Clock CEUs in Security and Cloud Sessions at ChannelCon

If you’ve earned CompTIA A+, CompTIA Security+ or any of the other renewable CompTIA certifications, you know that continuing education units (CEUs) are vital to keeping your certs current. If you don’t earn enough CEUs, your certification will expire, and all the time and money you invested will be for naught. Conferences are a great way to earn CEUs, and ChannelCon is no exception.

If August 2018 falls within your three-year certification renewal cycle, consider a trip to Washington, D.C., for sessions on the business of technology, cybersecurity and emerging trends — sessions that will help you improve your skills and rack up continuing education units. And even if you aren’t in need of CEUs, ChannelCon is a great learning opportunity for any IT pro, whether you’re new to the workforce or an industry veteran.

ChannelCon 2018’s theme is the Business of Technology and features talks on cybersecurity, cloud, automation and more. IT pros can zero in on the IT Pro Track Powered by CompTIA AITP for sessions that relate directly to their day-to-day interests. 

Sessions Designed for IT Pros

The IT Pro Track Powered by CompTIA AITP is a good bet for CEU credits. Attend specialty sessions designed to help you get a handle on new technologies and business opportunities — the number-one takeaway from last year’s attendees — and learn hacks, tips and soft skills at the same time.

The State of Tech Support will take a deep dive into the impact of new technologies on help desk support and where tech support stands today. The takeaway from this session will be what technologies you should study up on now and what’s barreling down the pike.

Some of the Day 2 sessions focus on cybersecurity. Check out The State of Cybersecurity for a look at where we are and where cybersecurity pros will need to be in a hurry, as that technology ramps up fast.

4 Must-Attend ChannelCon Sessions

All of the IT pro sessions offer CEUs, but these are the ones most likely to be packed with attendees. Check out these must-attend sessions for programs that highlight information on cybersecurity and complex issues in the cloud.

1. Wargaming the Security Infrastructure
   Get a sense of how to play out security attacks and how to protect against them in creative tactics developed by military and government officials.
2. Escaping the Cybersecurity Matrix: Red Pill or Blue Pill?
   Shift the game from defense to offense in this session, which covers the importance of penetration testing and how to make your network a threat to hackers, rather than the other way around.
3. Migrating to Cloud: Best Practices and Pitfalls
   If you’re in the cloud business, sit in on this session to learn the tips and tricks to a smooth cloud migration — a challenging move that requires detailed planning and best practices so end users and technical teams can both have a good experience.
4. Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN): What You Need to Know
   Uses for the cloud keep expanding and getting more powerful. Learn to connect data centers and offices over a large span of geography with software-defined wide-area networks (SD-WANs) in this session.

Register Now for ChannelCon

Attending ChannelCon is about more than just continuing education. This annual event puts IT pros, solution providers, vendors and distributors in one place for three full days of speakers, sessions and vendor-neutral programming. Meals and snacks are included every day, and there are networking and social events every night, including our party Wednesday night at the National Air and Space Museum.

If you do need CEUs — as few as 20 for CompTIA A+ and many as 75 for CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP) — ChannelCon counts as a live conference, where you can earn 1 CEU for every approved hour you attend. As part of the continuing education requirements, you’ll need to balance your CEUs across different activities, so make sure you know the maximum number of CEUs you can earn from conferences, based on your certification.

Whether you need the continuing education credits or are simply looking to stay up to date on all things technology, sign up now for ChannelCon 2018.

Register and book your room by July 9 to receive the CompTIA discounted rate. We’ll see you in Washington, D.C.!

Michelle Lange is a writer and editor living in Chicago.