Conference Program

Wednesday, June 25

7:00 - 8:30
Registration Opens

8:30
Welcome and Introductions
Shannon Given, Ecosystems Summit Program Manager

8:35
Changing Rules, Increased Opportunities: MSPs, ISVs, OEMs in Today's Market
As the concept of managed services continues to grow, there has been a dramatic change in the nature of the ecosystem involving MSPs, OEMs and ISVs, fundamentally altering the way that each group needs to interact with the other. An example is that with lowered margins and increased competition, traditional VARs have increasingly moved toward the MSP model, selling outsourced services as an adjunct to their traditional offerings. Charles Weaver will discuss the business drivers behind the growth in companies outsourcing key business processes such as network security, data protection, network administration and more, and what this growing acceptance of the service provider model means for future business opportunities. He'll also offer specific advice on how MSPs and vendors should work more closely together to benefit end-users.
Charles Weaver, President, Managed Services Alliance

9:30
A Recipe for Successful Business Partnerships
As a vendor, channel, VAR, distributor of products and services, the need to have turnkey, executable, revenue generating strategies for your business is critical; add to the mix your strategic partner relationships, which can be complex. How partnerships are aligned within your business strategy, how you support the partnership, and how they are executed can determine success or failure, which ultimately effects revenue and bottom-line profits. Issues that can make small-to-medium sized business partnerships complex include finding and implementing best-in-class partner-to-partner business plans, and the effective management of partners with a limited budget.
Linda Moffat and Holly Simon, Chief Collaborators, Evolving Collaborations

10:15 - 10:45
Networking Break

10:45
Building a Successful Network of Business Partners
Software and IT companies looking to expand their global presence should consider building key distribution partnerships if resources and limited budget are factors. Global distribution is a key element of any software company's global growth strategy and is critical to gaining market share beyond your own country. Learn how to build a successful global network of partners to meet the growing demand for your products and related services at a pace that makes sense for your company.
John Joseph, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, Envox

11:40
Enabling IT Channel Partners
There are five important steps that successful IT vendors take to enable their channel partners to drive profitable sales and customer satisfaction. We will look at research to see exactly how much IT vendors spend to enable partners, and in what specific areas that spending is occurring. Discover which partner enablement investments produce high returns and which investments don’t. Qualitative research results show us what best practices and painful “gotchas” IT vendors have realized when it comes to enabling channel partners. This session is based on facts and boils all of the data down to five key steps to take to best leverage your channel partners to exponentially grow sales and create fanatical customers for your offerings.
William Vanderbilt,Sales and Channel Enablement Evangelist, ElementK

12:30 - 1:30
Networking Lunch

1:30
The Art of the Software Alliance Agreement
It’s been estimated that only one in 10 software alliances actually deliver substantial value. Why is that? A major factor is that the parties to software alliances often fail to negotiate and draft alliance agreements containing clear and meaningful commitments. In this presentation, a seasoned software industry lawyer offers lessons from the trenches on how a software alliance agreement can be drafted to maximize profits for the software vendor, while avoiding the usual pitfalls. The presentation will cover such topics as license grants, pricing and compensation schemes, warranties and indemnities, revenue recognition issues and special considerations when going overseas.
Michael Whitener, Principal, VersaLaw

2:25
The Magic of Ecosystem Marketing
Magic Software Enterprises turned its Independent Software Vendor relationship with SAP into a network of value added-resellers for Magic's iBOLT Special Edition by paying careful attention to partner business requirements and marketing best practices. Now with multiple SAP awards and more than 250 signed business partners, Magic Software is ready to share some of the secrets of developing a thriving business within the ecosystem of a major vendor.
Glenn Johnson, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Marketing, Magic Software

3:10-3:30
Networking Break

3:30
Seeding VAR growth
Twenty percent growth each year for the next five years. That is the challenge that was issued to representatives from about 50 stunned SolidWorks value added resellers (VARs) at a meeting five years ago. “How many of you have thought about what you’re going to look like in five years?” they were asked. Very few in attendance had. So SolidWorks developed a comprehensive program aimed at helping hundreds of VARs around the world increase sales, grow their staffs, increase their service offerings and improve their overall business strategies. In this session, attendees will see a real-world example of a large software company giving its VARs the blueprint for success, a success that benefits both the VARs and SolidWorks.
Dan Monette, VAR Development Manager, SolidWorks

4:25
International Market Selection
Selecting the wrong markets is often the first, critical mistake that companies make when starting to go international. They go to the UK because it is English-speaking; they get pulled to Korea because they were contacted by a reseller that found them at a trade show; they go to France because Paris is such a great city to visit, and so on. Market selection is often a matter of the CEO’s whims rather than being a structured process. Interact in a fast-paced, informative discussion of the key software markets worldwide, the criteria you should use for selecting the markets that are right for you and your products and a practical explanation of how to segment large markets and establish achievable revenue targets.
Oystein Konsmo, COO and CFO, The York Group International

5:15
End of Day 1

Thursday, June 26

8:00
Registration Opens

8:30
Strategic Alliances for Small and Mid-sized Software Companies
Too often, both large and small firms will announce strategic alliances, which have little if any true impact on their companies or their customers. Other firms, however, have discovered that small- to mid-sized firms can successfully build true strategic alliances, to mutually build their capabilities and compete against larger companies in today's competitive market. Topics discussed will include the benefits of cooperation, finding the right strategic partner and determining the scope of cooperation.
Marc Kalman, CEO, EZCom

9:20
Case Study:  How TouchStar Expanded its Ecosystem to Become the Fastest Growing Software Company in its Market
TouchStar, an Aurora, Colo. based unified communications and call center technology developer, has grown by double digits each year for the past five years by innovatively expanding its ecosystem.  TouchStar software unifies voice and data for more than 2,500 call centers and businesses around the world. By forming partnerships with more than 30 CRM and other business application providers, TouchStar added value for clients and effectively expanded its sales channel.  In 2007, TouchStar changed the call center industry, and added differentiation in a crowded market, by marketing for its clients and leveraging economies of scale to reduce costs for its clients.
Noah Seis, Senior Sales Executive, TouchStar
Brian Smits, Global Director of Marketing, TouchStar

11:20
TBA

12:15
Conclusion of Ecosystems Summit 2008