Network Associates' New Channel Plan Evens a Score

System Builder Summit & VARVision Spring 2004

Kashya Launches New Channel Program

Channel Digest: Verio, Business Objects teams with CapGemini, TechData and Cisco, Philips’ new chip, iCode, etc. By ChannelMedia Staff

NEWS

Network Associates' New Channel Plan Evens a Score

"We've caught up with the rest of the industry," is how Gary Brand, director of channel sales for Network Associates explained the rationale for their new channel program designed to improve its current licensing policy. The McAfee Security Protect Plus Program will combat its high number of SKUs that have made it complex for resellers to set up and establish customer pricing in the past. "Based on feedback from our partner community we needed a more robust licensing model than what we currently have in place," said Brand. This program helps us lock in end users and lets our business partners focus on solutions versus selling point products. The two components of the program include the McAfee Security Perpetual Plus Program and the McAfee Security Subscription Plus Program. "The McAfee Security Perpetual Plus Program is one of those many steps we are taking as it relates to our partner program and truly making it easier for resellers to do business with Network Associates," he said. The McAfee Security Perpetual Plus Program enhanced volume license program is available from 11 nodes upward and designed specifically for giving SMB customers discounts for purchasing right-to-copy license. The enhanced volume license program will give resellers the opportunity to lock in their SMB end user customers into a relationship with the ability to purchase a specific version of the software once and simply maintain the latest security updates, upgrades and DAT files by annually renewing Prime Support Priority Plus. "We are not on the bleeding edge this time, we are definitely on the backend of the curve. We have a volume dynamic in the U.S. that is really important and part of the volume is around the SKU complexity we have in distribution. It was more complexity we had to try and simplify," Brand said.

On the product side of life, Network Associates rolled out a new version of its InfiniStream network management solution, providing customers with the ability to troubleshoot data across high-speed Gigabit and Ethernet networks. Part of the Sniffer family, InfiniStream combines unmatched data capture performance, high-level and detailed packet-level data visibility and best-in-class decodes and analysis of network traffic data. The company believes this announcement is a huge integrator opportunity that will only increase because of its ability to handle problem-solving on high-speed networks by combining advanced network monitoring and management capabilities in one device, which also helps to minimize the high costs associated with network and application downtime and degradation.

"The InfiniStream network management solution exemplifies Sniffer Technologies dedication to working closely with our customers to understand, design and provide an innovative, new combination of technologies that maintain network performance and keep companies' networks up and running," said Christopher Thompson, vice president of product marketing for Sniffer Technologies at Network Associates. "With InfiniStream network management, customers can stop worrying about security breaches, application failures, and network outages happening again and start planning for the new demands that are being placed on their businesses, and their networks."

Through its ability to retain all of the packets at very high utilization rates on Gigabit networks and store them on its large 3.2 terabyte hard drive, InfiniStream network management provides IT staff with the data to solve problems shortly after they occur, rather than requiring them to go through additional, complex, and time consuming steps in order to retrieve the data. InfiniStream network management makes the data actionable by allowing users to see trends in bandwidth consumption across a number of different categories in order to determine where they should begin their troubleshooting efforts. Additionally, InfiniStream network management enables network managers to "roll back the clock". When an anomalous event occurs, there is no need to wait for it to happen again. Network managers can review the stored traffic and isolate the first occurrence.

System Builder Summit & VARVision Spring 2004 - Dallas Set to Host Premier Channel Events
By Eric Lesonsky, Event Director

Sponsored by:

System Builder Summit and VARVision Spring
March 14-17, 2004, Hyatt Regency Dallas, Dallas, Texas

System Builder Summit and VARVision Spring 2004 are right around the corner – March 14-17 at the Hyatt Regency Dallas in Dallas, Texas. They say everything is bigger and better in Texas, and this Spring’s Events will feature an executive-level audience of over 200 of North America’s leading System Builders and VARs, along with an outstanding lineup of Vendors.

Ultimately, what truly sets these Events apart is the opportunity for One-on-One meetings between Vendors and existing and new partners. No other Events in the IT marketplace offer Vendors the same level of in-depth, substantive business interaction. With our innovative online Self-Scheduling System, Vendors are setting record numbers of One-on-One meetings with specific System Builders and VARs. The level of business activity should be at an all-time high!

Other highlights include:

• Boardrooms dedicated to the hottest vertical markets including Financial Services, Healthcare, SMB, Government and more – plus new Boardrooms on Gaming and Networking Technologies.
• World Premiere presentations from Intel, AMD, EMC, Microsoft and Phoenix Technologies
• Exclusive Industry Insight presentations from Gartner analysts and other industry experts on channel trends and opportunities.
• Great networking events starting with the Saturday Golf Tournament all the way to the closing night Awards Celebration. Plus special functions sponsored by D&H, Ingram Micro, NASBA and AMD.

Thanks go out to all of the Vendors, System Builders and VARs participating this Spring. See you in Dallas!

