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Heartland Technology Solutions Channel IT Summit 2011

Posted Sep 22 2011 by in Aaron Booker, Arlin Sorenesen, Channel IT Summit 2011, Heartland Technology Solutions, HTG Peer Groups with 0 Comments

 

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:

• Understanding the roles in a typical VAR company
• Understanding how VAR’s grow and the barriers to growth
• Understanding things you should not do when working with VAR’s
• Understanding how to work effectively with SMB communities
• Understanding some of the frustrations VAR’s experience working with your tools and trying to procure your products and services
• Experience rural Iowa and hear from SMB partners and customers first hand

 

To find out more, visit:

Varvid Staff At MVP Nation 2011 in Full Force!

Posted Mar 4 2011 by in MVP Nation, Varvid Partners, Varvid Team with 3 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We just set up our booth here at MVP Nation 2011 in Seattle, and we’re geared up for a long day of video, VARS and Vendors. Check varvid.tv later today for interviews with Harry Brelsford, CEO of SMB Nation, and other members of the SMB Nation crew.

MVP Nation is a new event that connects three important communities in one place at one time, Microsoft MVPs, community members (composed of customers, channel partners, consultants, and members of the public) as well community sponsors.

Microsoft’s Birger Steen Making a Move to Parallels

Posted Aug 6 2010 by in Cloud Services, Microsoft, Microsoft Partner Network, Uncategorized with 1 Comment

Birger Steen, current vice president for small and midmarket business and distribution (SMB&D), will be leaving the company at the end of this month to become President at Parallels, a cloud services enablement software company.   As you no doubt know, Steen has played an instrumental role in helping SMBs find and use technology through his leadership in the past year.  Vahe Torossian, Corp VP for SMS&P at Microsoft, said that Birger felt this was an opportunity that he just couldn’t pass up. 

“Our small and mid-market business (SMB) leadership group, and specifically Birger Steen, has played an instrumental role in bridging the gap between the SMBs and technology through their leadership in the past year.  Microsoft remains committed to investing in small and mid-market businesses and our partners who serve them.   The list of products and offerings that we launched last year specifically for the SMBs is a great testament to the priority and focus we have with this customer segment.  I am even more excited with the opportunities that cloud computing can bring to SMBs now and in the near future.  We appreciate all that Birger has done and wish him well.” 

Steen spent eight years at Microsoft.  He moved to Redmond after leading Microsoft’s sales and marketing operations in Norway and Russia. A search for Steen’s replacement has begun. 

We are sorry that the Microsoft Partner community lost an advocate in this leader.  On the other hand, we are glad for Paralllels; they’re gaining his expertise and leadership.  Congratulations on your new role as President.  We are glad to see his career advancing and hope to see him  at future industry events. 

Chris Brogan & Julien Smith – Co-Authors “Trust Agents”

Posted Sep 23 2009 by in Books, Conferences, Smart and Simple Solutions Conference for Small Business with 0 Comments

Chris Brogan and Julien Smith gave some great advice during their lunchtime keynote at the recent Microsoft/Seattle Chamber Conference, including: Everything you do online stays on Google forever. Watch your online reputation. Establish a good relationship with your clients/viewers/readers. Use cause marketing to benefit causes and gain more customer connections. Take all the tools available to you and use them to your benefit like video, digital photos, and blogging to drive traffic to your site.

Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce – Emmy Jordan

Posted Sep 22 2009 by in Conferences, Smart and Simple Solutions Conference for Small Business with 0 Comments

Aaron Booker from Varvid has a chat with Emmy Jordan, the Senior Vice President of Membership and Business Development at the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. She works with small business members that are about 82% of their membership by setting up meetings like The Smart and Simple Solutions Conference for Small Business. They partnered with Microsoft to present to conference. She talks about the various panels on financing, branding, solutions and more that are presented at the event.


Photos from the Smart & Simple Strategies for Small Business Conference

Posted Sep 22 2009 by in Conferences with 0 Comments

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We took some photos at the 2nd Annual Smart & Simple Strategies for Small Business Conference.  It was held at the Microsoft Conference Center in Redmond but was a joint venture of the Seattle Chamber and Microsoft.  Great event!  The Eastside Business Journal did a very nice summary of the event.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/varvid/sets/72157622410282720

Microsoft Small Business Specialist Feedback

Posted Sep 21 2009 by in Microsoft Partner Network with 0 Comments

Aaron Booker from Varvid talks about Small Business Specialist with SBSCers at Microsoft’s Smart and Simple Solutions Conference for Small Business. Brad Benner from X-Bar IT, Steve Banks from Banks Consulting NW Inc., Cameron Slade from the Silvertip Group Inc, and Jamison West from JWCS all mention some of the reasons they work with Microsoft Small Business Specialist. They also talk about the benefits to having small business specialist certification.

Jane Boulware from Microsoft talks about Windows 7

Posted Sep 21 2009 by with 0 Comments

Aaron Booker from Varvid speaks with Jane Boulware who is the General Manager of Windows for the United States. She deals with bringing Windows to small and medium sized businesses around the US. Windows 7 features include making your work more productive, the operating system is more secure, its even easy and fun to use. There are better tools for connecting externally, finding what you are looking for, and backing up your data. Speed and battery life are also improved with Windows 7.

The Adventure School – Cori Ready

Posted Sep 21 2009 by in Local Business, Smart and Simple Solutions Conference for Small Business with 0 Comments



Cori Ready from The Adventure School talks with Varvid’s Aaron Booker at the Smart and Simple Solutions Conference in Redmond,WA. The Adventure School is a company producing events in the tech industry, arts, and social areas. They discusses how social media tools are arriving to the mainstream and how exciting it is that more people are beginning to use them. She also talks about how technology innovation is enabling business owners to get their work done in the field.

Wayne Small – International SMB Trainer, Tech Author: SBSfaq.com

Posted Sep 20 2009 by in SMB Nation with 0 Comments

Aaron Booker from Varvid interviews Wayne Small – International SMB Trainer, Tech Author: SBSfaq.com. SBSfaq.com is all about providing good info for the SMB community about Essential Server, Windows Foundation Server, and Windows Home Server. He is also about to release 2 books, one on SBS and one on Trend.

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