Spring 2009 Channel Partners Conference & Expo
March 1-3, 2009
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas
Sunday, March 1
9a.m.-Noon
Vendor Presentation
Join us over coffee for a networking session based on our seminars on
selling IP and MPLS networking services. We'll discuss market
considerations such as driving customer applications factors, projected
opportunity growth and securing network stability in uncertain times;
technical issues including the main technical elements to be considered
and included in sales activities and proposals; and sales factors such
as key qualifying questions for effectively discovering revenue
opportunities and closing sales. We'll also be presenting ACC Business'
plans for continued IP product launches in 2009, including network-based
firewall, remote and international access to PNT networks, Ethernet
access enhancements and more.
In addition, you'll have the chance to ask questions and meet the
members of your ACC business support team. Speaker: Mike Feeney, ACC Business Offer Manager
Sponsored by:
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Lunch Break
12:30 – 12:45 p.m.
Welcoming Remarks and Channel Executive of the Year Awards
12:45 – 1:30 p.m.
Industry Address by Tiffani Bova, Vice President, Research, Indirect
Channel Programs and Sales Strategies Worldwide, Gartner Inc.
1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
General Session: Peer-to-Peer -- An
Agent Roundtable Do you feel like you are working in a vacuum? Are you unsure about
how your agency measures up to its peers? Do you want to know what other
channel partners are doing to tackle today’s challenges? Then you won’t
want to miss this panel discussion featuring your channel partner peers.
They will discuss the channel’s most pressing concerns, including
convergence and a slow economy, and how they are dealing with them head
on. You’ll come away with a deeper understand of the considerations you
must make as well as ideas for your own roadmap to success or exit. Panelist: Laura Bernstein, President, CRA Inc.
Steven Gerhardt, President, D&M Enterprise Group
Ben Stiegler, CEO, Synertel
2:45 – 3 p.m.
Break
3 – 3:50 p.m.
Concurrent Education
Track One: Business
Development
To Partner or Not To Partner Channel partners inherently are collaborators, but when does it make
sense and when is it better to go it alone? Can partners fill in
geographic or skill gaps through alliances instead of acquisition? Learn
the pros and cons of partner-to-partner pacts, single versus multiple
engagement opportunities, and keys to partner selection based on the
results of a recent Partner Collaboration Survey.
Speaker: Ken Presti, president, Presti Research & Consulting
Track Two: Outsourcing Downturn-Proof Data Center Sales Strategies Contrary to one’s intuition, outsourcing data center operations
becomes even more attractive to businesses in an economy where capital
preservation is paramount. This makes selling data center services a
continuing opportunity for agents even during the downturn. This
multibillion-dollar market has matured over the past several years into
three discrete segments: colocation, colocation plus and managed hosting.
This session will provide agents with a comprehensive overview of the cost
components for each scenario, an understanding of the economics behind
outsourcing the data center function, and an overview of vendors focusing
on these respective market segments.
Speaker: Lou Peccoralo, COO, COLOTRAQ
Education Sponsor:
Track Three: YOU Track
What’s SIP Got To Do With It? Forget the commercials. Forget the vendor-specific advice. You wanted
a bare-bones SIP trunking tutorial, and this is it. Getting into SIP
trunking is a lucrative notion for channel partners, and customers soon
will be firing off questions about this technology at lightning speed, if
they aren’t already. Arm yourself with the technical understanding and
know-how to properly, and profitably, pitch SIP trunking. Speaker: David Byrd, vice president, marketing and sales, Broadvox
Track Four: Vendor Presentation
Creating Additional Value to Your Business with AT&T Mobility Solutions
Whether you are an existing solution provider or interested in learning more about the program, adding AT&T Mobility Solutions to your portfolio can be a great way to expand your customer base, reach and sales opportunities leading to greater commissions. Please join us for an overview about our new portfolio launch including plans, devices and applications.
Also included will be information on positioning and the value proposition to the business customer who purchases from a solution provider. We will demonstrate the power of growth Mobility represents across the marketplace from Smart Devices to Application Services. We will update you, as our extended sales community, on the new strategies and processes for how AT&T mobility solutions will integrate into the current product portfolio for current and future mode of operations.
Sponsored by:
Track Four: Vendor Presentation Access Is Everything: The Evolution of Private IP Convergence
It’s no secret that IP solutions are proliferating throughout the SMB market at an ever-increasing rate. The earliest adopters and providers have worked out the kinks that made SMB customers wary of jumping into an IP solution too soon. Today, the evolution of the technology and the increasing availability of access to that technology have SMBs ready to take the plunge. Join a panel of product experts in a discussion about the difference that access is making in the opportunities to bring private IP convergence technology to your customers.
