Channel Partners Online

The heat of summer is here, so Craig and Kevin are bringing you a red-hot version of the Channel Partners podcast! The guys are excited to welcome to the show Robin Robins, the well-known IT marketing and sales consultant, who is getting ready for her four-hour preconference workshop at the upcoming Channel Partners Evolution, the channel's biggest fall event. Robin explains why you should attend the event and drops a number of important sales and marketing tips that you can apply to your business before you even get to Washington, D.C. "I think this is what gets many small business owners in trouble. They don't really understand marketing, so they think it's branding, a beautiful logo and a dynamic website. It's really none of those things. I'm a salesperson. A salesperson thinks differently about marketing. ... People are going to buy from us because we provide real value, we can solve a problem for them and we are positioned properly." Speaking of Evolution, to be held Sept. 9-12, we'll explore some of

The long-awaited MSP 501 rankings are out. Did your company make the list? That's the focus of this episode of Coffee with Craig and Kevin. The guys welcome Kris Blackmon, senior editor of the MSP 501, to talk about how MSPs were chosen for the list and the remarkable effort it took to increase the number of applications we received this year by a big number. "Our community profile has just grown and grown," said Blackmon. "Last year was a record number for applications, and this year we saw 35% year-over-year growth. So it seems to be one of those programs that's really resonating and taking off." Also on the show is Bryan Reynolds, director of sales operations for master agent TBI. In the first of a series of appearances on Coffee with Craig and Kevin, Reynolds talks about the popularity of online video content his company is producing and previews the upcoming "Thunderdome" series that he hosts at Channel Partners Evolution in Washington, D.C. "It's kind of like a live buyer's guide and you hear it dir

Don't "press your luck" with this episode of the podcast! Craig and Kevin welcome in Max Silber, vice president of mobility with MetTel, who steps into the coffeehouse to explain why 5G is exciting, but we should temper our expectations about how readily available it will be right off the bat. "5G is coming. It will be available in several U.S. cities by the end of the year. And we'll all be able to enjoy it under one condition -- that we all live in our cars," jokes Silber. "The issue isn't just the deployment of 5G, it's really, how do you get that signal inside a building? The narrow band and high frequency that 5G requires in order to give us those ultra fast speeds, don't really like to penetrate buildings and energy efficient windows the same way that 4G LTE does." Thus creates a challenge for wireless suppliers and channel partners. Silber also touches on the connections between 5G and the internet of things, and how IoT has become an essential part of the MetTel portfolio. We'll also bring you

Did you think we were gone for good? No way -- sorry! The guys are back with their first show since the Channel Partners Conference & Expo wrapped last month with a recap of the event and a trio of interviews with some big players in the industry. First up is Danny Obaseki, VP of sales with GMS Live Expert, who shares how MSPs and their end customers are benefiting by working with his company. Then, Channel Partners/Channel Futures news editor Edward Gately talks with channel leaders from KnowBe4 at their KB4-CON user conference, where dozens of partners were in attendance. They get us caught up on the latest trends in cybersecurity and how the KnowBe4 partner program is helping partners improve their security chops. And fellow news editor James Anderson files a live report from master agent TBI's Big Event at Soldier Field in Chicago. All that, plus Kevin tries to slow Digi's momentum and the guys reveal a big name that will be taking the stage at this fall's Channel Partners Evolution. Be sure to chec

The Channel Partners Conference & Expo is almost here, so the guys are celebrating with a trio of first-time exhibitors at the show. First up is Richard Stevens of Channel Assist, who talks about how his company helps businesses increase partner engagement. Then comes Rachael Wright of Upcurve Cloud, a Google Cloud premier partner. She shares how Upcurve offers partners the opportunity to engage their clients from top to bottom of the technology stack. Last but not least is Jennifer Kula of Wasabi, who explains Wasabi's "hot" storage and how partners can be "hot" by association. And of course, with this being the last podcast before the Channel Partners Conference & Expo in Las Vegas kicks off on April 9, Craig and Kevin offer tips to make the best of your event-going experience. Oh, and Kevin raps … and goes off on a rant to get us all pumped up … the usual stuff.

March Madness is in full swing, not only on the basketball court, but with our podcast and the just-around-the-corner Channel Partners Conference & Expo. Oracle, fresh off its purchase of SD-WAN provider Talari, is poised to make a big splash at our show. Nate Grinnell, senior director of the company's worldwide alliances and channels, strolls into the coffeehouse to talk about: how the acquisition will benefit partners of both companies; the new master-agent relationships he's setting up; the year's hottest SD-WAN trends; and the message he and his team hope to get across to prospective partners at CP Expo. We'll also get an on-the-scene report from Ingram Micro's Cloud Summit X, where the distribution giant just launched a new IoT Marketplace. All of that, plus a rundown of the Channel Partners agenda that only a millennial could appreciate.

With the Channel Partners Conference & Expo now just a little over a month away, the guys are getting serious. (Well, kind of. Their guests certainly are.) First up is Tim Cook, founder and chief revenue officer of Blulogix, the B2B monetization specialists. Cook explains how partners can take advantage of what he calls the "monetization moment" and discusses the on-demand Channel Partners webinar that can help our audience make a giant leap toward getting there. Next up is Andy Ory, co-founder and CEO of 128 Technology, a company that takes a unique look at networking. Ory tells us how the surge in the use of multiple clouds is impacting the industry and how his company's Session Smart SD-WAN is changing the game for its partner community. All that, plus--are you ready to par-tay? The revamped Digi Awards at the upcoming Channel Partners Conference & Expo in Las Vegas now features a party where we're welcoming a few hundred guests to put their hands up and raise a glass. We break it all down.

