As someone who is tasked to help Motorola partners bring to market solutions that leverage all aspects of Motorola's Enterprise product portfolio, Mark Self will kick off this year's Business Optimization Summit by discussing the strategies and initiatives that have been successfully deployed by his team. As someone who is directly in tune with Motorola's partner network, Self knows first-hand how the channel is rapidly changing and how today's VARs need to respond. He will also introduce a new group called the Solutions First Council (SFC), who have already recognized (and made) the paradigm shift in the channel.

- Brian Marcel, Chairman, IBCS Group Ltd.

 

Moderated by Albert Guffanti, VSR's publisher, this panel discussion will focus on the current shift that is ongoing in the VAR channel, and how the community should respond. During this panel, you will hear from three VARs who have not only recognized (and responded) to this paradigm shift, but have also done so successfully, and can therefore share their best practices and real-world examples on how their peers can follow suit.

 

What are the trends that you should be watching? Which ones are fads and which ones are here to stay? This session features leading trend analyst Michael Tchong who will share his insights and predictions for how consumer trends can impact your business.

 

With over 100 million smart phones in use and hundreds of millions of dollars spent on marketing "apps", VAR's are in a perfect place to "integrate" their core solutions and offer clients a new way to view you, the information, and the efficiency your solutions provide. This session will look at the market, the technology, and the opportunities for VAR's to take advantage of a technology shift that has already begun to change the "computing" habits of all of us.

 

Did you ever come away from a customer meeting thinking: "I probably could have gotten a better price point from this deal?" How about coming away from a deal satisfied and happy that you obtained the best price possible? Join negotiation specialist Bill Garcia of TableForce (formerly Garcia & Associates) who will offer his "everyday life" tips for negotiation that will help you increase your margins and business model operations.

 

Is the economic downturn over? Is America poised to grow again? The tried-and-true practices of American industrialism just aren't turning out gains like they once did. And they won't. The world has shifted. Entrepreneurs in India, Malaysia and China -- places many Americans like to think of as poor and "Third World" -- are building fortunes in the Information Economy. American businesses have to shift. In this session join Adam Hartung, author of "Create Marketplace Disruption: How to Stay Ahead of the Competition" for keen insights into the state of the global innovation marketplace.

- Mark Brown, Vice President of Marketing, Lowry Computer Products

 

Whether you've noticed it or not, today's SMB end users are looking for that one technology professional that will provide them with the complete package. Therefore, many ISVs and VARs are beginning to realize that they can work off of each other to build upon these end-user demands. This panel discussion, moderated by VSR editor Regina Ciardiello, will examine what the ISV and VAR communities can learn from each other, and will also address the challenges that each are currently facing.

 

In the early days of managed services, near religious debates happened over the mere definition of what constitutes a legitimate managed service. Those debates are resurfacing, only in a different form. With the evolution of the services market to include hardware, platforms, software and communications, it's getting harder to decipher the business models and where today's VARs and MSPs fit -- especially in the light of very large vendors and telecoms getting into the game. Lawrence M. Walsh, publisher of Channel Insider and author of "The Seven Laws of Managed Services," will explore the evolution of the services market and the different business models that will provide opportunities and challenges for everyone in the channel.

 

Bill Garcia, President, TableForce (formerly Garcia & Associates)