TechSelect–Tech Data’s community of IT resellers supporting the technology solutions needs of SMBs nationwide–today kicked off its Fall Partner Conference in Orlando. The sold-out event is being held at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, where more than 400 attendees will celebrate a decade of TechSelect achievements.
“I’m extremely proud of all that TechSelect has accomplished and the positive influence its membership has had on the channel,” says Tech Data Senior Vice President, U.S. Sales, Murray Wright. “As we start the next chapter in TechSelect’s history, we are introducing opportunities for even stronger collaboration that will ensure the community continues to provide members with a foundation for future growth and success.”
Partners agree that the conference has contributed to their success. “We owe much of our success over the years to the partnerships we established through TechSelect,” says Advanced Vision Technology Group President and TechSelect Advisory Council President Sam Ruggeri. “Much more than a forum for finding a technician when you’re short staffed and on deadline, the collaboration and sharing of best practices that TechSelect encourages has been fundamental in helping many members-including Advanced Vision Technology-grow and adapt as our industry evolved.”
Peer-To-Peer
TechSelect today introduced its PeerSelect Groups. Prior to the conference, members chose from several business and technology topics that most appealed to them and were assigned to a PeerSelect Group comprised of members with similar interests. These groups will meet daily throughout the conference to discuss best practices and strategies. PeerSelect Group topics include managed business solutions, professional IT services, business process integration, and healthcare IT.
Additionally, members will have the opportunity to attend sessions on new social media tools to learn how they can employ these communication vehicles to strengthen peer-to-peer engagement, as well as to expand their marketing practices to better reach new and existing customers.
Influencing the Channel
Nearly half of Tech Data’s worldwide net sales are conducted electronically, and the company will unveil a new www.techdata.com sales portal in beta release later this year. This week, the TechSelect community will be given exclusive access to the new Web site. The community will provide Tech Data with input that will influence the final design and implementation of the sales portal, which 55,000 resellers log on to 1 million times each month.
Building Stronger Businesses
The TechSelect Partner Conference will feature expert-led workshops and peer-to-peer discussions on a broad range of topics, including:
- Digital Signage: Defining the opportunity and building a sales practice
- When Disaster Strikes: Building a business continuity plan
- Zeroing In On SLED: The anticipated impact the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will have on state and local government and educational IT spending
- Electronic Medical Records (EMRs): What it takes to capitalize on this emerging opportunity
- Beyond EMR-Healthcare IT Modernization: Building a comprehensive healthcare IT practice
- Windows 7: What resellers need to know about marketing, selling and supporting Windows 7
- Managed Services: Established MSPs discuss what’s next for this IT delivery model
- Battling Cyber Crime: Developing comprehensive data-protection strategies for SMBs
- Data Center Optimization: The “greening” of the data center
- Unified Communications: The convergence of voice, video and data
- Marketing to SMBs: Tech Data’s TDAgency helps resellers market their businesses
- Tech Data’s e-Business Cloud: Making the most of Tech Data’s leading e-business tools
The featured industry speaker at this week’s conference is Gartner Research Vice President Tiffani Bova, who will discuss emerging technology trends followed by a live Q&A with attendees. To learn more about TechSelect, call (800) 237-8931, ext. 84529, or visit www.techselect.com.
