State of AI - Houston (free event)

Generating Real Business Value with AI

Laurabeth BarkerMarkus EggerMike YeagerPhilipp BauerTim Locke

Join the transformative “State of AI” in-person workshop in Houston, hosted by the CODE Magazine, tailored for leaders keen to drive real business value using AI. Dive into a packed one-day agenda starting with a keynote from Markus Egger on seamless AI integration for enhancing productivity. Discover common AI pitfalls and learn successful application strategies from Mike Yeager. Engage in a lively speaker panel discussing real-world AI strategies and insights hosted by Laurabeth Barker. The event rounds out with Philipp Bauer's session adding AI to your business applications followed by a technical Q&A panel where you can ask anything.

Don't miss this opportunity to turn AI from a buzzword into an essential business tool. Join us to unlock actionable insights and strategies for leveraging AI effectively.

This event took place on Thursday, December 12, 2024.

Join Us In Person!

Date: December 12, 2024

Why Attend?

Connect with top experts and explore how to harness AI for tangible business benefits. Gain strategic insights and practical tools to turn AI into an essential business asset. Engage with other executives, decision-makers, and developers in sessions tailored to elevate your business operations and technological integration.

Refreshments and Catered Lunch included for attendees.

See the Agenda?

You can see the complete agenda here on our website. Below the schedule grid you can read the session descriptions.

Space Is Limited

This in-person event is not recorded


130 attendees, invitation only.

NEW: Complimentary AI Strategy Sessions!

Are you looking to start or advance your company's AI journey? Our AI implementation experts are available for 15-minute one-on-one strategy-focused guidance during the workshop (when they aren't presenting). Imagine you want to chat with Markus for 15 minutes during Mike's session. This is when you can schedule a time to do that. Whether you need to validate your AI roadmap, discuss ideas, or identify where to begin, we offer these free scheduled chats to review your strategy and help set your organization up for success. After requesting an invitation to attend the workshop, send an email to StateOfAI@codemag.com to reserve one of these limited sessions.

This exclusive event is your opportunity to advance your business with AI.

Request Your Invitation Now!

Session Agenda:

Thursday, December 12, 2024
8:45AM
to
9:30AM
Sign-in and Welcome
9:30AM
to
9:45AM
Opening & Speaker Introduction
Laurabeth Barker
9:45AM
to
11:00AM
State of AI Keynote - Harnessing AI for Tangible Business Outcomes: Beyond the Hype
Markus Egger
11:00AM
to
11:15AM
Morning Refreshments
11:15AM
to
12:30PM
Navigating the AI Landscape: Strategies for Success and Avoiding Pitfalls
Mike Yeager
12:30PM
to
1:30PM
Lunch/Networking
1:30PM
to
2:30PM
AI Panel Discussion
Laurabeth BarkerMarkus EggerMike YeagerPhilipp BauerTim Locke
2:30PM
to
3:00PM
Refreshment break
3:00PM
to
4:00PM
Getting Started with AI: Adding Azure OpenAI to Your Apps
Philipp Bauer
4:00PM
to
5:00PM
Technical Q & A
Markus EggerMike YeagerPhilipp BauerTim Locke
Thursday, December 12, 2024
Main Stage
8:45AM to 9:30AM
Sign-in and Welcome
9:30AM to 9:45AM
Opening & Speaker Introduction
Laurabeth Barker
9:45AM to 11:00AM
State of AI Keynote - Harnessing AI for Tangible Business Outcomes: Beyond the Hype
Markus Egger
11:00AM to 11:15AM
Morning Refreshments
11:15AM to 12:30PM
Navigating the AI Landscape: Strategies for Success and Avoiding Pitfalls
Mike Yeager
12:30PM to 1:30PM
Lunch/Networking
1:30PM to 2:30PM
AI Panel Discussion
Laurabeth BarkerMarkus EggerMike YeagerPhilipp BauerTim Locke
2:30PM to 3:00PM
Refreshment break
3:00PM to 4:00PM
Getting Started with AI: Adding Azure OpenAI to Your Apps
Philipp Bauer
4:00PM to 5:00PM
Technical Q & A
Markus EggerMike YeagerPhilipp BauerTim Locke

Session Detail:

Opening & Speaker Introduction

Laurabeth Barker

MC Laurabeth Barker makes opening remarks and introduces the speakers and staff you'll meet during the day.

