IBM Vice President for System z to Keynote at Vanguard Security & Compliance 2011

LAS VEGAS, May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanguard Security & Compliance 2011, the world's leading System z(R) security and compliance training event, today announced that Greg Lotko, IBM(R) vice president and business line executive for System z, will be a keynote speaker at the conference. Lotko is responsible for all facets of IBM's mainframe business including strategy, marketing, sales, operations, technology development and overall financial performance. In his keynote address, Lotko will discuss IBM's current success and future directions for System z. VSC 2011 takes place June 20-23 and is hosted by Vanguard Integrity Professionals, the largest independent provider of enterprise security software for System z.

"System z is the original cloud computing platform, and we look forward to Greg Lotko's keynote on IBM's vision for System z," said Steven Ringelberg, COO of Vanguard. "In addition to Greg's keynote, there are sessions at VSC where attendees can learn how to protect critical data and applications as their organizations move to private and public cloud deployments using System z as the cloud platform itself, and as the IAM system controlling access to resources hosted on other cloud platforms."

Lotko joined IBM in 1988 and, over the years, has held a number of executive positions. Prior to his current position, he was vice president of warehouse solutions, responsible for the Software Group, SWG, Information Management Warehouse Strategy and Solutions across databases and platforms. He previously held other executive positions in SWG including: director of development for WebSphere(R) information integration, director of IMS, and director of DB2(R) for z/OS. He has also held positions at IBM Global Services, where he became the delivery executive on a large application outsourcing account in the insurance and finance industry, and at CHQ Financial Systems as a programmer, business analyst, project manager, and manager supporting IBM's finance and accounting community.

In addition to Lotko, six other IBM representatives will provide training on z/OS, RACF(R), encryption, digital certificates and other topics. For the 25th year, IBM will conducting its RACF Requirements session at VSC to gather feedback and input from users regarding future enhancements to the IBM z/OS Security Server.

VSC 2011 is the largest and longest-running educational event dedicated solely to learning about z/OS and RACF security and compliance. This intensive learning forum draws security practitioners from around the globe. Attendees learn current best practices from the world's leading subject matter experts from IBM, Waste Management, Bank of America, the State of Alabama, Vanguard Integrity Professionals, and many other notable organizations. The curriculum focuses on modern security techniques and technology, cybersecurity, securing the cloud, continuous monitoring, encryption, the current threatscape for large enterprise host systems, advanced security techniques and evolving compliance standards.

For more information about VSC 2011, visit http://www.bestsystemzsecuritytraining.com, the single source for all information about the critical z/OS and RACF security training offered at this year's event. Security professionals are encouraged to visit the website to learn more and to register for this important training event.

About Vanguard Integrity Professionals

Vanguard Integrity Professionals (http://www.go2vanguard.com), an IBM Business Partner, provides enterprise security software and services that solve complex security and regulatory compliance challenges and deliver a rapid return on investment. With automated solutions for Audit and Compliance, Operational Security and Intrusion Management, Vanguard enables government agencies and corporations around the world to ensure continuous monitoring of z/OS systems, safeguard secure cloud computing domains, and protect critical data and applications from cybersecurity threats. Vanguard provides live customer support 24/7/365 from the United States for all customers worldwide and locally in other countries.

DB2, IBM, RACF, System z, WebSphere and z/OS are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.