InsideAutotaskEditorsNotebook
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VARTECH: Live Polls Offer Insight On Biggest Reseller Challenges, Shrinking Margins
9/19/2014
Solutions providers attending VARTECH 2014, the annual conference hosted by value-added distributor BlueStar, participated in two interesting live polls during a partner meeting Thursday afternoon at the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans. Resellers used their smartphones to submit their responses via text, Twitter, or a web page, and the results were posted on a giant screen as they were received.
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BlueStar Executives Reveal Channel Trends At VARTECH
9/19/2014
I appreciated that BlueStar executives cut to the chase during their regional update meeting with a few hundred U.S.-based VAR partners Thursday afternoon at their annual VARTECH conference in New Orleans. So I’ll cut to the chase and get right to some of their most insightful statistics and quotes.
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VARTECH 2014: 9 Social Media Tips For VARs
9/18/2014
Do you recall the 1939 version of The Wizard Of Oz when a fearful Dorothy, played by Judy Garland, exclaims, “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!”? Today, solutions providers — especially those old enough to remember the 1939 version of The Wizard Of Oz — are saying “Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn, oh my!” as they face an avalanche of social media options.
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Lively Media Panel Opens VARTECH 2014
9/18/2014
Value-added distributor BlueStar turned the tables on members of the channel media at its VARTECH conference in New Orleans Thursday. The day one general session opened with BlueStar Global Marketing Manager Dean Reverman asking publishing executives and editors questions about trends and best practices for solutions providers and IT vendors.
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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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Motorola Solutions Comments On Zebra Acquisition
4/15/2014
Earlier today, we reported on the big news of Zebra acquiring the Enterprise piece of Motorola Solutions for a cool $3.45 billion. I followed up shortly thereafter with responses from a handful of Motorola/Zebra partners. Now, I’ve got a response from Motorola Solutions’ Chris Lonnett, vice president, Global Channels & Sales Operations.
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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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Challenges Still Exist For As-a-Service Adoption
10/15/2013
During Monday night’s Welcome Reception/Solutions Expo at the 2013 ScanSource Partner Conference, I had a conversation with a solutions provider and a vendor executive about financing the as-a-Service model. The VAR said selling Software-as-a-Service is a no-brainer, but hardware is a completely different story because financing that part of the deal still hasn’t taken shape. The VAR was hopeful because he felt distributors are positioned to partner with a third party to finance Hardware-as-a-Service. The vendor concurred, adding: “We [vendors] are not bankers.”