In today’s connected world, mobile devices are ubiquitous. One third of American adults own a smartphone, according to a recent Pew study. In the tech industry, that fraction seems much closer to 100%. I see tablets everywhere at conferences, with the iPad dominating usage even in our Microsoft-based ecosystem. However, mobile interfaces and support often continue to lag behind their traditional PC/Mac counterparts. As Jeremy and I agree, this is wrong. Mobile is critical and should be your best-optimized system – because it may be your user’s only option.  For video, we prefer our clients’ viewers to watch our work on the best screen possible.  We’re proud of what we do, and we know that bigger screens make high quality video look better. However, nothing is more critical than the viewer watching the video, regardless of screen size or computing type.

At Varvid, we offer video production, editing, hosting, and webcasting services, and all of those follow our “mobile critical” principle. Our workflow is optimized to deliver files ready to upload (H.264) to mobile oriented delivery platforms, and we make sure that all videos hosted with us are available for playback on mobile devices. When we choose partners for video platforms and webcasting, we pick providers who share our idea that mobile support is paramount. With webcasting, which is decidedly not compatible with mobile by default, we make an extra effort to provide mobile support to the market leading devices. A recent webcast that we worked on was streamed online in four different formats – including state-of-the-art HTML for iOS devices.

How are you supporting your mobile device carrying clients? Does your helpdesk support those users?  How well? AdobeConnect can stand to lose a couple users – can you?

*** For what it’s worth, AdobeConnect is now optimized for mobile, but first impressions are what stick with clients and potential clients.

This morning HTG announced a wonderful new solution called “Hands That Give” which will allow peers that are having disasters to get help from their peers. It’s a little bit like insurance – with everybody paying in, but more importantly everybody participating has to have an updated Lifeplan and an updated Disaster Recovery Plan – so that the HTG members that come to help have a plan to work with. This will help those in times of emotional or physical turmoil in their lives (and therefore their businesses) or even if the principal passes away. It’s a wonderful thing to bring to the HTG Peer Groups – very forward thinking. This video features Arlin Sorensen, founder of HTG, speaking about Hands That Give.

Other services, like Vimeo, serve up fantastic-looking video. But look at their Terms of Service – if you use Vimeo for business purposes, you run the risk of losing all of your videos at any time. Vimeo’s uploading guidelines say that Commercial Video (like you’d use for your business) is not allowed. A few years ago, when Varvid was just getting started, Vimeo was one of the few sites that supported HD video. We were thrilled (we were early adopters of HD) and started putting all our video on Vimeo. We even bought a paid account, only to later realize that all of our videos could be taken down at any time. No fun!

Over at the blog ReelSEO (which we read daily, naturally), the prolific Grant Crowell wrote an excellent post about why just having a video on your website isn’t enough – it needs to look its best. For MSPs, VARs, and other businesses in the IT Solution Provider space, the presentation of video on your website is especially important because computing solutions are the core your business. If the video on your webpage doesn’t load correctly, or play on the ever-increasing plethora of smartphones, it could seriously impact confidence in your service offerings.

“But Aaron!” You cry, “I just paid through the nose for a professionally produced video! Shouldn’t it just work on my website???”

The short is answer is yes, it should just work. Unfortunately, the realities of web video mean that there are several parameters that can effect the appearance, playback quality, and marketing effectiveness of your video: quiet or out of synch audio, improper video codecs, HTML5 readiness (or lack thereof), poor thumbnail images, choppy stream quality, and the ever-annoying auto-playback, just to name a few. If you don’t know what any of those words mean, it’s a good thing you’re reading this, because we can help. With VENUE, video just works.

VENUE stands for Video Editing Network and User Education. With VENUE, Varvid gives you the tools, knowledge, and confidence you need to shoot a high-quality, effective marketing message. You send us back your footage (in the cloud, of course), and we’ll take care of all the editing, uploading, and delivery. You get to make sure that visitors to your site see the marketing message you want them to see, and we make sure they stick around to watch it. With tiered pricing plans, we have solutions for entrepreneurs, small- to medium-sized businesses, enterprises, and everything in between. Still not convinced? Watch the video below:

For more information on our VENUE packages, please contact Drew Graham by email at drew@varvid.com, or by phone at (360) 255-7223.

D&H Distributing & SMB Nation Enter A Strategic Agreement -  The Go-to SMB Distributor Partners with this Growing Membership to Offer Resources, Tools and Programs, So the Two Companies May Work Together for a Stronger, More Successful SMB VAR Community -

HARRISBURG, PA, October 22, 2010 – The Major North American distributor of computer and consumer electronics products, D&H Distributing, has entered into an agreement with SMB Nation, the community of solution providers founded by channel advocate and SMB expert Harry Brelsford. Through this relationship, D&H will develop special distribution services for that organization’s resellers. Together, D&H and SMB Nation hope to build a stronger organization with even more targeted advantages for small business solution providers.

