Business Speak

Late this week I was speaking with thought leader and analyst Howard Cohen (contributor at Redmond Channel Partner magazine) on a catch-up call and he shared how his scope of coverage has expanded to include Independent Software Vendors (ISVs). I proffered that the momentum at Microsoft itself has been to make ISVs the “flavor of the month” often at the expense of its SMB partners. It’s all about getting the love.

By Stacy West, Vice President, Marketing, SolarWinds MSP

Long before social media became a cultural phenomenon, it was simply a platform for connecting people who shared similar interests or common experiences. Fast-forward to today and social media still serves as a connector, but it has also become a valuable business tool.

TIDWIT is focused on digital interconnectivity of ecosystems. They are working with some of the largest brands: Microsoft, Accenture, CenturyLink…and some of the smallest. Simply stated, it’s a partner digital ecosystem that connects partners together in the ISV’s partner program.   

Whew – what a whirlwind mega conference South-by-Southwest (SxSW) is! Over 300,000 people attended over ten days in what I consider a top ten conference in the world. SxSW was it all.

At the recent Ingram Cloud X conference, I made “Women in Technology” a pillar coverage area. There are important reasons for this – Ingram Micro has made it a solid pre-day session at it’s spring show. And more research is coming out that speaks towards the “Middle School cliff”

TechTuesday broadcast live from Ingram Cloud X in San Diego, CA today with a conference overview and hooks to Northwest companies.

Right here right now I’m happy to reveal that my 21^st book is ahead of schedule and will be released next week at SxSW in Austin, TX. It’s my first book after a ten-year recharge and I’m fired up! Things have changed, and SMB Nation has led the transformation parade – this book reflects all that and more. 

Hear ye! Hear ye! The MSP Makeover contest deadline is March 31, 2019. Complete two simple steps to participate i the contest. One luck SMB Nation managed services provider (MSP) wins a "Day of Harry" that includes a morning workshop and an afternoon sales call.

Having started in November 2008 in the early depths of the Great Recession, SoundLine Communications has not only survived and thrived. Today’s its crossed the ten year mark and is a small business serving the business community in the voice-over-IP (VoIP), telephony and Unified Communications space.

In this recent interview with Joel Maloff, Senior Vice President – Strategic Alliances/Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) at PHONE.COM, after proper introductions we give a tip of the hat to the good old days of being in IT service provider (organic customer referrals, could do it all yourself, etc.)  and then…and then…we look forward to the future.

Don’t look away for long or you might miss real news. Yesterday while running errands I peeked at my mobile phone to see the news from Joe (here) about Thoma Bravo acquiring ConnectWise for a reported $1.5B. Happy to share the basic details about employee shareholders will share in $270m of the proceeds resulting in 70 instant millionaires; 100 redundant layoffs; new strategic hires, etc.

I’ve always tried to lead by example as I encourage all of us to transform and improve our business models. So with great pleasure, I’m delighted to announce that I’ve become an accredited member of the U.S. press corps. The designation is significant for a few reasons.

I can now demonstrate my cred as a long-time writer and analyst.