Sponsored by:
4 – 4:50 p.m.
Concurrent Education
Track One: Business Development Selling on Price Is selling on price a quick race to zero or a necessary door opener?
Is telecom just a commodity or can it be a value-based sale? Is there a
valid business model in buying cheap and selling cheap? Does a slowing
economy increase pressure to sell on price? How does it impact the
industry and your business? A panel debates when and how to use price to
get and close deals. Plus, they will discuss tactics agents can use to
move the buying decision away from price. Speakers: Bill Leutzinger, President, TelecomMedic
Bill Taylor, President, Corporate Ladders
Track Two: Outsourcing Finding Revenue in Redundant Networks The rapid proliferation of critical business applications that ride
a corporate network is creating increasing interest in backup networks
for ensuring business continuity, proper data traffic management and
optimizing return on investment. Backup networks represent a new area of
growth for the channel. In this panel session, hear best practice
approaches for spotting sales opportunities, positioning options to
clients, and achieving cooperation among redundant carriers. Session Leader: Katherine Trost, Research Analyst, The Nemertes
Research Group Inc. Panelists: Joe Gomez, CIO, W. Lange And Company (Master Agent)
Doug Kanner, president, RFM Consulting Group (Sub Agent)
Brett Theiss, director product management and channel programs, New Edge
Networks.
Education Sponsor:
Track Three: YOU Track Comparing VoIP Solutions: Premises, Hosted or Hybrid There are many ways to arrive at the promises of VoIP – on-premises
IP PBX with SIP trunking or a hosted IP PBX or some combination thereof.
Within each of those, there are many options from brand-name IP PBXs to
open-source appliances on the CPE side to BYOB and managed broadband
offers on the hosted side. Discover the different options and how they
compare in terms of cost, quality and complexity. Speaker: Dr. Neil Brenner, vice president of converged services,
Consolidated Technologies
5-5:50 p.m.
Concurrent Education
Track One: Business
Development Business Management Tool Belt Time spent managing an agent business might take away from time
selling, but it is important not to neglect your own back office. Simple
tips and tricks can help you manage accounts, improve communications,
monitor sales and even better your customer relationships. Come hear about
a few tools that might make it easier to stay on top of operations and
turn organization and process into profit.
Speaker: Roger High, Corporate Dynamics
Track Two: Outsourcing Turning Regulations Into Revenue Today’s headlines are full of companies being assessed large fines due
to non-compliance with Sarbanes Oxley, Graeme Leach Bliley, HIPAA and
other recent regulatory requirements. Many companies in the health care,
financial services and other industries fall under the purview of these
requirements but many, especially those in the SMB category, don't have
the resources in house to conduct the audits or install the security
safeguards stipulated in these regulations. See how to profit from
on-demand compliance, and data archiving and protection. Session Leader: Khali Henderson, Editor in Chief, PHONE+ Panelists: Doug Howard, chief strategy officer, Perimeter eSecurity
Randy Marshall, President, OMNI Solutions
Sorangel Canigiani , VerizonBusiness
Education Sponsor:
Track Three: YOU Track UC Myth vs. Reality Unified Communications is billed as the ultimate business tool,
combining voice, messaging, conferencing, presence, collaboration and
video. What can’t it do? Find out what’s really available in the
marketplace today, which vendors are leading the way and, more
importantly, what it takes to deploy it successfully and cost-effectively
for your business customers. Speaker: Duncan Potter, Chief Marketing Officer, Westcon Group
Track Four: Vendor Presentation
On-Demand Enterprise Communications Services Delivered! Smoothstone is the leading nationwide provider of on-demand enterprise
communication services that enable partners’clients to take advantage of
advanced IP services and applications for improved visibility and control.
Clients can eliminate the need to manage multiple vendor relationships or
buy and maintain separate hardware, management software and infrastructure
platforms for their voice and data communications. Smoothstone’s platform
offers local dial-tone in 8,000 domestic rate centers, domestic and
international long distance over a private MPLS network and a full suite
of on-demand business communication applications including hosted call
center solutions, disaster recovery, call routing, voice recording, and
interactive collaboration. Speaker: Chuck Piazza, senior vice president, Smoothstone IP
Communications
6 – 8 p.m.
Expo Hall Opening Reception
Monday, March 2
9 – 10 a.m.
