The ASCII Edge MSP event series stopped in the Tampa, Fla., area this week, hosting managed service and IT solution providers at the Hilton St. Petersburg Carillon Park on June 21-22. It was the fifth location on The ASCII Group’s 2023 two-day, multicity conference tour. ASCII Edge is an evolution of the company’s flagship conferences and includes more than 20 strategy sessions covering operations, technical, leadership, marketing, and sales topics.
On day one, Jessie Devine, vice president of channel development for ASCII, welcomed attendees, who heard sessions on zero trust, why hacking is a fast-growing industry, the modern cloud MSP, recruiting and hiring, and more. The day also featured two peer presentations by Ken Wong, founder and CEO of DragonTek International, on “Hacker’s Perspective: Is Your MSP Ready for Me?”; and Brian Johnson, CEO of AVC Technology, presented “Building Blocks MSPs Need to Achieve Repeatable Growth YoY”
In addition, there was a panel discussion on “Quiet Quitting: How to Inspire, Motivate, and Keep Staff,” with executives from Axcient, Carbon Systems, and Virtue discussing real-world strategies.
The day ended with an evening networking reception.
Day two opened with a welcome from Jerry Koutavas, ASCII Group president, followed by keynote speaker Brittany Hodak, who discussed how to turn customers into lifelong partners. Hokak shared the proprietary five-step SUPER Fan System she developed running successful campaigns and products for globally known brands.
There were sessions throughout the day on automation, growth strategies, cybersecurity, risk assessments, and more, plus a thought leadership panel on security with experts from Cavelo, DataStream Cyber Insurance, and OpenText, moderated by CompTIA’s Wayne Selk.
The peer session on solving talent and hiring challenges at 25% of 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: CyberGuard360
- Best Keynote Day 2: SecurityStudio
- Best Market Opportunity Day 1: CyberGuard360
- Best Market Opportunity Day 2: CloudRadial
- Best Education Day 1: CyberQP
- Best Education Day 2: SecurityStudio
- Best Presentation Day 1: Solutions Granted
- Best Presentation Day 2: SecurityStudio
- Best Partner Incentives: Galactic Advisors
- Best Partner Support: Kaseya
- Best Revenue Generator: Calyptix
- Best Channel Program: Pax8
- Most Innovative Solution: CloudRadial
- Best Newcomer: TimeZest
- Best Featured Educational Session: Ken Wong
- Best in Show: CyberGuard360
- Best Partner Incentives: Calyptix, Mailprotector, Pax8
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 Columbus, Ohio, on July 12-13. For more info go here.
