Penton Technology Group Welcomes Microsoft Expert Rod Trent And myITforum.com To Growing Roster Of Professional IT Communities

FT. COLLINS, Colo., April 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Rod Trent, a highly respected and recognized founding member of the popular Microsoft Management Summit and myITforum.com, the leading online community for Microsoft Management professionals, has joined the growing Penton Technology Group roster of communities for information technology pros.

In addition to his continued leadership of myITforum.com, Trent takes on the new role of IT Community Manager to build community, advance networking and enhance the user experience across the entire Technology Group at Penton. He will also participate in the design and programming of online and in-person content.

The announcement follows the recent relaunch of Penton's popular Windows IT Pro and SharePoint Pro websites, and reflects the company's award-winning leadership in business-to-business digital information services. Among its most recent honors, the company was recognized in March with the prestigious Jesse H. Neal Award from American Business Media for Best Website (Nation's Restaurant News's nrn.com) and Best Blog (Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows).

"We are delighted to welcome Rod Trent as the face and voice of our Microsoft IT pro community," said Penton Technology Market Leader Peg Miller. "This is a huge step in our strategy to build content-driven communities that consistently deliver relevant and rewarding user experiences."

As an author and authority, Trent brings more than 25 years of IT experience to the assignment, including 20-plus years dedicated to System Center.

"Throughout my career I've been an evangelist for technical community on the web and in 'real life'," said Trent. "The pulpit at Penton is perfectly aligned with the purpose of myITforum.com to serve the news, knowledge and networking needs of the IT professional community. I'm excited to join this team, and look forward to building this important resource."

About Penton Technology Group
Penton Technology Group provides information and education to advance technology ecosystems. It serves the community of Microsoft IT professionals and developers through Windows IT Pro, Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows, SQL Server Pro, SharePoint Pro, Dev Pro and the IT/Dev Connections live and virtual conference series; IBM IT professionals and developers with iPro Developer and POWER IT Pro; and the ecosystem of IT channel companies through Nine Lives brands MSPmentor, Talkin' Cloud and The VAR Guy.

About Penton
For millions of business owners and decision-makers, Penton makes the difference every day. We engage our professional users by providing actionable ideas and insights, data and workflow tools, community and networking, both in person and virtually, all with deep relevance to their specific industries. We then activate this engagement by connecting users with tens of thousands of targeted providers of products and services to help drive business growth. Learn more about our company at www.penton.com.

Penton is a privately held company owned by MidOcean Partners and U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP.

CONTACTS:
Shelli Winter
Director, Marketing & Creative
Penton
Phone: 805.423.0128
Email: [email protected]

Chris Meyer
Director, Corporate Communications
Penton
Phone: 212.204.4259
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Penton