Continental Breakfast
9:30 – 10:20 a.m.
Concurrent Education
Track One: New
Opportunities HD Conferencing Ready for Prime Time? Who wouldn’t want to sell hi-def conferencing with its high-margin
hardware and big bandwidth sale? But is it really ready for more than
just an elite few? Statistics show adoption rates are soaring because
people actually like to use it compared to lower-quality legacy
solutions. In fact, monthly use is more than five times higher with HD.
And with new technology enabling the combination of legacy and new
solutions regardless of manufacturer, agents can overcome customer
objections to forklift upgrades. Along with these technological
advances, increasing costs of travel and out-of-office productivity
losses finally are proving the ROI for HD conferencing. Session Leader: Cara Sievers, Associate Editor, PHONE+ Panelists: Scott Charter, Co-founder, WBS
Roger Thomas, CEO, TeleComp
Track Two: Outsourcing The Formula For Wireless Success
Wireless is hot, and smart business-to-business sales organizations are
capitalizing on the demand. Discover the essential components to
launching a highly profitable wireless sales effort in this two-part
seminar covering wireless products, services and strategies. Walk away
with dozens of ideas for driving your business forward. Give us 100
minutes; we’ll give you ideas to increase your profits by $100,000 in
2009. Speaker: Mark Landiak, President & CEO, Corporate Dynamics
Education Sponsor:
Track Three: YOU Track Deconstructing the Agent Agreement In an ideal world, all contracts would be fair and mutually
beneficial. But, as some agents have found out the hard way, traps and
pitfalls and loopholes can wreak havoc on a relationship, a business
deal or a revenue stream. Don’t let it be your neglect or lack of
attention to detail that causes contract confusion or catastrophe. Come
hear the advice of a panel of attorneys on scrutinizing and negotiating
favorable agent agreements. Moderator:
Rick Dellar, Co-founder, Intelisys Panelists:
Mark Del Bianco, Principal, Law Office of Mark C. Del Bianco
Ben Bronston, Partner, Nowalsky, Bronston &
Gothard
Brain Daucher, Partner, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Neil Ende, Managing Partner, Technology Law Group LLC
Track Four: Vendor Presentation
PAETEC: Solutions for Challenging Times PAETEC has leveraged its broad portfolio of products and services to
create robust solutions that address real business requirements.
This presentation will focus on solutions designed for business
continuity and security with additional discussion of how PAETEC creates
true differentiation in the marketplace, driving success for the
company's channel partners year after year. Speakers: Jeff Kramarczyk; Senior Manager - Product Management
Patrick Herron; Vice President - Product Management
9:30 – 11:20 a.m.
Track Two: Wireless
The Formula for Wireless Success Education Sponsor:
10:30 – 11:20 a.m.
Concurrent Education
Track One: New Opportunities Access Sales Add-Ons On average, most commercial users buy 1.1-1.5 applications from
their access provider, while sourcing 8-10 a la carte. Partners
are leaving money on the table by not selling applications that run over
broadband. Besides the obvious voice services, there are other options
agents can offer that will boost the average revenue per customer. A
panel will discuss overlooked opportunities in point-of-sale solutions
and payment card processing, IP-based premises security and
surveillance, and digital signage and ambient music. Additional revenue
also is possible from accompanying installation and integration services
users typically independently source. Find out how to take advantage of
the access sale add-ons. Session Leader: Justin McLain, CEO, Endeavor Telecom
Panelists: Robert Aranda, President – IP Integration & IP Managed
Services Division, Interface Security Systems
Vinny Breault, Vice President, First Data Merchant Services
Andrew Groelinger, Chief Operation Officer, Creative Realities, Inc.
