Mitch Roberson
Mitch Roberson is the Vice President and Director of Technical Services for Equity Bank. He leads enterprise infrastructure, cloud services, cybersecurity operations, messaging, endpoint management, and modern workplace technologies across a multi-state banking organization. With extensive experience in Microsoft 365, Azure, Exchange, Active Directory, and endpoint security, Mitch specializes in balancing security requirements with user productivity. A frequent presenter on enterprise technology and cybersecurity topics, he brings practical, real-world experience from managing large-scale transformations in highly regulated environments.
Session
For decades, the OSI model has been taught as a networking concept, often reduced to a memorization exercise for certification exams. Unfortunately, that approach misses its true value.
The OSI model is one of the most foundational frameworks in all of information technology because it teaches professionals how data moves through systems and how dependencies interact to deliver a service. Whether you work in cybersecurity, software development, cloud engineering, systems administration, databases, or networking, every technology problem ultimately involves understanding a flow of information and identifying where that flow is breaking down.
This session challenges the traditional view of the OSI model and demonstrates how it becomes a practical troubleshooting and design methodology. Attendees will learn how to use the layers as a framework for hypothesis elimination, root cause analysis, architecture reviews, and cross-team collaboration.
Through real-world examples spanning security incidents, application outages, cloud services, authentication issues, database connectivity problems, and network failures, participants will discover why the OSI model remains one of the most valuable skills for modern IT professionals.
The goal is simple: stop memorizing the OSI model and start using it to think.