IT Nation, hosted by ConnectWise, is taking place this week at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla. IT Nation is the largest technology solution provider event giving technology professionals an opportunity to network with and learn from industry experts. For the 11th year, IT Nation brings together 3,000-plus solution providers. Attendees have access to more than 100 sessions of in-depth training and thought leadership, two keynote speeches, in addition to a Solutions Pavilion highlighting over 75 vendors.
Pre-conference events on Wednesday included a variety of vendor-sponsored sessions, ConnectWise hands-on labs, and a welcome reception.
Opening day of the event started with a keynote from ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini. He told partners he wants to get them to the top of the pyramid of success. When small and midsize businesses all move to the cloud, partners need to be the ones in control, he said. ConnectWise is partnering with Microsoft, Ingram Micro, and Tech Data to make this easier for the partners.
During the keynote, Bellini introduced the new cloud service management, monitoring and billing tool, ConnectWise CloudConsole. The solution enables technology solution providers to remain proactive in managing their systems when moving to the cloud. Now available in its beta version, ConnectWise CloudConsole will be available free to ConnectWise partners for a limited time, with general release scheduled for early 2016. Currently covering Microsoft Office365, ConnectWise will continue to expand the cloud-enabled applications managed by the offering.
He noted other changing trends partners need to be on top of, such as increased reliance on smartphones, IoT, digital security, and real-time healthcare.
Bellini also announced that the family of ConnectWise products and its related businesses are now consolidated into a single ConnectWise company and brand. The new organizational structure builds on the commitment to continually evolve the company in a way that furthers its mission to provide its partners with expansive, innovative, and scalable solutions that drive efficiency and create revenue opportunities.
ConnectWise Senior Product Manager April Taylor took the stage and told attendees how ConnectWise has made its business management software more “brain friendly” with the new 2016.1 version. Craig Fulton, general manager, ConnectWise Business Suite, talked about Compaign Director, which will allow partners to manage leads, email campaigns, Web campaigns,and† landing pages. And with the custom invoice designer in 2016.1, partners will be able to bring value all the way to the invoice. The release will also have an all-new customizable dashboard. Delivery will be soon, according to Bellini.
Session topics today include: enabling the Agile MSP, making money with backup, invoices and taxes made simple, developing a solutions portfolio, differentiating your MSP business, and more.
The evening concludes with a ConnectWise Margaritaville party.
On Friday, Marcus Lemonis, entrepreneur and television personality on The Profit, delivers the keynote address. As the chairman and CEO of Camping World and Good Sam Enterprises, along with a track record as an accomplished entrepreneur, Lemonis will discuss his “three Ps” principle, emphasizing the importance of “People, Process, and Product.” Lemonis will outline the effect of having the right people in an organization to drive success, the need for effective organizational processes, and the importance of understanding the value and relevance of the product being sold.
Additional speakers during the event include Bradley Gross, Law Office of Bradley Gross P.A.; Gary Pica, CEO, TruMethods; Alex Rogers, CEO, Chartec; and Paul Dippell, founder and CEO of Service Leadership, among others.
Session topics on Friday include managed print services, defining the sales handoff process for large partners, building sales teams, HTML, delivering projects on time, and more.
The day concludes with an evening party for attendees. And the IT Nation Golf Tournament is being held on Saturday.
IT Nation provides the opportunity to connect, collaborate and grow with the leading minds in the technology industry. To learn more about IT Nation visit http://theitnation.com.
†