For any Vendor who would like the opportunity to be part of these premier Events, there’s still time if you act now. Please contact Mary Fogarty at 604-471-4227 or mary.fogarty@gartner.com. Or Michael McGoldrick at 603-471-4225 or michael.mcgoldrick@gartner.com.

For general Event information, go www.systembuildersummit.com or www.varvision.com

Kashya Launches New Channel Program

Kashya, a leader in high-performance, cost-effective business continuity solutions, announced the creation of its K-Partner channel program designed to build an effective ecosystem for data protection solutions. The Kashya K-Partner program offers users an extensive network of local as well as global data protection solution providers who have the expertise, resources and products to deliver complete mid-range to enterprise data protection solutions. At the core of this ecosystem is Kashya's KBX4000 replication appliance, which offers fast, reliable and secure bi-directional data replication over IP, with no distance limitations. Kashya's channel program enables new and exciting market opportunities for leading reseller partners to provide a unique technology that delivers full function enterprise-class data protection at a fraction of the cost of existing products. This program offers partners direct incentives as well as sales, marketing and technical support for quick success in the growing heterogeneous data protection marketplace. Three new members have joined the Kashya K-Partner program: Computacenter, SANZ, and RedBridge Solutions, Inc. "Data replication is a fundamental component of business continuity," said Simon Gay, Consultancy Practice Leader at Computacenter. "Servers, storage and infrastructure are commodity components, but data isn't, and unless a second copy exists, you can't be completely sure you can achieve a successful recovery when it's needed. In any case, cold stand-by and tape do not deliver in the timescales people anticipate, and that's where Kashya fits in. Storage and server independency means customers no longer suffer from vendor lock-in, and it provides consistency of applications at a price point that makes this achievable for organizations that previously thought such solutions out of their reach." "We have been looking for affordable and flexible data replication solutions," said George Crump, Vice President of Product Development at SANZ, a leading storage consulting and integration company. "The KBX4000 delivers amazing value to our customers looking to deploy a state-of-the-art data protection solution. Not only does it lower the cost of DR operations, but it also maximizes the use of available resources and reduces the capital investment required to deploy an effective DR solution. With this kind of data protection solution, all our key customers will find that data replication is now affordable." "Over the last few years disaster recovery has become more than a topic of conversation; however, our customers have remained reluctant to spend the money for comprehensive DR solutions," said Mike Chapman, Vice President of Sales at RedBridge Solutions, Inc. "The reason has been simple -- our choices for replication have not been ideal. Host based, in-band, application and sub-system replication still have the same limitations and price tags we have been trying to overcome for years. For the first time, Kashya has announced technology that satisfies both price and functionality deficits we have not been able to overcome. This product truly is what this industry has been demanding for years. With this technology on our line card, we now have the ability to implement data replication for all of our key customers who have those business requirements." "Kashya's K-Partner program offers resellers the opportunity to best meet their clients' needs and expectations for affordable, flexible data replication solutions," said Michael Lewin, CEO and co-Founder of Kashya. "By giving resellers a powerful, cost-effective solution as well as access to the world-class technical team at Kashya, they are better able to close sales with customers looking to deploy state-of-the-art data protection solutions like the KBX4000."

Channel Digest By ChannelMedia Staff

Sponsored by:

Tech Data recently announced the U.S. availability of Advanced Integration Services (AIS) for Cisco Systems Inc. routers, switches and Call Manager Express IP telephony servers. AIS, available nationwide from Tech Data's ISO 9002-certified configuration center in Swedesboro, N.J., utilizes intelligent agent technology in Cisco IOS(R) and Cisco CNS Management products to provide centralized template-based configuration, security features and other customer requirements at dramatically faster rates than traditional manual configurations. AIS fees range from $20 for routers such as Cisco 800 Series to $45 for Cisco 7000 Series. "Resellers and system integrators have been concentrating on increasing their service offerings and their overall margins," noted Elio Levy, senior vice president of marketing for Tech Data. "AIS is a particularly attractive solution when deploying key technologies like Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and IP telephony where the cost associated with these more complex integrations has been typically higher." "More than any other distributor we have dealt with, Tech Data consistently demonstrates their commitment to providing new and innovative services that help me be more productive and save money," said Joe Ambrosole, President of NetConnect Inc., a Staten Island, N.Y.-based Cisco Premier Certified Reseller. "AIS will allow my systems engineering resources to be revenue drivers, not box technicians." As one of Cisco's leading distributors worldwide, Tech Data was selected by the networking manufacturer to be the first distribution partner to offer this technology
and new level of service. Customers may order AIS via the dedicated AIS hotline at 800-237-8931, ext. 72101. Most orders placed by 2 p.m. ET receive same-day shipping. "Service Providers are looking at innovative ways to accelerate data networking into the commercial markets," said Nigel Williams, Cisco vice president of U.S. Service Provider Channels. "Tech Data's Advanced Integration Services is the first collaborative effort using Cisco technologies and Tech Data's best-in-class logistics capabilities to bring profitability and efficiency back to the deployment of CPE."

