Baltimore was the latest stop for the ASCII Success Summit, the fourth of nine solution provider-focused conferences ASCII will host in North America in 2016.
The ASCII Group IT community is made up of a supporting network of 2,000+ MSP/VARs worldwide. ASCII provides a portfolio of IT business-building services that range from turnkey marketing campaigns to a highly utilized peer-to-peer business referral and lead network.
The pre-day events on Wednesday, May 25, started with an address by ASCII Group President Jerry Koutavas on “Opportunity Hacking: Finding New Business Online Through Set Processes.” That talk was followed by a half-day of vendor sessions on scaling an MSP business, quoting and ecommerce solutions, security, and network assessments.
In the evening there was an ASCII member meeting followed by a networking reception.
On Thursday, May 26, attendees heard presentations from ASCII members on “MSP Security Growth, from Start to Smart,” by Jay Ferron, principal of Interactive Security Training LLC and “Breaking into the Financial Vertical, Keys to Unlock the Vault,” by Harry Srolovitz of Praxis Data.
ASCII’s Koutavas spoke on “How ASCII Makes Business Happen—Why Our Network Matters.” Attendees also heard Executive MSP Market Summaries. And Tim Conkle (aka “Texas Tim”), president and CEO of MSP Roland Technology Group, presented a talk on “Three Pitfalls of Partnering with the Wrong VoIP Provider.”
Ken Feinberg presented the keynote, “When Business Decisions Are Life Changing—What Is a Life Worth?” Feinberg was tasked with determining restitution for the 9/11 victims. The law required more money to the stockbroker, the bond trader, and the banker than to the waiter, the policeman, the fireman, and the soldier at the Pentagon. His growing belief in the equality of all life was in direct conflict with how our system operates. He shared his story with attendees.
Vendor presentations were given by BlackStratus, Carabonite, Cytracom, Data Deposit Box, Datto, IT Glue, Lenovo, and Mailprotector. Attendees also had the opportunity to browse the solutions pavilion, meet ASCII staff, and vote on vendor awards.
Award winners for the event were as follows:
Pre-Day
- Best Education – RapidFire Tools
- Best Technical Demo – CNET
- Best IT Workshop – ConnectWise
Main Day
- Best Rapid Pitch – Pax8
- Best Keynote Presentation – Datto
- Best Creativity & Innovation – CYBERShark
- Best IT Management Tool – IT Glue
- Best Partner Incentives – Cytracom
- Best Market Opportunity – CYBERShark
- Best Security Solution – CYBERShark
- Best Productivity Solution – iRemoteReset
- Best Storage Solution – Datto
- Best Cloud Solution – Datto
- Best Revenue Generator – StorageCraft
- Best Channel Program – Cytracom
- Top Distributor – Pax8
- Best Partner Involvement – Datto/QuoteWerks/StorageCraft
- Best of Show – CYBERShark
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