Like Summer Lovin’, this event season happened so fast! From charitable golf events to summits, prominent conferences and stellar networking opportunities, our Involtans had a blast! With so many new relationships forged and valuable insights delivered, this summer proved to be the hottest yet.
What’s more, we raised over $70K at multiple golf tournaments across each of our edge markets as part of Involta Cares. In case you’re new here, Involta Cares, our philanthropic initiative, launched in 2018 to drive positive change across the communities we serve nationwide, including rallying for women in technology and STEM education, participating in sustainability and clean-up efforts, helping the underserved via local food banks and donation drives, and more. To learn more about Involta Cares, click here.
So, without further ado, here’s a replay of all the events we’ve conquered over this scorching and most memorable season yet!
Par-Tees For a Purpose
Involtans hit the greens this summer as we presented and sponsored several golf tournaments and outings to support charities and help industry professionals grow and cultivate new relationships and mentorships. We packed up our clubs and kicked off our golf tour in June as the Title Sponsor for the TAI (Technology Association of Iowa) Tech Open Eastern Iowa. The inaugural TAI Eastern Iowa Tech Open provided an opportunity for business and technology leaders to gather for a day of golf, networking and business development on the eastern side of this great Midwest state.
TechGolf at TopGolf? Why not? Sounds like fun, right?! We thought so, too! TechGolf at TopGolf IT Networking is an all-new networking event (held on the second and fourth Monday of each month) guaranteed to cure your Monday blues. This event launched in one of our favorite destinations that many Involtans call home, Boise, Idaho, in the heart of Treasure Valley. This Boise-based IT networking event for tech professionals was greeted with open arms and is growing fast. Warning: Side effects may include a renewed sense of joy, lack of frustration and improved golf game. To swing your way into the next event and learn more, click here.
Over to Akron, Ohio, home of our Akron I & II, Canton and Independence purpose-built data centers, Involta was a proud sponsor of the PGA Kaulig Companies Championship held in July. This event, one of five major championships on the Senior PGA Tour, is for professional golfers and just celebrated its 70th year. Proceeds from the event were donated to area charities, including the Akron Children’s Hospital, Akron-Canton Food Bank and the Lebron James Foundation.
Back in Boise, during the height of the summer, Involta presented the inaugural Idaho Tech Gems Charity Golf Classic, held on August 10, which raised over $20,000 for Idaho Women in Technology (iWIT).
This high-profile golf event was also sponsored in part by multiple major technology-focused organizations, including Rubrik, Sparklight and Experis, among many others. To learn more, read our press release here.
Other notable summer golf events included:
- The AFCOM Greater Minnesota Golf Event: Involta was the proud Beverage Cart Sponsor
- Pittsburgh Tech Council’s 2023 Golf Outing: Involta was the Beverage Cart Sponsor, and Involtan Jillian Martin spread joy by handing out chocolate, drinks and swag
- For the first time, we sponsored The CEO Corridor Executive Open in Iowa
- In Ohio, we hit the United Way Golf Outing, where our President and CEO Jim Buie, along with newly appointed Executive Vice President of Manufacturing John Kehoe and Enterprise Account Manager Craig McGreal, golfed to support this staple charitable organization
Conference Highlights
School may have been out for the summer, but learning and delivering insights never ends at Involta. In June, we were the technology sponsor at the Wisconsin Technology Council’s New North Summit in Green Bay. At this event, more than 700 attendees gathered to network and share valuable economic development updates.
Also, in June, Involtans participated in Data Center Frontier’s Data Center Summit, a three-day educational event. This event featured Josh Holst, Involta’s Vice President of Cloud Services, who shared his knowledge and expertise alongside other leaders from Lightwave, Cabling Maintenance & Installation, and Security Info Watch. During this virtual event, Josh teamed up with Rick Vanover, Senior Director of Product Strategy at Veeam, for “Walking the Digital Manufacturing Optimization Tightrope: How to Balance Innovation, Security and Compliance.” The two tech industry pros unpacked the complex topic of navigating a dynamic digital manufacturing landscape where new technologies and cybersecurity threats continue to emerge rapidly.
Speaking of our partners at Veeam, we also joined them in Tucson in August for a powerful roundtable discussion about avoiding catastrophic data loss. In Ohio, we took part in the annual Avient Annual Supplier Summit, and in Idaho, we hosted a Lunch & Learn with Health Tech Idaho. Here, our thought leaders discussed new technologies for assisted living facilities.
Moreover, in Boulder, Colorado, our President and CEO, Jim Buie, was a featured speaker on an enterprise colocation panel at TD Cowen’s 9th Annual Communications Infrastructure Summit. This highly coveted event hosted company presentations and thematic panels focused on the three aspects of communications infrastructure: data centers, fiber and towers (as well as small cells).
Networking Nuggets
Our ‘people who deliver’ are the key to our 15-plus years of success. We believe in the power of networking and building long-term relationships. That’s why we are front and center in creating and attending top networking events.
We started our summer networking events tour off with Tri-Lambda’s Tech Nerds Unite in Tucson, home to our 38,000+ square foot data center and our event extraordinaire, Porsha Martinez, who, by the way, plays an important role in ensuring the success of all our events. We also closed out the season here, where our CTO and co-founder Ken Kremer spoke to Tri-Lambda members and unveiled the Tucson Internet Exchange.
Coffee and IT came together during our newest morning event launched this summer, Barista Bytes, held in our hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Hosted by our own Nick Hyland, this bi-monthly event unites a community of IT professionals passionate about technology and networking.
TAI’s Tech Kernels popped off in Dubuque and rotated across Davenport and Cedar Rapid with evenings of food, drinks and socializing for Iowa tech professionals. Additionally, in Idaho, Involtans shined bright at a few Idaho Tech Gems events, and in Cleveland, we joined a July technology-focused happy hour!
Best Summer Ever
As Involta has always had a significant event presence over the years, this summer was extra noteworthy – and for good reason. We’re growing! This intentional growth has enabled us to create new opportunities for our team to expand their horizons, support meaningful organizations and participate in discussions about the future of data centers, enterprise colo, critical infrastructure and security solutions to pave the way for generations to come.
As the sun sets on our best summer ever, we’ll see you in the fall as we gear up for another exciting season of events. To stay up to date on where our Involtans will be next, visit our new events page at www.involta.com/about/events.
