The Business Information Systems (BIS) program and Business Information Systems - IT Students of America (BIS-ITSA) Club hosted their fall social gathering on Oct. 25. The event brought together more than 50 participants, including current students, faculty and alumni.

Professor Alex Citurs opened the evening with updates on the program's growth, highlighting increased enrollment and new partnerships with leading technology companies. He emphasized how the curriculum continues evolving to meet industry demands, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, data analytics and cybersecurity. The curriculum was also modified to better follow the Information Systems 2020-recommended international IS curriculum guidelines.

During the networking portion of the event, alumni shared invaluable insights about current industry trends and essential technologies driving business innovation. They emphasized the growing importance of Generative AI in transforming business processes and decision making. Alumni discussed their experiences with various database platforms, as well as Snowflake for data warehousing and as data sources for advanced analytics and business intelligence.

The alumni also explained how some of the database platforms like PostgreSQL, SQL Server and DB2 are being used for databases and business processes. They also stressed how cloud computing platforms like AWS and to a lesser degree MS Azure are becoming fundamental to modern business operations.

A significant portion of the discussion focused on project management methodologies, with alumni highlighting how Agile practices thoroughly dominate IT and cross-functional projects across IT and other business/e-commerce sectors. Some organizations still utilize Waterfall while others have adopted Kanban approaches depending on specific project requirements. They shared their experiences with various project management tools, including JIRA, Rally, Microsoft Project, Trello and custom-built solutions.

Alumni stressed the importance of strong student project portfolios that demonstrate practical applications of these technologies and methodologies. They also discussed emerging IT trends, highlighting the growing use of GenAI, custom cloud services, SQL, analytics, critical thinking skills and the importance of adaptability to new tools and trends, as well as the value of having GitHub portfolios. Some alumni brought out that certifications matter only if supported by applied projects.

The event concluded with announcements of upcoming BIS-ITSA initiatives, including technical workshops and professional development sessions focused on these in-demand skills and technologies.