Upcoming security symposium to shed light on security compliance

The Medical Cannabis: Network Compliance & Security Symposium is coming up on February 12 in St. Louis.

Hosted by Applied Technologies, the symposium will focus on networking and security compliance for medical marijuana facilities.

Krista Salvatore, director of sales from Applied Technologies, said the event is educational for new facilities weighing their security options.

“We want to educate companies who are entering the medical cannabis industry, get them started with the right solutions and help them maintain compliance,” Salvatore told Greenway Magazine. “We’re going to dive into compliance and regulation around security, networking and protecting valuable data. Our goal is to educate companies on how they can be secure and compliant now and into the future so they can maintain licenses and be prepared when they get audited.”

The event will feature presentations from industry experts, breakfast and lunch, opportunities to discuss business requirements during informal networking sessions, and an expert panel Q&A discussion.

The host’s team has 30 plus years’ experience providing IT solutions to our clients. “We are bringing this experience to the Medical Cannabis market in Missouri. It’s a great fit and extension for Applied Technologies. We can offer leading-edge network and security integration solutions to help really propel this new market forward.”

The event will have presentations from Medical Marijuana Division Director Lyndall Fraker, Armstrong Teasdale Partner Eric Walter, and Parameter Security founder and CEO Dave Chronister. The symposium is sponsored by NetApp HCI, Bosch, and St. Louis University.

   

“The co-sponsors will show them some of the technologies and solutions available to meet mandatory compliance,” Salvatore said. “Presenters will talk about the regulatory requirements, network and physical security pitfalls to avoid (types of security breaches, lessons learned by other companies in this market space), what legal considerations need to be addressed and the technology products and solutions (cameras, access control, and managed network services) available to help get their business up and running in a timely manner.  To help set expectations, this event will be network, security, data center and access control focused.  It will not include information about security guards, security personnel or those types of security services.”

Salvatore said anyone that will be responsible for the access and network security of their medical cannabis operation should consider attending the symposium. “Anyone managing the physical network infrastructure, physical access control and security compliance for their business. This includes cultivators, infused product manufacturers, transportation, and dispensaries. The entire process from seed to sale.”

“Participants will leave this event with a better understanding of how they need to protect themselves to maintain their compliance and license,” Salvatore said. “They will understand what areas present the greatest exposure to their operation, how to better define their business requirements, what integration resources and technologies are available, and who they can partner with to get their operation up and running within the required timeline.  In essence, they will be prepared to take next steps and who can help them get the job done.”

Salvatore says physical infrastructure and network serve as a facility’s internal foundation for compliance.

“Companies need to ensure they have a strong, reliable network and physical infrastructure in place to maintain a 24/7 business operations,” Salvatore said.  “One key consideration is how to handle the storage and accessibility of collected data. NetApp HCI, who will be exhibiting, offers an all in one solution for full data redundancy.  This system is highly flexible and can manage all data storage and compute needs, and their solution ties back into the cloud.  Another key consideration is back-up power and uninterrupted power supply (UPS). Furthermore, some companies may be interested in managed services and solutions to monitor their network and help remediate technical or network issues if/when they occur.  There’s a wide range of technical options to consider. The goal is to get attendees educated, understand their options, help plan next steps along their medical cannabis journey allowing them to focus on what they do best – growing, manufacturing and dispensing product so they can build a profitable business.”

After the presentations, attendees will have the opportunity to ask a panel of experts a variety of questions and address any major concerns about their medical cannabis operation from a compliance, legal or a technology security standpoint.

Greenway is the media partner for this event.