Royal Philips Electronics announced its newestTriMedia(TM) Central Processing Unit (CPU) core was named the "Best Media Processor of 2003" by the Microprocessor Report, a leading publication covering the microprocessor industry. The TriMedia TM5250 processor is being used in Philips' next-generation of Nexperia(TM) media processors targeted for connected home entertainment applications, including connected high-definition (HD) displays, home media servers, personal video recorders
(PVRs) and video over wireless 802.11 network adaptors. "The TriMedia TM5250 CPU core proves that smart design work can keep a 10-year-old media-processor architecture competitive against newer, more extreme architectures without sacrificing software compatibility," said Tom R. Halfhill, senior analyst, InStat/MDR. "In evaluating the finalists, Philips TriMedia CPU core stood above the competition. More important than the raw clock rates are the TM5250's well-thought-out improvements, its stellar
benchmarks, its compatibility with existing TriMedia software, and the likelihood of even better performance to come." "Philips created the media processor category with the first TriMedia CPU core a decade ago, and we are honored to have won such a prestigious award," said Gerrit Slavenburg, senior fellow, Philips Semiconductors. "The Microprocessor Report award validates the leading-edge work Philips' engineers have performed in developing this super-pipelined TriMedia CPU core that gives customers
enhanced scalability but retains their software investment." The Fifth Annual Microprocessor Report Analysts' Choice Awards recognize the most interesting and dynamic product areas in the microprocessor industry, and the nominees in each category represent the best of the best. To be selected as a nominee in any category, the product must have been released in 2003 and represent significant technical innovation.

iCode has appointed Theodore Manakas as executive vice president, worldwide field operations. In his new position at iCode, Mr. Manakas will drive sales revenue growth and expand iCode's sales channels and customer base, worldwide. He will report directly to Bijal Mehta, iCode's president and CE0. Mr. Manakas brings 25 years of experience in managing technology and software-related businesses including extensive international markets, starting his career in sales at IBM. Most recently, Mr. Manakas served as the senior vice president and general manager for Colorado-based FrontRange Solutions and as senior vice president of Washington-based Mosaix, Inc. prior to that. During his tenure at FrontRange, Mr. Manakas helped drive a $20 million profit improvement, representing the first profit in three years for the Goldmine and Heat software brands. His experience also includes directing a successful turnaround of call center software developer Mosaix Inc., resulting in its acquisition by Lucent Technologies.

Verio, announced they are joining forces to expand the NTT/VERIO IntelliSecurity(TM) Managed Solutions portfolio, providing Verio customers worldwide with enhanced security services. Partnering with ISS, a world leader in products and services that protect against Internet threats, Verio has expanded its IntelliSecurity Managed
Solutions for both its enterprise hosting and network services customers who require managed information security implementations to protect information assets or comply with government regulations. Verio's comprehensive suite of IntelliSecurity Managed Solutions now offers an expanded range of managed firewall solutions and intrusion detection services (IDS). In response to customer demand, NTT/VERIO IntelliSecurity services also offer a complete array of professional security services including Network Penetration Testing, Information Security Assessment, Emergency Response Service, and Vulnerability Management, all designed to minimize network security risks. With IntelliSecurity, Verio can deliver a security solution with 24/7 security monitoring and management of a customer's network and data infrastructure. Verio will also benefit from leveraging the proactive security intelligence conducted by ISS' X-Force(R) research and development team, a leading authority on threats and vulnerabilities. In addition, through an interactive Managed Services Customer Portal, customers have around-the-clock access to their security management profile including device status, security alert monitoring, and policy change requests and tracking, among other features, thus providing a real-time communications channel to the Security Operations Centers managing their security. "In today's high-risk, critical e-business environments, providers must meet customers' demand for services that ensure the highest integrity and availability of their business' infrastructures," said Isabel Ehringer, president of Enterprise Hosting for Verio. "Our partnership with ISS allows us to augment our current security offerings and provide world-class security management solutions that fully leverage the NTT/VERIO IP network and infrastructure, backed by industry-leading Service Level Agreements."

The continued rise of security risks on the Internet make managed security services an easy, cost-effective way for companies to manage their security posture and protect the availability, integrity and confidentiality of their systems and networks. According to a 2003 survey conducted by analyst firm IDC, 40 percent of nearly 1,000 IT managers rated security their highest priority. According to its 2003 report, IDC predicts that security services spending will grow to $21 billion by 2007. "Our partnership with Verio further demonstrates our commitment to best-in-class partners that deliver critical outsourced security services to customers," said Rick Miller, vice president of Managed Security Services for ISS. "Our approach is to deliver solutions that are integral to monitoring, managing and protecting an organization's networking environment. We are thrilled to be working with Verio to deliver a comprehensive suite of premier security services to their customers."

