Editor's Notebook
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From ASCII Chicago: 5 Hiring Don'ts
5/27/2015
I was honored to kick off the ASCII Success Summit today at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Chicago with my hiring best practices presentation titled “Hire Like You Just Beat Cancer.” It’s always great to connect with solution provider executives and try to solve important small business problems.
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Invest In Your Company By Planning For 2015
11/13/2014
December has always been one of my favorite times of the year. I’ve found it to be a very hectic month in some ways and a quiet one in others.
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Your Brand Is More Important Than You Realize
6/2/2014
If there’s one area where IT service providers disagree, it’s on the topic of branding. I’ve mentioned in past articles that one of the most common forms of branding many channel companies still hold fast to is “word of mouth” or referral marketing. But, even among those with more formalized marketing programs, there are conflicting schools of thought about best practices.
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A Look At Cloud Security From Your Customers’ Perspective
11/27/2013
As a cloud storage solutions provider, you bear a burden of making sure your customers’ data is secure. Do you take the time also to consider the burden your customers bear? An article in a recent edition of Authority, published by Tech Data, “Your Data Has Left The Building,” is a realistic look at the risks people and organizations face when they make the decision to store data in the cloud.
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Dropbox' Move Into The Enterprise: Your Worst Nightmare Or Killer Opportunity?
11/19/2013
While, in the past, MSPs sought to talk customers out of using Dropbox in place of more robust solutions, it seems that the company is poised to make a move into the enterprise realm. In fact, an article by Forbes claims that such a move is necessary if the company plans to hit the growth numbers investors have expected.
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Recommended VAR Reading: The Challenger Sale
11/18/2013
I read The Challenger Sale about a year ago and have been testing its principles and techniques whenever I can. I think the business-to-business sales methods taught in this book are the real deal and could have a significant impact on VAR organizations as they strive to be trusted advisors.
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8 Channel Threats, 6 Opportunities For Solutions Providers
10/9/2013
The panel discussion “Future Channel Opportunities & Threats” at the ASCII Success Summit in Austin, TX featured several excellent points and lots of give-and-take. Here are some highlights from the discussion.
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SYNNEX Keynote Herm Edwards Shares NFL Lessons That Resonate With Break/Fix VARs
10/4/2013
I’ve been to my share of industry conferences and have sat through my share of keynote speakers. So, when I saw that Herm Edwards, ESPN analyst and former NFL coach and player, was speaking, I expected a speech filled with touching and humorous NFL stories tied to life lessons and motivational wisdom. Edwards delivered all that, but in a way that exceeded my expectations.
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HP Networking Sets Sites On Cisco
10/4/2013
During the general session of the second day of SYNNEX' (NYSE:SNX) National Conference in Greenville, SC, Craig Hinkley, VP & GM of HP (NYSE: HPQ) Networking Americas shared his company's vision for the near future. Hinkley's message was repeated many different colorful ways, but what it boils down to is an aggressive focus on winning business away from Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) and giving it to SYNNEX VARs. Here are just a few sound bites from Hinkley's energetic presentation...
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GFI MAX Customer Conference 2013: Editors Notebook Day 1
9/23/2013
Day 1 of GFI MAX’s Customer Conference is under way here at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. A quick look at the itinerary for today brought one word to mind: wow. GFI has today loaded with educational information from start (9:00am) to finish (5:45pm, which is when the pool party begins).
While we’re only midway through the sessions, I stepped away to share just some of the notes I’ve taken from the event.