Country music fan and experienced IT engineer Gareth Smith hit the right note with a keynote speech at an industry conference held in Nashville in the United States.

The visit to the global heart of country music was the first experience of public speaking for Gareth, who leads the AI and automation team at the managed service provider (MSP) Your IT Department, based on Farrington Way in Eastwood.

Around 500 delegates attended the international event, hosted by American company Rewst, with guest speakers described as ‘the brightest minds in MSP automation.’

Gareth’s presentation was entitled ‘An automation engineer’s survival guide (and how to keep your boss happy).’

Gareth Smith addressed an international audience at Nashville conference. Photo: Submitted

placeholder image — Gareth Smith addressed an international audience at Nashville conference. Photo: Submitted

Gareth said: “The aim of my talk was to help others develop and demonstrate the value of automation for their businesses.

“Many people in the audience were technicians from other countries so they could relate to what I was saying.

"It wasn’t just about the business aspect, but also my personal development, how I started working on automation for one day a week and now lead a team helping other MSPs.”

The trip also gave Gareth the opportunity to enjoy another of his passions, country music.

As well as visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame, he saw the star of one of his music idols, Garth Brooks, on the Nashville Walk of Fame.

He continued: “It was great to visit Broadway in Nashville, where there is so much country music talent.

“The whole trip was an experience of a lifetime.”

Lee Hewson, managing director of Your IT Department, was also at the conference and was proud to see Gareth deliver an inspiring presentation.

He said: “It was brilliant to see ‘one of our own’ on stage, presenting an honest and practical session for an international audience.”

Gareth is now continuing to reap the benefits of AI and automation.

He said: “There is still so much potential.

“It’s not about reducing head-counts, but allowing people to work more efficiently and creatively by cutting out the time spent on manual processes."

“There are so many ways in which automation can help MSPs and their clients.

“At a time when small businesses are facing a financial squeeze, the benefits can make a real difference in freeing-up time for employees to be more productive in other ways.”