(CRI)
Track Three: YOU Track Taking Your Pitch to the C-Level Calling high in the organization can pay off; but homework and
preparation are paramount when approaching CEOs, CIOs and CFOs. The
trick is knowing the right things to say. Most businesses speak three
languages but most sales organizations speak only one. Learn how to
become multilingual, increasing your chances of getting in the door of a
C-level executive and getting out the door with a sale. Speaker: Scott Bush, president, Bredison & Associates
Track Four: Vendor Presentation
Why Managed Services in These Economic Times? How Businesses Can Reduce Costs and Increase Performance of their
Networks with Managed Services
In today’s economic slowdown, most businesses are looking for ways to
save money and keep up with the ever increasing bandwidth requirements
and increasing demand to deliver more services and capabilities across
their networks. This presentation demonstrates ways of deploying
cost-saving fully converged MPLS based IP-VPN networks and strategies
for optimizing the performance of applications delivered over that
network. Speakers: Brent Spooner, XO Data & IP Product Management
Chris Peck, XO Sales Engineering
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
General Session: Channel Ethics 101 Are you running an ethical agent business? Is it OK to switch
customers when your carrier is not paying commissions on-time? Is it
reasonable for your master or carrier to contact your customers directly
for renewals or upsells when you are asleep at the wheel? What should
you do if a direct salesperson is competing for the same deal with
better pricing? Is it right to forge competitive quotes to obtain
promotional pricing and undercut competitors? Find out as this panel
discusses the unwritten rules of engagement inside the channel. Session Leader: Larry Kesslin, President, 4-Profit LLC Panelists: Josh Anderson, CEO, Telephony Partners
Dany Bouchedid, president, Technology Channel
Association
Adam Edwards, president, Telarus
Michael Fair, Vice President, General Manager of Alternate Channels, One
Communications
Michael McLelan, Senior
Vice President, PowerNet Global
Charles (Chuck) Wilcox, Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, XO
Communications
1:30 – 6 p.m.
Expo Hall Open
3-4 p.m. Snack Break on Expo Hall floor
Sponsored by:
2 – 2:50 p.m.
Vendor Presentation in the Exhibit Hall - Is an MSP
Right for Me? Selecting communications services to resell is not a decision to be
made lightly, especially in times of economic downturn. The partners you
choose will determine both the volume and quality of services your
company can provide its customers. When comparing a managed services
provider (MSP) and a traditional communications partner, resellers
should consider the complete package opportunity. Join us for an
in-depth examination of how to choose the right MSP for your business
and what it can mean for your bottom line.
Presented by: Brad Linden, Vice President & General Manager, Channel
Sales, Cbeyond
Sponsored by:
3 – 3:50 p.m.
Vendor Presentation in the Exhibit Hall - Beyond
Bandwidth In today's economy, creating
efficiencies is top of mind for every business. Capitalize on it
and reap the rewards with next-gen products that get you up close and
personal with your customer's network. We're talking network
optimization, SIP and CPE. You'll walk out of this session armed with
a fresh pitch that will set you apart and all the product knowledge that
will position you to be your customer's hero. Speakers: Matt Morris, Agent Sales Director & Shannon
Martin, Agent Sales Director
Sponsored by:
4 – 4:50 p.m.
Vendor Presentation in the Expo Hall – Simplify Your WAN
Over and over again the same requests from multi-site companies are repeated. They want simple, reliable and cost competitive voice, data and video networks through a single source. EverWorX is a flexible outsourcing option for organizations that want to streamline their communications and maximize productivity. EverWorX is not designed to replace your busy IT staff but to enhance their productivity. This session will equip you with information to strategically offload all of those mundane, time consuming tasks that bog down the team. Learn how to cut costs, increase productivity, and simplify. Speaker: Mark Stuhlreyer, Managing Partner, Contingent Network Services
Sponsored by:
4:30 - 6 p.m.
Peer-to-Peer Networking Mixer for Independent Agents and Subagents
Being independent doesn’t mean you need to work alone. Join us for this free 90-minute event where you can meet your peers in a vendor-neutral environment. No vendors or master agents allowed. This unique forum -- created by agents for agents -- will include an ice-breaking activity where you are guaranteed to meet at least a dozen other VARs/agents followed by concurrent CEO Roundtable discussions on hot topics that you choose. Tell us your top concerns when you register. We’ll match you up with agents who share your interests. Or, you can gravitate to discussion groups on your own in a relaxed, no-pressure atmosphere. Registration ends Feb. 23, 2009.
5 – 5:50 pm
Vendor Presentation: Success in
Managed Services Delivery
Join us as we discuss the features and benefits of the Dell Remote
Monitoring platform. With the Dell IT and security management hosted
solution, MSPs can remotely manage the full IT infrastructure for every
end customer, including simplified control of Cisco Unified
Communications. Also to be covered in this session are Dell’s
PartnerDirect program and the benefits available to certified partners in
managed services. Speaker: Todd McKendrick, Channel Sales, Dell Modular Services
Channel Partners and PHONE+ are pleased to bring you video programming from the recent Channel Partners Conference & Expo in Secaucus, N.J., Sept. 26-28.
Track Four: Vendor Presentation
Track Four: Vendor Presentation
Track Four: Vendor Presentation
