The ASCII Edge MSP Event Series kicked off this week on February 22-23 in Newport Beach, Calif. The ASCII Group’s 2023 two-day, multicity events feature all new speakers and content designed for growing MSPs. ASCII Edge is an evolution of the company’s flagship conferences, formerly called ASCII Success Summits, and includes more than 20 strategy sessions covering operations, technical, leadership, marketing, and sales topics.
Jessie Devine, vice president of channel development for ASCII, welcomed attendees on day one, which included sessions on AI, security, organizational maturity, marketing, cloud, hiring and retention, sales, and more. A panel of Industry executives from Carbon Systems, Nodeware, and Viirtue discussed “quiet quitting” and how to motivate staff.
The day also featured two peer sessions: Ken Wong, a security expert and founder and CEO of DragonTek International, provided insights on today’s cybersecurity standards from a hacker’s perspective and key areas MSPs need to focus on to better protect their operations; and Brian Johnson, CEO of AVC Technology, covered the fundamental building blocks MSPs need to achieve repeatable growth year over year.
The day ended with an evening networking reception.
Day two opened with an early bird session on tangible ways to implement a cyber liability insurance strategy, followed by a formal welcome from Jerry Koutavas (pictured right), ASCII Group president.
Keynote speaker Brittany Hodak kicked off the day with a discussion on turning customers into lifelong partners, sharing the proprietary five-step SUPER Fan System she developed running successful campaigns and products for globally known brands.
In addition to sessions on sales, automation, security, and the state of MSPs, a panel of executives from Axcient, DataStream, and Hacware discussed security issues.
The peer session on solving talent and hiring challenges at 25% the salaries your competitors are paying was delivered by David Stinner, founder and CEO of US itek.
Wrapping up the day was keynoter Blake Lemoine, an ex-Google engineer who saw first-hand the cutting edge of artificial intelligence and where it will lead. Lemoine separated fact from fiction about AI, highlighting advances and how they will disrupt industries, and examining how MSPs can leverage these technologies to grow their businesses.
In addition, attendees voted to award the following:
- Best Keynote Day 1 – Solutions Granted
- Best Keynote Day 2 – ScalePad and Critical Insight
- Best Market Opportunity Day 1 – Galactic Advisor
- Best Market Opportunity Day 2 – Security Studio
- Best Education Day 1 – Huntress
- Best Education Day 2 – Quickpass Cybersecurity
- Best Presentation Day 1 – Solutions Granted
- Best Presentation Day 2 – Pia
- Best Partner Incentives – Pax8
- Best Partner Support – Pax8
- Best Revenue Generator – CyberGuard360
- Best Channel Program – Pax8
- Most Innovative Solution – FlexPoint
- Best Newcomer – Humanize IT
- Best Featured Educational Session – Brian Johnson
- Best in Show – Huntress
- Best Partner Involvement – Pax8, Datto, and HelpDesk.tech
The ASCII Group is a membership-based community of independent North American MSPs, MSSPs, and solution providers. Next up on the ASCII Edge tour is Atlanta on March 22-23. For more info go here.
Images courtesy of The ASCII Group
