Aaron Booker from Varvid joins Arlin Sorenesen of Heartland Technology Solutions in Harlan, Iowa to talk about HTS‘s Channel IT Summit. Arlin explains he’s seeking a way to deepen the relationship with the Vendors he partners with through the Heartland Technology Group by sharing the experience of what it’s like for VARS to be “in the trenches.” Arlin states “what better way than to invite them to come out here to rural Iowa to experience our business at HTS to share some of the things we’ve learned over the last 25 years.”

Arlin plans to talk about HTG, which has over 260 members that are part of his organization worldwide, and his goal for the summit is for Vendors to get a feel for what it’s like to serve SMB customers out in the real world. Arlin thinks that Vendors will be surprised at how complex the business really is for him and HTG, as they aim to serve a vast array of different kinds of clients. HTG services small micro businesses up to some of the mid-market customers, all of whom have very different needs and these different sized organizations expect very different things. As Arlin says himself “it’s not as simple as it seems on paper and we think we’re going to be able to show this to the Vendors who attend this week.”

The main points that Heartland Technology Solutions‘ Channel IT Summit 2011 promises attendees to come away with are:

“Larger firms have distinct advantages as well as challenges in strategic planning, finance, corporate culture, human resources, marketing and business development,” said Arlin Sorensen, founder and CEO of HTG Peer Groups. “At a time when our industry is evolving rapidly, HTG50+ powered by IT Nation, backed by the expertise of ConnectWise and the support of colleagues, provides these members with all the benefits of the peer group model.”

What makes HTG50+ even more distinct from its predecessors is its meeting structure: The CEO-level executives will meet quarterly, and twice-yearly the HTG50+ peer group meetings will be attended by the member companies’ whole management staff, rather than a single representative. This new model of peer management team to management team interaction will create a more effective way of transferring ideas between companies rather than expecting one person to carry all the ideas back to their team for execution.

Also in recent HTG news, Cisco, Intel, and Varvid have joined HTG-V1, HTG‘s first peer group for vendor executives, which was formed in early 2010.

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.

Imagine our surprise when HTG Peer Groups presented us with the Friend of HTG award at their Summit in Dallas Monday night. HTG founder Arlin Sorensen, along with HTG President Scott Scroggin, called us to the stage and despite all the boos and hisses, handed over a very heavy award. As we returned to our table, Aaron looked at both Mike and me and said with a smile, “How cool is this.”  We are honored to have received this recognition and look forward to continuing to assisted in sharing their story.

“Varvid has been an innovator in how VARs, MSPs and vendors create and use content on the web and a principal force in social media for IT-related businesses,” said Sorensen, HTG founder and CEO. “Through this new partnership, HTG Peer Group members will have an opportunity to learn about Internet video from the undisputed industry leader.”

HTG Peer Groups are composed of industry leaders led by industry insiders with years of experience, all sharing best practices in a non-competitive environment.

“HTG is a revolutionary organization with strategic and forward thinking leadership, a model for success that has been proven to help VARs, MSPs and vendors to succeed,” says Aaron Booker, founder of Varvid, Inc. “I believe this partnership will greatly benefit HTG members by providing them access to top-notch internet delivered video production, webcasting and video playback solutions.”

Booker is no stranger to the MSP/VAR world, spending more than 15 years in the IT industry and participating in the early years of HTG’s existence. “The HTG Peer Group experience was an enormous benefit to my professional development, and I’ve wanted nothing more than to be able to give back by helping HTG member companies cost-effectively maximize their use of video on websites, blogs, and social media outlets,” said Booker. “I hope this partnership will add a great deal of value to HTG members and, ultimately, enhance their ability to promote their own services.”

With more than eight years of experience in live and on-demand Internet-delivered video, Varvid is uniquely equipped to aid VARs, MSPs and their vendor partners in developing online videos for use in marketing, social media, training and client relations. As a strategic partner, Varvid will serve as a resource for HTG members that want to produce and use video content, and will develop exclusive offerings for HTG members.

In addition to providing paid video services to the IT Channel, Booker recently launched Varvid.tv, a new and free video ‘TV Channel’ covering industry events and featuring IT channel content.  Varvid.tv not only features professional content but is also looking for fresh voices from the channel partner community at large.  All contributions from the IT channel will be professionally edited, hosted and optimized at no charge.

Learn more about HTG at http://www.htgmembers.com or by calling (712) 744-3619 .  You can also check out a sampling of Varvid’s past work for HTG to get an idea of what Varvid might be able to do for you and your business!

Scott Scrogin, HTG President, chats with Varvid’s Drew Graham about the success of HTG 2010 Summit in Dallas. Scott shares that the sucess HTG IT MSPs have experienced will be made available to a limited number of IT MSP vendors as well. Begining in June, these peer groups will be structure much like the original HTG peer groups, including multilpe levels of accountibility. The hope is vendors can build lasting and solid relationship together and with other HTG members.

Christy Sacco, Director of Operations HTG Peer groups, chats with Drew Graham from Varvid at HTG 2010 Summit in Dallas. She details her roles with this IT organization and the overall success of this years event. With a  great response from vendors and attendance from members at 95%, HTG staffers are thrilled. The focus remains on quality and accountability for both members and vendors.

HTG Founder & CEO Arlin Sorensen talks with Varvid’s Aaron Booker at HTG 2010 Summit in Dallas about HTG’s vision session. Arlin says it’s all about going back to the basics. He says HTG members will focus on business and personal growth, driven by execution and the “four plan”. Arlin also announced that HTG will cap it’s total membership at 250, allowing them to go deeper with current membership. Celebrating 10 years as an organization and living the “Go Giver” way has paid off, says Sorensen.

Rafael Sanguily, MSP University’s Director of Business Development, spoke with Varvid’s Aaron Booker about the MSPU two-day seminar at HTG 2010 Summit in Dallas. Geared towards sales 101, MSPU stresses to thier clients to become a trusted advisor that happens to focus on the IT business. Topics covered include transitioning from a standard computer/IT model of business to MSP provider. MSPU provides 4 areas of expertise for the IT providers, which includes sales track, CEO Workshop and service delivery track. Later this year, MSPU will implement a marketing track as well.

Mike Nobers from Zenith Infotech chats with Varvid’s Drew Graham at the HTG 2010 Summit in Dallas. As an IT managed services and back up and disaster recovery provider, working with the HTG organization continues to impress Mike. Why? Because they work not as competitors, but together. New releases in the future for Zenith Infotech include cloud computing and view telepresence.