Business Objects announced an expanded alliance agreement with Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, a member firm of one of the world's largest independent management and IT consulting organizations. The strategic alliance will encompass joint product development, co-marketing, and reseller capabilities worldwide. CGE&Y will also expand its team of consultants certified in Business Objects products, and as part of the agreement, proactively market joint solutions to its customers. The new alliance provides a powerful endorsement by CGE&Y for the successful completion of the Business Objects acquisition of Crystal Decisions. CGE&Y has a long history of working together with both Business Objects and Crystal Decisions. The expanded relationship with CGE&Y will build upon these alliances to help provide the industry-leading business intelligence solutions from Business Objects to a broader range of customer organizations around the world. "The business intelligence market is one of the fastest growing segments of enterprise software," said Brian J. Queenin, vice president and global leader of the CGE&Y Business Intelligence practice. "By partnering with Business Objects, we have the opportunity to work directly with the world's leading provider of enterprise business intelligence solutions. We have had great success in our previous business intelligence engagements with both Business Objects and Crystal Decisions, and we are looking forward to greatly expanding the relationship as we move forward with our alliance agreement with the new Business Objects.

KANA announced that HCL Infinet has teamed up with KANA to resell KANA's CRM solutions in India. The combination of HCL's extensive CRM industry expertise and KANA's iCARE(TM) suite of CRM solutions, will enable companies to provide exceptional service to their customers while reducing costs. HCL Technologies and KANA had previously teamed up on developing knowledge-powered CRM applications for specific vertical markets. Through this new arrangement, HCL will resell and deploy KANA's CRM applications. "The KANA-HCL relationship provides companies in India with the applications necessary to revolutionize the way they interact with their customers," said J V Ramamurthy, president and CEO at HCL Infinet. "Organizations throughout India will benefit from the quick and smooth deployment of KANA's CRM technology, and as a result, will experience a rapid cost savings in the contact center and an immediate positive impact on customer service levels."

Sponsored by:

RESEARCH

IT Channel Program Best and Worst Practices –
Leverage for Success or Slide to Failure
By Michael Haines, Principal Analyst, IT Services Business Strategies Group


NOTE: Mr. Haines will have two presentations at the upcoming VARVision and System Builder Sumit. One is on a popular topic, “The Best & Worst Channel Practices” and “The 7 Deadly Sins of Services Marketing.

The IT indirect channel has historically been a major route to market for many IT vendors, and channel programs, relationships and dynamics have never been more critical to the success of many of these companies. In light of the economic challenges of the past three years and the slowdown in the IT market, the concept of partner leverage has become critical to the success of the go-to-market strategy of IT vendors and their partners. For many, the ability to leverage takes its shape in the form of an effective channel program.

The channel has also been a key provider of product and service fulfillment for many users, particularly small and medium sized businesses (SMBs). Economic challenges have increased the reliance that many users have on channel companies (VARs, Solution Providers, Systems Integrators, and ISVs) for advice and procurement of the most appropriate and cost effective technologies and associated services and solutions for their businesses.

IT Vendors must build loyalty with their channel partners and optimize the effectiveness of these programs, as the channel is often their most viable method to capture and support important, but diverse, markets. These include both select geographic and vertical markets, as well as the SMB market. Simultaneously, channel companies must continue to develop the value-add they offer to their clients. They must build on traditional differentiators such as proximity, expertise, relationships and reach, in order to maintain the mind share of enterprises in the face of increasingly attractive direct channels to market.

As a result of the increased focus on channels, a number of both best and worst channel program practices have emerged from both vendors and channel partners. World-class channel programs will exhibit many of the best practices, while avoiding or eliminating the worst practices.

For IT vendors, the elements and practices of channel programs fall into four general categories:

• Program Organization and Management Policies
• Marketing and Business Development Campaigns
• Measurement and Compensation
• Understanding the Wants and Needs of the Channel community.

Within each are a set of best and worst practices that are regularly exhibited by both IT vendors and channel partners. For most IT vendors and channel companies, the marketplace demands that if they are to thrive (let alone survive), they must successfully leverage the efforts of other IT companies for the sale of their offerings. However, the history of channel initiatives in the IT industry is fraught with inconsistency and conflict. IT vendors and channel companies must strive to master partnering best practices if they are to remain competitive and capture the optimal market opportunity available to them.

Example: Measurement and Compensation

Best Practices

• Compensation elements beyond revenue and volume
• Increased service delivery opportunities, impacts for both parties
• Programs to help partners with business viability
• Compensating for influence (Agent Programs)

Worst Practices

• Promising good leads and delivering junk
• Failure to apply sales metrics to the channel

For a deeper look at this issue, logon to www.gartner.com and search for the Gartner Spotlight titled “Best and Worst Practices for IT Channel Programs”, Document Number AV-21-8512, Published December 19, 2003.

Has Kodak Developed the Perfect Inkjet Photo Paper?
By Patricia Lloyd, ARS Print Media Industry Analyst


Perfection, like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder, yet there are certain characteristics that are universally accepted. The perfect inkjet photo paper must have the same look and feel of photo lab prints, image permanence that meets or exceeds those prints, compatibility with all inkjet printers, and be price competitive with all other sources. Does the perfect inkjet photo paper exist, and if so, does Kodak’s reformulation of its top-of-the-line photo paper earn that title?

