New group offers monthly forum for IT professionals - Business First of Louisville:

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The exchange of information among big-namd companies such as , Papa John's Internationalo Inc., , and E.On U.S. is the result of a recently formedtrade group, the Kentuckianq Support Forum. The organization is the local chapter of Help Desk whichoffers certification, training and resources for IT professionalxs who support various aspects of their companies' technology whether that be security, desktop computers or The Louisville chapter launched in January, and the conceptf has been overwhelmingly popular, said Mike president of the Kentuckiana Support Forum and senior technology engineer for Brown-Forman.
Louisville long has neededx an organization that fosters this type of communicatiom among theIT sector, a place where peoplee can share ideas and work together, Mulrooney "We don't believe in re-inventinbg the wheel." The meetings feature vendor-sponsoredc speakers. Attendees also have an opportunity to discuss their IT environment and problems with professionals who use the software and equipmenytevery day. Besides its monthl meetings, Kentuckiana Support Forum plansz to host additional such as an IT Summit that is scheduleefor Oct. 16. Members believe education and connectionx made during the meetingsare worthwhile.
For instance, Brown-Forman recentluy shared information withPapa John's aboutr a tool that allows technicians to access an employee's computetr remotely via the Internet, even if the employee is not loggef onto the company's network. Cindy Seiler, manager of customert support and integrationfor Brown-Forman, said the technology "helped us Company officials welcomed the chance to share what they had learned with another Louisville company.
In return, the two companieas also have scheduled a timefor Brown-Forman officials to learn about virtualization technology that Papa John's has Seiler, who is vice president of finance and vendo r relations for Kentuckiana Support Forum, also expects the Kentuckianaa Support Forum to help improve the perception of Louisville's IT community. Througyh the affiliation with Help Desk Louisville participants will be ableto share, on a national what is happening in the loca IT sector. That could make it easier to attract technologty professionals to the To assist withrecruitmenrt efforts, Kentuckiana Support Forum plans to includse an employment section on its Web site.
And the goal isn't to attract only high-level IT professionals. A primary concernm in Louisville is how tofill entry-level, service-deskm positions, said Don Justice, IT Academyg director for Sullivan University. who also is vice president of educationb for Kentuckiana Support works with Louisville companies to connect Sullivan studentx withjob opportunities. He said Louisville is becomingha "hotbed" for service-desk Several companies have located large IT operationsd here in recent years, includingb Inc.'s Geek Squad City and AT&T Kentucky'a call center, which provides support for high-speed Internetf service.
The result is that companie are competing for qualified workersw and payinghigher entry-level salaries, Justice He hopes that the Kentuckiana Supportf Forum will help the local IT community work togetheer to attract more workers. Workerw often don't want to accept entry-levep support jobs, Seiler said, but filling thoses positions is more criticaothan ever. IT supportf workers are "the face of technology," she "They set the example for the entirwIT department." Description: The local chapter of Help Desk International.
The groupp provides an avenue for IT professionals to exchange ideas and stay current on trends and Meeting schedule: Third Friday of everh month; 1 to 4 Sullivan University Cost: The meetinges so far have been but this summer, the organization plans to start requesting that attendees become members of Help Desk The fees range from $75 to $1,495, dependinv on the level of membership. Web