The IT singularity is changing the role of technology leadership. It demands faster delivery, stronger alignment to business outcomes, and greater trust in how AI is applied. Meeting that moment requires more than awareness. It requires the ability to step out of the day-to-day, work through the hard questions, and leave with a clearer path forward.
That’s exactly what the certifications and workshops at Technology & Innovation Forum Central are designed to do.
At Forrester’s Technology & Innovation Forum Central, coming to Austin September 14–15, we’ve designed a program that goes beyond slide decks to offer workshops and certifications for applied learning, because in a moment this consequential, leaders don’t just need insight — they need the space to apply it.
Start With Structured, Proven Frameworks
For leaders looking to ground themselves in what “good” looks like, our certification programs provide a focused, research-backed starting point.
On Monday, September 14, attendees can choose from two certifications that help evaluate where their organization stands today — and what it will take to move forward in an AI-driven world:
High-Performance IT Strategy
Data & AI Readiness
In the High-Performance IT Strategy certification, you’ll assess your organization across the two forces that define modern IT success: business confidence and technical excellence. You’ll explore the drivers behind each, identify where misalignment is holding you back, and learn how high-performing IT organizations build trust while delivering measurable results.
In the Data & AI Readiness certification, the focus shifts to your ability to support AI at scale — from data foundations to organizational preparedness. You’ll examine whether your current capabilities can sustain AI ambitions and where gaps in governance, architecture, or alignment could limit impact.
Across both certifications, you’ll gain:
Clear frameworks grounded in Forrester research.
A structured way to assess strengths, gaps, and priorities.
A practical lens for aligning technology capabilities to business outcomes.
A shared language you can bring back to your team.
In an AI landscape full of competing priorities and pressure to move fast, these certifications help ensure that you’re building a solid, validated foundation — not reacting to the latest trend.
Move Into Hands-On Execution
If certifications help you orient, the workshops are where you build. On Monday, September 14, and Tuesday, September 15, you can choose from four workshops designed to help you tackle the most immediate and complex challenges facing technology leaders today — with practical, actionable outputs.
In Powering Your Workforce With An AI Workplace Strategy, you’ll identify and prioritize AI use cases tied directly to business outcomes — and walk out with a roadmap you can execute.
In Build The Technical Foundation For Business Outcomes In The AI Era, you’ll connect business goals to infrastructure decisions, defining the capabilities, platforms, and metrics needed to support them.
In Build A Plan For AI-Ready Data, you’ll go beyond traditional data management and address what agentic AI requires next — from governance and integration to semantic layers and contextual understanding.
In Drive AI Adoption And Competitive Advantage Through Literacy And Fluency, you’ll focus on the human side of transformation — designing the learning, communication, and governance approaches needed to make AI adoption stick.
Each workshop is built around participation, not observation. You’ll not just hear what others are doing; you’ll work through your own challenges, guided by Forrester analysts and informed by peer discussion.
Leave With More Than Ideas
One of the biggest frustrations leaders face after events is that they come back inspired but not necessarily equipped to act. The interactive structure of these sessions is designed to solve that.
Instead of notes and inspiration alone, you’ll leave with:
Draft strategies and roadmaps.
Clearer priorities tied to business outcomes.
Practical frameworks you’ve already started applying.
Greater confidence in your next steps.
That shift — from passive learning to active problem-solving — is what makes the difference in a year defined by urgency.
Pressure-Test Your Thinking Alongside Peers
Another critical advantage of the interactive certifications and workshops at Technology & Innovation Forum Central is the ability to learn with — and from — others facing the same pressures.
Whether you’re prioritizing AI investments, modernizing your data foundation, or driving adoption across the workforce, you’ll be working alongside leaders tackling similar issues in real time.
That creates space to:
Validate your approach.
Compare strategies and assumptions.
Learn from what’s working (and what isn’t) in other organizations.
With AI evolving this quickly, that kind of perspective is hard to get anywhere else.
Tech leaders can amplify the impact of this hands-on training with our team discount — purchase five tickets for the price of four. Space in these workshops and certification sessions fills quickly once registration opens.
Be sure to register early so you’re notified as soon as signups go live and can secure your spot before they fill.