On January 29, 2004, Kodak officially announced the reformulation of its Ultima Picture Paper with COLORLAST technology, designed to ensure image permanence for 100 years using any current generation inkjet printer. The Ultima Picture paper uses the same base as Kodak Royal Photographic paper, so the look and feel matches typical photo lab results. Currently, Kodak offers its Ultima paper in a variety of packages, in ranges from 4x6 to 8.5x11 sizes. Additionally, the Ultima Picture Paper is fairly cost competitive with other premium inkjet photo papers on the market.

The Kodak paper appears to meet most of the qualifications for the perfect inkjet photo paper. However, digging a little deeper reveals some issues Kodak may need to address. In a 20-page report on the Kodak website, the company outlines in explicit detail the testing measures to ensure image permanence and designated performance standards for the product to meet its goal. Several variables went into testing; not only was light fastness considered but also the affects of heat, humidity and ozone. Kodak says it has overcome all the obstacles for prints displayed in a variety of normal households – not just under glass in museum conditions. This means the photographs can be lying on coffee tables in climates as varied as London or Los Angeles.

While the test results prove promising, it should be noted that the identified tests were conducted by Kodak scientists in Kodak labs for the most part; not the defacto industry standard for image permanence, Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. To date, Kodak has not released independent testing, from Wilhelm or others, to verify the 100-year claim for the Ultima Picture Paper. Certainly Kodak must anticipate that competitors will rush to commission independent testing to possibly refute the claims. In the end, consumers will be big winners even if the Ultima Picture Paper can live up to only half its claim – 50 years, which isn’t far short of silver halide prints.

Cost competitiveness is also an issue. The chart below illustrates that the Kodak premium offering is priced fairly similar to other manufacturer’s premium photo papers. Kodak does promote its products frequently and its ‘buy one get one free deals’ are typically available. Unfortunately for Kodak, consumers have several other options for printing digital images.

On a cost-per-page basis the Ultima Picture Paper is fairly competitive with other inkjet photo papers; however consumers have cheaper, easier options for printing digital images. Online photo sites should not be discounted; Ofoto and Snapfish promise 4x6 prints for 29 cents and 25 cents respectively. Ofoto even publicizes its use of Kodak paper.

In- store options, such as Walgreens and Eckerd’s allow customers to bring in digital media and walk out with prints an hour later for between 25 cents and 29 cents per print. Eckerd’s advertises the cost (of in-store printing) is less than half the cost of printing at home with no printer problems or hassles. Eckerd customers are promised “quality prints that last a lifetime.”

Online photo sites and drug store options are even more attractive when you consider that the cost-per-page for the inkjet photo paper doesn’t include the often overlooked ink costs; Inkjet printer ink may well be the most costly liquid on earth. Some color photo inkjet cartridges use as much as 20 cents of ink to provide 15 percent coverage on a letter size document. That is basically a text document with a splash of color for a logo and a chart; imagine the cost for a “best quality” 4x6 photo!

Despite other, possibly more attractive, options, consumers are buying more inkjet photo paper than ever. Inkjet printers are cheaper, easier and provide better quality output. For those users who want to print images at home, Kodak’s reformulated Ultima Picture Paper may be the perfect choice.

Will Kodak’s Ultima paper make a major impact in market share for segment leaders such as HP and Epson? Possibly, if Kodak can educate consumers about the benefits of the COLORLAST technology; the company could make major inroads in gaining sales. The trick will be to encourage consumers to demand the image permanence promised by the Ultima paper and a well-developed creative advertising campaign. I can see it now, a grandmother in the year 2050 sharing a photo album with her grandchild. The first half of the album shows photos with dramatic color shifts, while the last half, after she started using Ultima paper, shows vibrant photos. Kodak -recently beleaguered by unhappy shareholders- must be able to muster their marketing and advertising strength to make the most of this opportunity. The next six months will tell if resources will be funneled into print, radio and even television spots.

Kodak must take this narrow window of opportunity to make Ultima paper the paper of choice for printing quality digital images. It must convert loyal users of other brands quickly, because Epson scientists and HP scientists are most likely well on their way to a universal, archival photo paper similar to the Ultima.

COMMUNITY

Q&A with CompUSA's Bill Maddox, Vice President Commercial Sales and Training

Q. CompUSA Commercial is on quite a new roll and I understand you are the new man in charge. Is that correct?

A. With the recent changes in our executive team, I was promoted to Vice President of Commercial Sales and Technology Training. For the past year, I have been heading the Technology training group which is heavily partnered with the Commercial Sales Teams at CompUSA. I look forward to continue the successful growth of the CompUSA Commercial business.

Q. What do you attribute this successful growth of Commercial Sales at
CompUSA?

A. Our local CompUSA store locations and breadth of products and services are what make us successful. CompUSA is where businesses are and is a local partner where they can come for all their business needs. Our sales people, now over 700 people nationwide, and their commitment to the local business customer are key to this success.

