Expert Events

Closing the Integration Gap Between Your Roadmap and Reality – A Practical Workshop from IBM with Microsoft

Name: Closing the Integration Gap Between Your Roadmap and Reality – A Practical Workshop from IBM with Microsoft
Start: 2026-09-24T12:00:00-06:00
End: 2026-09-24T15:00:00-06:00
Location: Al Biernat’s North

Join Blend, IBM and Microsoft for an interactive executive workshop exploring how enterprises can close the gap between AI ambition and operational reality. Through peer discussion and collaborative exercises, discover how modern integration can reduce complexity, strengthen governance and create a trusted foundation for AI at scale.

Al Biernat’s North

September 24, 2026

to September 24, 2026

12:00 pm

- 3:00 pm

About this event

Every enterprise roadmap today promises a future that is AI-ready, cloud-first, and increasingly autonomous. Yet for many organizations, the greatest challenge isn’t defining the vision – it’s bridging the gap between strategy and execution.

Beneath even the most ambitious transformation plans often lies a different reality: decades of integration debt, disconnected applications, fragmented data, governance processes that struggle to keep pace with innovation, and AI initiatives that stall because they cannot securely access trusted enterprise information.

Hosted by Blend in partnership with IBM and Microsoft, this interactive executive workshop explores how organizations can close the integration gap between business ambition and operational reality. Through collaborative exercises and peer discussion, attendees will examine how modern integration strategies, including IBM webMethods, can create the trusted, connected foundation needed to accelerate AI adoption, simplify governance, strengthen security, and enable enterprise transformation at scale.

Our speakers

Colin Cosell

Head of New York & Boston Community | Blend

Colin Cosell is a professional emcee, announcer, and executive communications expert with more than 25 years of experience across television, radio, film, stage, and corporate events. When he’s not at the lectern or moderating executive panels, Colin serves as the Public Address Announcer for the New York Mets, Army Football, the Premier Lacrosse League, and numerous other professional and collegiate teams. Over the course of his career, Colin has earned three Emmy Awards and has announced to more than 30 million attendees worldwide. His greatest source of pride, however, are his wife, Julia, and their little girl, Eloise.

Key themes & discussion topics

Closing the Gap Between Strategy and Execution
Where ambitious AI and transformation roadmaps collide with operational realities, and identify the disconnects preventing organisations from turning strategic priorities into measurable progress.

Overcoming Integration Debt
How disconnected applications, fragmented data, legacy processes and governance challenges create friction—and where modern integration can remove the biggest barriers to AI readiness.

Building a Trusted Foundation for Enterprise AI
How modern integration strategies can give AI initiatives secure access to trusted enterprise information while simplifying governance, strengthening security and supporting transformation at scale.

Designing the AI-Ready Enterprise
What an AI-ready operating model requires, including where to standardise integration, where to preserve flexibility, how to balance governance with speed, and the future role of AI agents.

Event agenda

Welcome drinks & networking

12:00 – 1:00 PM

Opening remarks & welcome address

1:00 – 1:15 PM

Workshops

Session 1: Closing the Integration Gap – A Thought Leadership Exercise
Session 2: From Integration Debt to AI Readiness
Session 3: Building an AI-Ready Enterprise

1:15 – 2:45 PM

Event wrap-up & group reflection

2:45 – 3:00 PM

Why should you attend?

Identify the operational and integration barriers standing between your enterprise roadmap and successful AI execution.

Compare experiences with peers and explore how other technology leaders are addressing friction across applications, data, processes and governance.

Explore how modern integration strategies can improve access to trusted enterprise data while strengthening security and simplifying governance.

Discuss where to standardise, where to maintain flexibility, and how to balance governance with speed as AI and autonomous agents become more embedded across the enterprise.

Who should attend

This event is designed for enterprise technology and data leaders, as well as CIOs, CTOs, and CAIOs, who are responsible for their organizations AI transformation.

Venue

Al Biernat’s North

5251 Spring Valley Rd
Dallas
TX
TX 75254
United States

Apply to participate