D&H plans to work with its vendor partners to create exclusive programs for SMB Nation “Tribe” members who purchase from D&H. This will include special pricing to make powerful, branded technologies more affordable for the SMB reseller; programs that target areas of emerging sales potential in SMB environments; and other benefits.

As part of the new relationship, D&H will be one of the sponsors of the upcoming SMB Nation Conference in Las Vegas, October 22 – 24. Jeff Davis, D&H’s senior vice president of sales, will help kick-off the proceedings with opening remarks to introduce the conference’s keynote speech. Reciprocally, Brelsford will present a seminar, “Server, Storage, Healthcare – Driving SMB Upgrades in 2011,” at D&H’s Mid-Atlantic Fall Technology Show on November 2 in Hershey, PA.

The SMB Nation community has grown into a sizable and varied representation of the small business reseller marketplace, and its members are prime candidates to take advantage of D&H’s SMB-oriented expertise. The two organizations together make an ideal match to serve this marketplace, since both are focused on the unique needs of SMB VARs, and SMB Nation’s group of members closely resemble the profile of D&H’s existing customer base. They therefore sought to create a more formal relationship.

The distributor’s long-term understanding of this segment informs all of D&H’s programs and services, which is why they so realistically meet market needs. D&H is excited about the opportunity to extend this support to SMB Nation’s followers, many of whom offer specialty services and solutions in areas that the distributor would like to develop further, including VoIP, vertical niche markets and managed services.

“We’re thrilled about the new agreement with SMB Nation, since the goals of our two companies are very much in synch,” said D&H Co-President Dan Schwab. “Harry has to be commended. He has cultivated a population of resellers whose role in the channel is becoming more vital every year. D&H has always valued the position of the SMB VAR. We look forward to collectively helping these SMB resellers succeed.”

“SMB Nation has grown to be a force in the channel, and we’re happy to bring D&H more into the fold,” said Brelsford. “They know how to assemble effective programs that drive business and create opportunity in the SMB space, so we have high hopes for a productive partnership. More importantly, they have integrated into our world from a sincere grassroots level with numerous outreach examples. For instance, there are D&H employees who actively participate in the SMB Nation tribe!”

About D&H Distributing

With an impressive 93-year history serving as a trusted advisor to the reseller channel, D&H has been able to consistently reinvent itself based upon changing market conditions. The company prides itself on creating business partnerships with an astute focus on ease-of-doing-business, relationships, value, performance and service.

D&H was named Cisco’s Global Distribution Partner of the Year, won the Microsoft Licensing Operational Excellence Award seven years running and was named Microsoft’s OEM Distributor of the Year. The company ships out of five separate locations in North America, including its US headquarters in Harrisburg and its Canadian headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario. Additional US warehouses are located in Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; and Fresno, CA. Call D&H toll-free at (800) 340-1001 or visit www.dandh.com.

Amy Hodge, Senior Community Consultant from ConnectWise chats with Aaron Booker from Varvid about the value of SMB VoIP and Channel Partners Shows in Las Vegas March 3 2010.

Amy mentions the surprise some of their customers experienced that ConnectWise was at these shows.

She explains that ConnectWise can be utilized by many different IT segments, and answers the questions “What is a Professional Service Automation (PSA)?” and “How can I make money with it?”



Matt Makowicz of Ambition Consulting based in New Jersey and author of “A Guide to Selling Managed Services” talks to Aaron Booker from Varvid about the continuing convergence of traditional Telecom with IT.  He brings up interesting points about how it is easier for IT firms to make suggestions about Telecom, than Telecom firms making suggestions about IT.

Makowicz also comments that it’s heartening to see the growing cooperation between the two industries- IT and Telecom, and that they both have a lot to learn and benefit from one another.

Matt Wilson from NGT is so happy he won a 32” LCD TV from Varvid at the SMB VoIP and Channel Partners Conference held March 3, 2010 in Las Vegas.

“I’ve been looking for a new television to build a Man Cave.  That’s fantastic!”

Aaron Booker of Varvid speaks with Jay Murgalia from Base2. Base2 NC is a Microsoft Small Business Certified small network integrator based in New Bern North Carolina and is excited to be able to move his firm into integrating customers Telecom needs with their IT. This show is Muraglia’s first SMB Nation event, and gives Jay and his peers the opportunity to efficiently evaluate and get to know the variety of vendors in the VoIP space, as well as learn more about the technology out there. Jay is excited to attend other SMB VoIP events and hopes to make the SMB Nation Spring 2010 event in New York.

Aaron Booker from Varvid speaks with Jim Willingham of Datahouse. Datahouse is a 25 year old diversified solution provider headquartered in Birmingham Alabama and focuses on such diverse specialties as retail pharmacy solutions, ERP, CRM and security/surveillance, as well as being a Microsoft Partner.

Jim was recommended to SMB VoIP Las Vegas by a trusted vendor, Sonicwall, the previous week and the timing was perfect, as Willingham’s firm has been considering moving more into VoIP solutions for their existing customers.