The Unknown Future Of The Retail Reseller Channel

By The Business Solutions Network

Yesterday I participated in a couple hours of planning for our upcoming (May 12-13) Retail IT VAR of the Future event in Las Vegas. Even though the event is just two days away from the office in an easy-to-reach city and economically priced, we recognized early on that we’d have to offer something special to get people to take time away from their businesses and attend. Therefore, when we set out to create this event, we weren’t looking to host another typical show. We set out with uniqueness and greatness in mind. After this latest meeting, I’m reminded of those initial goals and feel confident in what we’ve created for you.

I’d like to draw particular attention to the “future” part of the event title, which is one of the ways this event will shine. Many events include speakers that talk about trends they’ve seen (past tense). This is great, but we all should be familiar with how fast and frequently the IT reseller channel is changing. Many of you have firsthand experience with new competition, new unproven technologies coming to market, and trying to figure out how vendor consolidation will affect you. There's a lot of uncertainty and I've been asked what a retail VAR will look like 5 to 10 years from now. It's clear that what worked last year — or even this year — might not be the best strategy for tomorrow. The Retail IT VAR of the Future education is being crafted to ensure that attendees takeaway knowledge necessary to thrive not just today, but in the future.

To pull this off, we spent a lot of time interviewing potential speakers to ensure they had the experience, knowledge, and vision to lead the channel. Additionally, most of our speakers and panelists are just like you, so you won’t hear fluff, just the honest truth. Business Solutions' core mission is to help its readers sell more solutions and become more successful, and this education has been built for just that purpose. 

If you haven’t checked out the event, here’s a quick overview. Two days, four of the most important topics based on feedback from VARs and ISVs, as well as retailers themselves — customer experience, mobile POS, payment processing/EMV, and POS-as-a-Service . Here’s a link to the agenda and speaker list.

We currently have a promotion running with the show hotel, Bally’s. If you're an active VAR, MSP, or ISV you can have your event registration fee waived. Enter the promo code BALLYS here: http://www.retailitvarofthefuture.com/registration. If you're on the fence, get in touch with me. I'd be happy to discuss the event with you in more detail.