The 2019 ChannelPro SMB Forum tour of four live, full-day business-building events kicked off in Atlanta yesterday with a full house of attendees and plenty of southern hospitality. With a 2019 theme of “Bigger. Better. Business.” the jam-packed day featured presentations from some of the brightest minds in the industry who shared their insights on the hottest tech solutions in the SMB marketplace today.
IT consultants, VARs, integrators, and managed service providers of all types who are looking to grow their business participated in interactive sessions, networked with peers, and got detailed information on the latest technology trends and solutions.
“Bigger is certainly better when it comes to profits, scalability, and market valuation,” says ChannelPro Publisher Michael Siggins. “Our tour this year is focused on helping our attendees successfully grow their business. As usual, we do it with the help of an amazing group of expert coaches and vital vendor and distributor support.”
Also featured this year at all four event locations is a free pre-day workshop on The Building Blocks of a Mature MSP. Hosted by The 20, Cytracom, Compliancy Group, and Deep Instinct, the workshop covers the top challenges MSPs face, go-to-market strategy, adding monthly recurring revenue, developing stickier client relationships, and more.
This year’s educational sessions include:
MSP Pain Point Clinic: Managed services consultants Karl and Manuel Palachuk (pictured) help members of our audience tackle real-world business challenges like pricing, hiring, and getting paid on time.
Get Ready for Managed Everything: Our panel of experienced MSPs conduct a fast-paced panel discussion of real-world opportunities in hardware as a service, communications as a service, disaster recovery as a service, and other cloud and noncloud solutions.
Sales Tip Shootout!: In this highly interactive session, three leading sales consultants provide concrete advice on challenges that channel pros face every day, from landing appointments and overcoming objections to cross-selling services and beyond—and attendees get to vote on the best tipster!
Peer to Peer: Winning in Cybersecurity: Attendees listen in on three one-on-one conversations with channel pro peers about proven best practices for launching a security practice, selling security services, and more.
IoT Playbook: Getting Started in the Internet of Things: IoT authorities Benson Chan†and Renil Paramel offer actionable advice on what services to start with, the skills you’ll need to deliver those services, and the most successful techniques for finding prospects and closing deals.
Tech Trends 2019: Let’s Play the Feud!: This interactive, game show-style session tests your knowledge of the latest trends in SMB hardware as you compete with fellow audience members for prizes.
“This year’s lineup of sessions and pre-day activities is our strongest ever,” says ChannelPro Executive Editor Rich Freeman. “It will send everyone in our audience back to the office with a wealth of ideas, insights, and techniques they can start using immediately to make more and spend less.”
Top sponsors attending all four live events include Diamond sponsor SYNNEX, Platinum sponsor The 20, and Sapphire sponsor Datto.
Atlanta Gold sponsors included: Avast Business, Axcient, Cytracom, Epson, Ingram Micro, Mindmatrix, SherWeb, and Webroot.
Silver sponsors in Atlanta included: The ASCII Group, Buffalo Americas, bvoip, Compliancy Group, CompTIA, Compulocks Brands, Deep Instinct, DocuWare, Domotz, Eaton, ErickSimpson.com, ESET, Manuel Palachuk International, Marketopia, Nfina Technologies, RapidFire Tools, Small Biz Thoughts, SMB Nation, SMB TechFest, SOCSoter, Splashtop, Tech Data, and Wells Fargo.
The event concluded with attendees honoring vendor sponsors with the following awards:
- Best in Show: Datto
- Best Cloud Solution: Datto and SherWeb (tie)
- Best Hardware Solution: Epson
- Best New Solution: Domotz
- Most Innovative Solution: Compliancy Group
- Best Partner Community: Datto
- Best Software Solution: Webroot
- Best Revenue Booster: Cytracom
- Best IoT Solution: Domotz and SYNNEX (tie)
- Best Add-On: RapidFire Tools
- Best On-Stage Presentation: The 20
- Best Solution Presentation (Sapphire, Platinum, Diamond, Gold): Datto
- Best Solution Presentation (Silver): bvoip
- Best Distributor: SYNNEX
- Best Silver Selfie: Domotz
Next up for the 2019 Bigger. Better. Business. tour is May 2 in Chicago.
Attendance and sponsorships are filling up fast. Interested attendees should register immediately HERE.
Sponsorship info can be found HERE.
The ChannelPro SMB Forum events are hosted annually by ChannelPro-SMB magazine and The ChannelPro Network.