Q. What is your current focus to continue to drive this business

A. Our focus it to continue to bring to the local business and public sector customer, within 10 miles or our store - the broadest selection of technology products, technical services and training offerings that will help them run their business. We will continue to bring special products like those highlighted in this newsletter and promotions such as our "No Payments, No Interest for 6 months" program exclusively for the business
customer on the CompUSA Business Card.

Q. What should your current vendors (from the retail side) know about working with commercial (how to leverage so that 1+1 = 3)

A. Historically, over 25% of CompUSA's business has been the local business customer. We have put Commercial Sales reps back in the local stores to work with these local businesses. Each sales rep works with the local business customers who shop at CompUSA, developing the relationship and offering more than any local office supply or website with our product, tech services and training offerings. Utilizing our retail store to take advantage of the just in time availability of products and the relationships that the local Commercial Sales reps develop, we are selling retail stocked products today. CompUSA is good for business - both for the business customer and your retail business!

New VAR Program - Macromedia’s Breeze & Medium Software Close Business in 32 Days

Q. Explain a little about Software Medium and the partnership with Macromedia.

A. Software Medium is a leading VAR (Value Added Reseller) and recently embarked on an exciting new partnership with Macromedia to re-sell a powerful Collaboration, Rapid Training and Information Sharing solution called Breeze. Software Medium first met with Macromedia on October 15th of 2003 to begin discussions involving the launch of a Pilot Program to assist in developing the right kind of Reseller channel program. Software Medium accepted the challenge and became the top pilot reseller in the Breeze channel program development. After accepting the challenge and installing the Breeze software internally, we were able to rapidly launch into a sales mode for the product – faster than any other product introduction in our history – due, in large part, to the benefits of the Breeze product itself. We closed our first sale within 32 business days of the first launch meeting on November 28th.

Q . How has Breeze enhanced your business development and delivery?

A. What Breeze does, that sets it apart from other products, is the personalized interaction of having a “virtual” face-to-face conversation with a prospect or customer – anytime and from anyplace. Ultimately, the relationships you build are enhanced by the personal nature of the interaction you have with your customer – and it is now important to no longer be just a voice without a face.Consequently, when you have a more personal interaction it encourages a higher degree of accountability for the discussions being had, reducing the sales cycle and improving the entire sales and forecasting process.And finally, the Ubiquitous Meeting Environment feature of Breeze allows us to pick up client meetings wherever we left off. Sales presentations, contract meetings, proposals or trainings are always engaged where we left off with a comprehensive follow-up schedule. It allows us to “never miss a beat” on follow up and be much more professional and efficient.

Q . In what other ways does Software Medium utilize Breeze to conduct business?

A. Internally, we use Breeze for our sales-out process in communicating to our customer base, training our staff on products and messaging, as well as delivering our own HR matters. Any internal communication that requires a one-to-many environment is accelerated and competed faster, with greater comprehension.Also, we maintain an on-demand library of trainings and presentations that can be accessed at any time – where the proverbial “wheel” doesn’t have to be reinvented every time, resulting in time savings and communications with more impact.

Changing Channels By Steve Cross

The Next Tech Revolution – An Opportunity

There is an earthquake coming, and it’s coming pretty darn soon. It will affect everything we sell, everything we use. And the first tremor was felt last Spring in an article by Nicholas Carr for the Harvard Business Review, called “IT Doesn’t Matter”.

Carr’s position is that IT is ubiquitous. As such, IT becomes transparent to the user, like a utility, or any other transparent commodity, like electricity, etc. He additionally points out that there is now as much IT power available as needed, that everyone uses similar machines and software to do similar tasks, and that the infrastructure build-out is over (or nearly so).

How does all this esoteric stuff this affect each of us? A couple ways. First, IT spending is going down, and will continue to go down. That seems to be guaranteed. Why should an IT manager, Vice President, or CIO spend money on incremental improvements when everything works okay already? That kind of scenario forecasts declining sales and revenues. That’s one effect. I would think that folks in the high-end IT market should start looking for other stuff to do, especially enterprise software.

Second, there is a new technology revolution brewing as the universe of users gets ready to start using the availability of the commodity. And every time a new revolution hits, we all win. Allow me to share a couple examples. When railroads went from 20 mph to 80 mph, the North American continent opened up commercially, producing (to date) the world’s greatest economic boom, and it lasted 50 years or so after the civil war. Whenever a new technology becomes available as a commodity, huge industries are created.

Another example: inexpensive glass bottling of preserved foods made Napoleon’s marches across Europe possible. Prior to that, no one had been able to mass really large armies and march them away from their food supplies. Napoleon took his supplies with him. Remember: Napoleon’s major contribution to warfare was massed artillery (very personnel intensive) and realize that you can’t mass artillery and personnel without food for them. It becomes clear that massed artillery on the battlefield would be impossible without preserved food. Forage will not do. It seems clear that every time technology moves forward, there are novel ways of exploiting the technology into great opportunity.

