Fast Facts (Plus Opinions) From VARTECH 2015

By Jim Roddy, VP of Marketing, RSPA

I’m writing this as the Enchantment of the Seas cruise ship — where VARTECH 2015 is being held — docks at CocoCay, The Bahamas. The first full day of the conference on Sept. 15 was intriguing, interesting, and gratifying at different times of the day.

Here are some of the stories, quotes, and notes I jotted while traversing from deck-to-deck today:

• The best moment of the day came just 5 minutes into the general session. VARTECH traditionally begins with BlueStar VP of Marketing Mark Fraker (pictured) charging onto the stage and yelling “Good morning VARTECHERs!” But instead he was upstaged by VAR Jared Gallay, director of professional services for Technic POS, who started welcoming the several hundred channel executives in attendance while Fraker followed closely behind. Before Fraker playfully threw Gallay off the stage, the reseller asked if his girlfriend Leah could step up forward. After a few poignant words, Gallay dropped to one knee and asked Leah to marry him. Of course, she said yes. (I wouldn’t have led off with this story had she left Gallay hanging.) I have photos of the moment which will be posted soon to BSMinfo.com. It will be hard for another event to kick off with a more touching moment. Now on to business …
   
• My favorite comment of the day came from Cybertill Director of Operations Rick Malthaner during the CodeZone product showcase. A solutions provider before joining Cybertill, Malthaner said something to me that reinforced the value of the value-added reseller: “A great POS dealer can take a mediocre product and make it stellar to the customer. People love the product because of the customer experience. A bad dealer can bring a great product down. People get tired of paying money for bad service.” Which category do you fall into?
   
• Another good observation came from two resellers who explained to me 2015 is a great year as a result of three things: 1) as-a-Service, 2) providing total solution, 3) vertical/sub-vertical niche specializing.
   
• As-a-Service is becoming cool in the POS and AIDC channel. In the past, reseller response to the business model varied from tepid to dismissive. But this year, several resellers brought the subject up to me, and everyone (except for one long-time reseller who protested the numbers won’t work in the POS space) responded with intrigue or enthusiasm to the recurring revenue model. Some vendors lamented to me how slow the transition is occurring in this space, but I countered with “at least we’re marching forward.” The AIDC/POS channel is far more hardware-intensive than the networking/storage side of the channel, so you’d have to expect a slower transition in this space.
   
• BlueStar is growing in several different tech sectors and regions, including in Canada where the company has offices in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. BlueStar Canada President Jacques Lapierre (pictured) explained part of what’s sparking the growth. “The border (between Canada and the U.S.) is getting thinner and easier to work across,” he said. “More and more cross-border relationships are occurring. We need to get Canadians involved in this community and let everyone know that we are open for business.” 
   
• BlueStar made an early announcement for VARTECH 2016, and while the event will be back in The Bahamas it will use a different mode of transport. The annual conference, which brings together about 1,500 channel executives from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, will be held Sept. 11 to 13, 2016, at Atlantis Paradise Island.
   
• I usually don’t stick around the BSM booth during shows in order to meet with channel executives and check out new products at other booths. But since I was the only BSM rep at VARTECH, I stayed at our table most of the day Tuesday. I found it really gratifying as VARs from Texas, Kentucky, New York, Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, Maine, Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba stopped by the BSM table. They talked about how valuable they find our magazine, website content, and conferences. One VAR mentioned that he’s shifted to managed services using vendor products first introduced to him at Channel Transitions Boston in July last year. Others asked me for advice on marketing, copywriting, financing, and partnerships. It was gratifying to see Business Solutions regarded as the trusted advisor to the channel’s trusted advisors.
   
• It’s just before 11 p.m. Tuesday as I finish writing this. To clear my head before my final edit, I left my stateroom thinking I was going to take a quiet walk to the deck and catch the ocean breeze for a minute. Instead in the lobby, maybe 30 steps from my room, I discover over 100 VARTECHers dressed in 1970s-era clothes dancing among colored lights and singing —  make that screaming — the refrain to Bon Jovi’s “Living On A Prayer.” Only at VARTECH.

VARTECH 2015 is being held Sept. 14-18 on the Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas cruise ship traveling from Port of Cape Canaveral, FL to CocoCay, Bahamas. VARTECH, the annual conference for value-added distributor BlueStar partners, focuses on data collection, point of sale, mobility, digital signage, RFID, and security. For more information on BlueStar and VARTECH, go to www.BSMinfo.com/solution/InsideBlueStar.