State of AI Keynote - Harnessing AI for Tangible Business Outcomes: Beyond the Hype

Markus Egger

As we transition from the exploratory phase of artificial intelligence into an era marked by tangible, measurable business impact, it is crucial for leaders at all levels—executive, strategic, and technical—to understand how AI is shaping industries. In this keynote, Markus Egger, an experienced technologist, business strategist, Microsoft Regional Director, and Founder of the CODE Group, will guide you through the practical integration of AI within diverse applications, from traditional desktop environments to modern web-based platforms, and beyond.

Navigating the AI Landscape: Strategies for Success and Avoiding Pitfalls

Mike Yeager

Nobody wants to miss out on the AI bandwagon, but effective leaders must ensure that AI projects are impactful and provide a good value for the time and money invested. AI has the potential to make truly meaningful improvements in most businesses, but only if projects are well directed and monitored. In this session, Mike Yeager, CEO of CODE Consulting and experienced AI implementer, is going to share strategies for focusing on AI initiatives that will succeed, pay off with business value, and align with your strategic initiatives.

AI Panel Discussion

Laurabeth BarkerMarkus EggerMike YeagerPhilipp BauerTim Locke

As the initial fascination with AI transitions into a demand for genuine, sustainable business value, this panel discussion promises a deep dive into the practical aspects of implementing AI in the enterprise environment. Guided by Laurabeth Baker, a panel of seasoned experts from the CODE Group—including its founder Markus Egger and leading executives—will explore the nuances of integrating AI into business systems to drive real-world outcomes.

This interactive session will address the critical questions surrounding AI deployment: How can we build systems that deliver not just technological advancements but true business value? What are the proven strategies, and what pitfalls should companies avoid? Panelists will share insights from their extensive experience in developing and managing AI solutions across various domains, providing attendees with a comprehensive understanding of what works, what doesn’t, and how to pivot away from the AI hype towards creating impactful, efficient AI-driven applications.

Participants are encouraged to engage with the panel, pose questions, and discuss scenarios ahead of time, ensuring a rich, participant-focused dialogue. Join us to gain actionable insights and strategies from top AI leaders that you can immediately apply to your enterprise AI initiatives.

Getting Started with AI: Adding Azure OpenAI to Your Apps

Philipp Bauer

Join Philipp Bauer, Senior Software Engineer at CODE Consulting, as he shares his expertise on harnessing machine learning models to drive innovation in your applications. With the rapid advancements in AI tools, it's become increasingly clear that these technologies offer immense value and utility for businesses.

Tailored for developers at the mid-to-senior level, this is a session to shed light on the practical applications of machine learning beyond LLMs. We will take a look under the hood of popular models, explore what models are available to help solve your next challenge and finally, we'll delve into how open-source models can serve as a springboard for customization to your unique use case and how they can be trained using your own dataset.

Technical Q & A

Markus EggerMike YeagerPhilipp BauerTim Locke

In the previous panel session today, we focused on the business process of how a company might integrate AI. Now we'll answer your more deeply technical questions.

This is sort of a “software developer to software developer” Q&A session. Some answers will certainly begin with “it depends” and that's fine. We welcome anyone from the previous part of the day to stay. The technical answers we offer may influence how you talk about AI with your IT team.

Venue Information

Microsoft Innovation Hub - Houston
750 Town and Country Blvd #1000 (10th floor)

Houston, TX 77024

Get Directions

Town Centre One - Microsoft Houston