I’ve been watching some moves in a relatively new technology called On-Demand computing. IBM is investing in that space at a record clip, and it is one of IBM’s initiatives for this decade. It’s a technology and approach that assumes IT is transparent, that it is a commodity, just like electricity, that you call up when you need more. Computing horsepower in this model is just like any other utility. If you are FedEx and you have a massive ad campaign breaking at Super Bowl Sunday, then you probably need a ton of bandwidth and servers. IBM and others believe that you should just order up what you need, easily, transparently, automatically. And when you’re done, it just switches back. A friend has seen it work multiple times, and ya’ know what? It works.

We already inhabit a universe where brand is all that matters in PCs, printers, peripherals, and maybe software. Guess what folks? Now the IT folks are joining us. Not a fun party for them, but it will be for us. And here’s why…maybe you won’t need a PC on your desk, maybe just a browser-equipped terminal, and your storage is somewhere in the virtual world, your processing power is also elsewhere, and all you have on your desk is a printer and a burner of some sort. Don’t believe me? That’s ok, I’m writing this at 33,000 feet over America’s heartland on my Palm Tungsten C (wireless disabled temporarily for flight safety). I’ll sync it to my PC when we land, edit it a little and email it to my editor Keith Newman.

Five years from now, I’ll unroll a polystyrene sheet, use the virtual infrared keyboard that projects on the airline tray, and beam it out to Keith on the fly. Folks, we’re at the beginning of a new revolution because of this on-demand stuff and nobody is better suited to start positioning this stuff than the channel. We will bring this stuff out to the world just like we brought out desktop PCs, CD/DVD burners, handheld computing, and a hundred other great technologies when they hit the application stage. This ought to be fun.

Contact Steve Cross at steve@crosschannel.com, 702-492-7472.

Editor's Note: Steve is a channel consultant who launches and fine-tunes channel programs. He has helped numerous companies to increase revenue and enhance their channel success.

Winning Sales Presentations By Casey Hughes

Effective meetings prepare and deliver presentations that command attention, increase retention, and inspire action. Presentations of this type should be viewed as conversation enablers and be measured in their effectiveness by the degree of interactivity you experience from your audience and the resultant agreements they create. Since presentations are structured and tend to be fixed in their form and content, they pose great challenges when produced in the context of conversation.

The guidelines I offer you are intended to help you prepare presentations that can achieve relationships and results. Like graphical interface design, a best practice for PowerPoint development always considers the user experience first. And of course, the best way to deliver winning presentations is to do what any world-class champion does -- prepare and practice thoroughly.

7 elements of good text slides

1. 30/26/22
   • The 30-26-22 limits. This refers to font size, and yes, size does matter.
   • Your title should be 30 points; body text 26 points.
   • And no text on your screen should be less than 22 point – it’s just too hard to read from a distance.
2. No complete sentences
3. One consistent structure
   • Each slide in your slide set needs to conform to a consistent structure
4. One line per bullet
5. 7 words x 7 lines
6. One main idea per slide
7. One bullet at a time
   • Use “slide builds”… break up 1 slide with many bullets into multiple slides.

7 elements of good graphic slides

Keep in mind that visuals are not just limited to PowerPoint-type presentations. You have several ways to leverage graphical visuals in a meeting room too! (like having your company or product logo on the wall or using flip-chart visuals). Here are the top 7 elements of good graphic PPT slides:

1. Point clearly illustrated
2. Detail level appropriate
3. Fonts large, effects few
4. Color choices correct
5. Contrast levels high
6. Key elements highlighted
7. Conclusions stated in the title (of ea. Slide)

Deliver a quality Audience Experience

• Set your expectations early and gain agreement from the start!
• Remember meetings are social
  • Always begin with introductions and a welcoming message
• Conduct Sound and Slide Checks to ensure a favorable user experience during your meeting (i.e. can the audience hear you? Can they see your presentation slides projected on the screen?)
• Instruct your methods for interactions (Q&A, Text Q&A, Polls, Evaluation Survey, etc.)
  • Be OPEN to audience input (not argumentative)
• Clearly define your presentations purpose and desired outcomes
  • Define how you will know when you’ve achieved it
• Be personable
  • Don’t leave your personality out
  • Be human and make it friendly (build relationships)
• You are asking for the audience to DO SOMETHING
  • Ask how they will change their behavior from the content you shared
• Have fun (and allow audience to have fun too)
  • Use humor and story-telling
• Consider your audience and their needs (and cultural differences)
• Use good and relevant examples (supported through graphics in your PPT).
• Share successes (and failures)
  • Real-time best practices are always appreciated
• Don’t be afraid to not have all the answers
  • Consider it an opportunity to continue the conversation beyond the presentation
• Balance your need to control the presentation (and outcomes) with the audiences needs.

Summary

Quality presentations are the most effective means to engage quality interactions with your audience. And remember, effective meetings prepare and deliver presentations that command attention, increase retention, and inspire action.

