ITEXPO (News - Alert) is finally kicking off, and the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is soon to be bustling with IT professionals, technology enthusiasts and business leaders from across the country. ITEXPO is the world’s largest and best-attended communications and technology trade show and is running from Monday, August 26th to Thursday, August 29th. The conference will feature dozens of information sessions, keynotes, and discussion panels designed to help attendees move their businesses forward.

One such session features Kevin Myers, Chief Marketing Officer of Swiftpage, a leading provider of integrated marketing, sales and CRM solutions designed to help businesses market better and sell more. Myers was previously the partner in charge of marketing and sales at Performance Edge Partners where he provided strategic marketing counsel to companies like TASER, DIRECTV, iMemories and iDonate. He has also served as the executive vice president of marketing at Cold Stone Creamery and Kahala Brands, representing 5,000 stores and more than 12 brands.

During the session, titled “Marketing 3.0: The Engagement Impact,” Myers will join Michael Stevens of Spindle and David Vaugh of TSG Global to discuss the ways today’s latest tools, technology, and services can drive the overall bottom line results and create an efficient flow of information within the corporate structure that drive sustainable growth. The panel discussion will take place Thursday, August 29th from 1:00 to 1:45pm. 

Earlier, TMCnet caught up with Myers to get his preconference thoughts on the latest technology trends and his predictions for the future. Those interested in hearing more can still register for ITEXPO today.

How will wearable technology develop in the business world?  Will you buy an iWatch or other comparable device?

In my opinion, wearable technology will develop in the business world to the extent that the software powering these gadgets will become recommendation based. With the ability to tell you what to do, versus input based – think traditional applications – and, in turn, they will become more valuable. Should they just be another screen, then it’s a lot less interesting but still fun because I expect them to use voice as the primary point of input. Should it be connected to “Big Data and Analytics,” then it could be transformative. Just imagine the impact in the medical field with triage and diagnostics being offered with on the spot physician, technician and research collaboration.

How will Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) change the service provider landscape?

I believe that innovation will come faster and cheaper as a result of software and service providers being able to design and deliver solutions that can grow as users join, versus purchasing hardware or dedicated servers within virtualized environments.

How will the growing movement towards software impact traditional hardware vendors?

The appliances and hardware are critical to software deployment success. Continued innovation on the hardware front keeps the software innovation possible, with newer storage devices, increased security, extended battery life, etc.

The emergence of WebRTC has generated a host of new communications vendors looking to change the communications world.  How will these new providers impact the communications market?

Competition to these large established enterprise players gives the possibility of a new winner emerging; making the current gorillas in the market better (at least some of them) through innovation and acquisitions.

How have you used video in your business communications?  What is the potential for video as a mainstream business technology?

Video completely changes the game in public relations, communications, marketing, advertising and selling. Similarly to how keywords forced us to get to our unique value in just a few words, video gets us to tell short stories that are often quick and to the point. They train and hopefully entertain us in a fraction of the time in comparison to the traditional written word.

Should we be concerned that government entities, like the NSA, may be monitoring our communications?  What impact will recent information surrounding the PRISM program have on technology vendors?

When I ran marketing and sales at Cold Stone Creamery, we had a policy during all of our meetings to run them and speak as though any franchisee, area developer, crew member or even perhaps a customer, were listening. We live in a time where freedom and safety depends upon our defense, not specifically physical – troops and armory – but rather, intelligence and insight. As long as you’re not saying anything that can get you into trouble – why worry about the government listening? Obviously, this is dependent upon the notion that you trust your government.

Does your business have a defined social marketing strategy?   Define its impact on your business?

At Swiftpage, we firmly believe that social is everyone’s job. We are in the midst of making sure all of our employees have the ability to share their thoughts and insights no matter their role in the organization. We will reward those who participate in becoming part of the voice of what we do; in our company we call that “Swiftpage Nation” where we are “Living the Exclamation.” This is not limited to our employees – our social plan is to include our go-to market partners and our customers, asking them to actively participate in the conversation.

How has social changed you approach to customer service?

Tremendously. Our community boards answer more than 75 perecent of the queries that are generated in the market. We are fortunate enough to have implementation and consulting partners join the Act! Fanatics worldwide to answer questions that, in recent years, would have been phone calls.

How has the BYOD trend impacted your business?  What changes have you had to implement and what challenges have you experienced?

It’s about time! In my opinion, if your employees care enough about your company or firm to use their own devices to do their job – then by all means, take every measure to let them. Put all company information into Sharepoint, Dropbox, AND hosted CRM environments so they can do their job anytime, anywhere, on any device!

What different devices do you use in your daily business activities?  Which are the most useful and why?

I’m an Apple (News - Alert) guy; I bring all my own devices: iPhone, iPad, Macbook. Everything that I have stored or use on those devices is backed up in Exchange, Time Machine, iCloud, Dropbox and Saleslogix.

Is the mobile device market going to become a battle between Apple and Samsung (News - Alert), or can others find success as well?

This is a tough one, especially when you take into account that the best product does not always win – the best marketing does! If you have used the new Microsoft phone then you know that the user experience is brilliant, but it cannot get a market-share, which is a shame. Marketing and developer communities have not been drawn to it – so IOS and Android (News - Alert) continue to win.

To what degree has cloud computing influenced your business model?

Cloud computing has influenced our business model 100 percent; it’s all cloud, all of the time. We are still developing products that don’t use the cloud as their primary delivery, access, user experience, or backup because there is still a considerable customer base that has not adopted, nor do they trust cloud computing. The way we service these customers will be cloud based; we will continue to develop and deliver the products they ask for, providing them with seamless options to make the “jump” to the cloud should they become ready, ensuring an easy transition.

What recent tech innovation will have the greatest impact on our lives?

It may be passé, but it is pretty hard to argue that it was not Facebook (News - Alert) that changed the way people communicate. It has spawned so many other micro methods of communication. For many people the “always on” mentality that followed is both an enormous opportunity and a disruptive problem. The same thing was said about the telephone as it trumped writing letters and, at the time, was similarly disruptive and was the first introduction of the “always on” concept. With that said, it has and will continue to impact our lives to the greatest degree – for better or worse dependent upon the individual.

What are you looking forward to accomplishing at ITEXPO Las Vegas?  What topics are you looking forward to discussing or hearing about?

As a first time attendee, I’m looking forward to investigating who’s in attendance, as well as listening to and digesting the ideas and themes that resonate the loudest.