Articles By Jim Roddy

  1. 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.

     

  2. From ASCII Austin: Win Customers Without Showing Technology 9/20/2013

    For a couple reasons, I was intrigued to listen to sales coach Gil Cargill’s presentation titled “Winning Customers Without Showing Technology” at the ASCII Success Summit in Austin, TX, on Sept. 19. First, as the president of Jameson Publishing, I’m on the receiving end of sales calls and the account exec calling me often speaks in their industry lingo and not mine. Second, as VARs transition from break-fix to the “as a Service” business model, they will need to sell outcomes to customers, not technology functions and features, to convince them to pay a monthly fee for IT services.

  3. From ASCII Austin: Marketing Advice For VARs And MSPs 9/20/2013

    “Do your customers see value beyond the contract?” - That question opened Jerry Koutavas’ presentation at the ASCII Success Summit in Austin, TX, and he then proceeded to deliver specific actions solution providers should take to ensure they could soon answer his question with an emphatic “yes!”

  4. ASCII Unveils 2013 ASCII Cup Winner, Austin Best Of Show 9/20/2013

    The ASCII Group has announced its prestigious ASCII Cup Winner for 2013 and the vendors selected “Best of Show” at the ASCII Success Summit held Sept. 18-19 at the Hilton Airport Hotel. At each of this year’s eight ASCII Summits, members of the solutions provider community attending the event vote for their choices in 11 different categories.

  5. Fast First Thoughts From Austin ASCII Success Summit 9/19/2013

    I know it’s early, but after two hours of consuming information at the ASCII Success Summit in Austin, TX, I’ve heard some consistent themes emerging already...

  6. “As a Service” Message Resonates At RetailNOW. Now What? 8/7/2013

    BSM’s message to the channel has been clear: your company needs to immediately consider the “as a Service” business model and quickly take action to increase your recurring revenue.

  7. Emotional Awards Banquet Caps RetailNOW Day 2 8/7/2013

    Repeat winners – and a few surprise victors – earned attention at Tuesday night’s RSPA (Retail Solutions Providers Association) Awards of Excellence ceremony at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The evening concluded with an emotional passing of the gavel to the first female chairperson in the 65-year history of the RSPA.

  8. Sell Services Beyond The Cash Register – Or Else 8/6/2013

    Greg Dixon, ScanSource’s CTO and Technology Evangelist, began his “Mobility Agility” presentation at RetailNOW Monday promising attendees they’ll leave with 60 pounds of actionable information. He certainly delivered.

  9. Top Tweets From BlueStar's VARTECH 2012 10/8/2012

    Promoted as a “mobile trade show,” BlueStar hosted its annual VARTECH Conference Oct. 5-8 on the Carnival Imagination cruise ship traveling from Miami to Nassau, The Bahamas. More than 1,400 people attended the event with over half of them being the distributor’s top resellers from the U.S. and Latin America. Among the technologies represented were data capture, point of sale, mobility, digital signage, video surveillance, and physical security technologies. By Jim Roddy, president, Jameson Publishing and Business Solutions magazine

  10. 8 Pitfalls To Avoid When Reselling Security 10/7/2012

    On the final full day of VARTECH 2012, I was a man on a mission. Several VARs I talked with in the morning said they were interested in adopting video surveillance and security solutions but they wanted to know the pitfalls first. So, my mission today was to gather as much information as I could on that topic. By Jim Roddy, president, Jameson Publishing and Business Solutions magazine