So ensure your presentations follow these simple guidelines and PRACTICE and PREPARE for a successful meeting with your audience.

ABOUT CASEY

Casey Hughes is the Director of Channel Business Development for Gartner Vision Events Online. He has 27 years of channel management experience including senior vice president roles at KayPro, Tandon and Merisel. He was called “the progenitor of PC retail” by CMP in response to his efforts to guide national retailers to enter the technology products category. Since the Internet era began in the mid 1990’s, he has architected numerous platforms for online collaboration, most recently a web meeting and online events portal called ChannelMatch. As a senior associate of the CoWorking Institute and an active facilitator for Hewlett Packard’s Media Solutions, Casey has unprecedented experience in helping organizations leverage technology and the requisite social processes for effective web meetings and online events. A professional speaker and workshop facilitator, Casey has a degree in physics and enjoys surfing with his 2 children in their home community of Malibu, CA.. Casey can be reached at casey@channelmatch.com or by calling his Malibu office at 310-457-2146.

Channel Reality

My company is a VAR or in today’s age, we are an integrator. We have been in the technology business for over 20 years and have evolved with technology as needed, going from “retailer” to BOX PUSHER to corporate reseller to business partner to integrator and whatever else our clients would like to call us. I have been with the company for about 17 years and have spent my whole life in technology. My job within the company is sales and since I have a native love of technology, I am tasked with finding new “niche” products with whom we can align ourselves while allowing us to differentiate from our peers. I have been fortunate to have become an invitee to VARVision, a Gartner event where new companies show off their wares and older companies come to re-establish relationships with their channel. Historically, we’ve been selective of the companies with whom we establish relationships with since there is a learning curve as well as having the responsibility of “selling” the idea of new technology to the rest of our sales organization. This is the story of how we brought in a new company, heretofore referred to as “New Great Technology (NGT)” and how our relationship went from good to great to over. We think there’s a lesson for both vendor and reseller.

We met with NGT at an IT Event. After several calls and meetings we found that we had similar customers and we both felt there was a fit. So, after months of discussion, we finally bit, just completed a call with NGT and when the call was over, we felt as if we were working with a company of strangers who had never worked with us. We committed much time and energy to New Great Technology. We had some mutual clients and they explained that they were actively looking for " strategic partners" in particular marketplaces and based on dialogue, we "fit their model" We "bit " on the bait, hook line and sinker and presented NGT to our sales force. Phew, they liked what they heard. Hence, we committed resources to "marketing" NGT and we were promised that we would have use of their sales force to go on "4-legged sales calls" while we were ramping up. The sales people and the tech people were all from a failed "dot bomb" and had made oodles of money and continually tossed that fact around along with the fact that they were going to "do it again."

Despite that, we truly were very excited with the prospects and made a very committed effort to open the doors of our existing clients as well as trying to set up sales calls with prospective opportunities. While we have only sold 2 units, this product has a long close cycle and doesn’t have the marketing or publicity it needed to be a household word, which is why we have committed so much time and energy to getting behind this product. There have been times where we felt like we were “evangelists”. We were promised many times that we would be receiving leads from NGT or opportunities to work with some NGT clients to introduce other products and the full breath of services which we offer. We were told that we would also be getting “bluebirds” or smaller sales which the company didn’t want to be bothered with. We are still eagerly waiting for these opportunities.

My associate and I met with Mr. Bill, the IT Director of a client about 6 months ago. Bill indicated that he wasn’t ready at that point but when he was, he would contact us and schedule an appointment. We listed Bill’s firm on a projection report for NGT many months ago. We even did sales opportunity projection reports for this manufacturer. We followed up diligently and scheduled an appointment with the client for early January. Before the appointment the client hired a new CTO. When we called Bill to confirm this appointment, he indicated that NGT had been in touch direct and that Fred, their new CTO) was interested in NGT but that he had a preference in purchasing from a reseller who he had a prior relationship with.

We immediately called NGT to express our displeasure and to ask how NGT was going to work with us on this opportunity. The answer we received back from the local rep was that he knew the entire history and was scheduled to go on the appointment with us is "you should hurry and try to get Fred to work with you.”

Unfortunately, our “partner” has no interest in backing us in this account (they just want sales at any cost). Now, please take into account that we introduced NGT into this client many months ago. Please also note that many manufacturers now protect a partner with a registration program. Please note that many companies have lead registration and protection programs. Please note that this isn’t the way to do business in today's business climate. Evidently NGT chose to exhibit characteristics which other companies have tried and when the channel really realized what they were doing, the channel didn’t accept it sitting down. How would you like it if NGT or someone like it, did this to you? Some clients will pay a reseller 15% of the sale if a lead is registered (and you get special pricing) and someone else gets the deal.

Finally, there is an unwritten rule which reads something like “Whether you win or lose, one always has to do the right thing!!” Haven’t we learned our lessons with companies and why do we continue to trust them?

How would you handle such a situation? Let me know by sending an email to: APrefer@ATECGroup.com