scorching! The conference agenda is lined wall-to-wall with exciting educational tracks that cover the issues and opportunities that contemporary users and providers face in driving productivity and ROI from today’s ever-evolving technology.

With so many high-impact panels, speeches and presentations slated for the conference, picking out a few of the biggest highlights in no easy chore. Nevertheless, here are three of the top happenings you can look forward to this year:  

Startup Camp

Are you a fan of the ABC hit show “Shark Tank?” If you love to see entrepreneurs pitching their innovations under heavy questioning from potential investors, the ninth edition of Startup Camp is the place to be on Tuesday, August 12 at 5 p.m. This year’s contestants include a search platform for top-rated medical providers; a cellular-enabled wireless base station aimed at helping the elderly used the Internet of Things; and an advanced caller ID solution.

Presenters will do their best to convince a panel of judges and the live audience that they have the next “big idea” and the panel judges will pull no punches in their evaluations. No matter what feedback the entrepreneurs receive, the audience will be entertained.

Keynotes

As usual, the lineup for ITEXPO’s keynotes is impressive. On Wednesday, August 13 at 1 p.m. Hollis “Terry” Bradwell III, executive vice president and CIO for AARP will discuss the concept of expanding the role of IT to include initiative development, leveraging partner relationships and more. Attendees will hear real-world examples of how a CIO can open up a new world for the CIO.

On Thursday at 9 a.m. Michael Troiano, VP of Advanced Mobility Solutions for AT&T (News - Alert) will discuss his areas of expertise, including mobile device management, application creation, BYOD solutions and M2M communications.

Software Telco Congress

Building on its launch last fall, at ITEXPO the Congress will cover critical topics related to NFV and SDN, such as the challenges service providers face in making smooth transitions from purpose-built hardware to software without jeopardizing traditional revenue streams.

The NFV and SDN Event will also cover critical topics including, but not limited to:

• Software telco ROI from power savings
• Birth of the software telco ecosystem and considerations required
• NFV compliance considerations
• Security considerations of virtualized telco platforms
• The need for real-time communication support in cloud-oriented solutions

So if you’re headed to Vegas for ITEXPO—or better yet, if you’re already here—be sure to check out some of these events as you make your way from panel to panel and across the showroom floor. And of course, welcome to Las Vegas!