Craig and Kevin are coming down off the high from Valentine's Day in their latest podcast. Love is in the air when Jim Vicatos, national director of sales at Choice Business Connections, joins the show. In addition to telling us where to find the best bagels and pizza on Long Island, Jim talks about his company's important relationship with T-Mobile, partner opportunities in IoT and how Choice's CAMP program is saving customers money. The guys also feel the love from Rick Beckers, who's not only a member of the Channel Partners Advisory Board, but also the head of a new company that's bringing a new approach in digital distribution to the channel. "It's an evolution and a collision of everything that's going on in the world as it pertains to what everyone has hung "industry 4.0" on ... our channel vendors and agents and partners are selling technology things. ... The digital transformation has turned everything from what used to be an on-premises world to a hybrid world, and you'd now be hard-pressed to fi

The groundhog didn't see his shadow, so that means at least six more episodes of Craig and Kevin. The guys are pleased to welcome RingCentral channel chief Zane Long to the show. He talks about the latest cutting-edge research around unified communications a service and how his company's recent purchase of a pair of customer-engagement platforms is bound to benefit partners. "This bolsters our customer-engagement portfolio .... without question our primary focus has been addressing the needs of businesses as they look to enable their mobile and distributed workforces all across the world," Long says. We also get an on-the-scene report from our own Edward Gately, who spent the week in Las Vegas at the Check Point CPX360 event. He caught up with new Check Point channel leader Frank Rauch to learn about the direction the cybersecurity provider is taking with its partner program. All that, plus Kevin introduces a sketchy new acronym--KWIM--that we doubt is going to catch on. He tries hard nonetheless. And w

It goes without saying that we've been away for too long. Coffee with Craig and Kevin returns for its first episode of the new year. The guys tell you more about the partner opportunity to go home with a first-ever Digi Award at the upcoming Channel Partners Conference & Expo--an homage of course to our own digital services robot mascot. We'll also offer up our first preview of some of the hottest attractions coming to CP Expo in Vegas in April. We also welcome in Channel Partners/Channel Futures editor Edward Gately, who this week was live on the scene at Avaya's Engage event, where he caught up with Dino DiPalma, president, strategic partners and global accounts at the company. DiPalma talks about the biggest trends in unified communications and contact centers, sharing the goals he has for Avaya's partners this year.

Craig and Kevin are celebrating their milestone 50th podcast, which doubles as their holiday edition! Joining them in the revelry are David Vance, chief business development officer at 888VoIP, who talks about five considerations to make when switching to a cloud PBX, as well as the company's new distribution facility in Reno, Nevada. Not to be outdone is Art Wittmann, senior vice president of Channel Partners and Channel Futures, who talks about the successes from the past year and the excitement planned for 2019. And it wouldn't be an episode of Coffee with Craig and Kevin without some traditional wackiness. You'll get their channel spin on 'Twas the Night Before Christmas; plus, a dedication to holiday movies with some trailers -- also with a channel spin.

Craig and Kevin are back from fattening their bellies on Thanksgiving with a brand-new podcast. John Cunningham, CEO of BCM One, joins the fray to talk about the exciting things happening at his company and how partners are benefiting from some of its key relationships in the channel. And since it's December, it's time to look back at some of the highlights or 2018 and offer up some industry predictions for 2019 -- Craig and Kevin style, of course -- which means these "top five" lists could be pretty unorthodox.

Thanksgiving is almost here, so the guys give thanks to you, their loyal listeners, with some more great channel content. First up, Mike Kerr of SUSE strolls into the coffeehouse for some chatter about open source and the growing importance it plays in the channel. Then, Rosanna Pellegrino takes some time away from her day job at Digital Defense to share the latest about her company and offer tips to both partners and customers about preparing for today's cybersecurity challenges. Finally, Channel Partners/Channel Futures news editor James Anderson shares his story about the latest technology he's encountered -- a transcription app to help him process his interviews more quickly. Let's just say it quickly devolved into what we're calling "transcription mad libs."

With Channel Partners Evolution in the rearview mirror, Craig and Kevin have their bearings back. After a brief hiatus, they return with a podcast featuring one of the biggest names in channel analysis--Forrester's Jay McBain. McBain talks about how vendors can build the best channel programs and what partners can anticipate from what's likely to be another crazy year of M&A in 2019. Also on the show is Josh Hutchison, director of sales - channel enablement, with Mindmatrix, the provider of PRM, sales-enablement and marketing-automation software. You'll learn about his company and what it's doing in the channel. And then there's #snubbed. That's right. Craig and Kevin tell their sob story about a canceled comedy routine at the MSP 501 awards, which no doubt turned out for the best.

Craig and Kevin are pumped up about Channel Partners Evolution! In this edition of the podcast, the guys offer five tips for attendees who won't want to miss out on all of the business and networking opportunities awaiting them in Philadelphia. Also on the show is Carlos Lahrssen, president of Nexogy, the cloud-based business phone system provider. He'll be talking about Nexogy's presence at Evolution and what makes the company's partner program stand out. All that, plus we recognize the winner of our summer-long "The Channel's Got Talent" competition. Let's just say Craig thinks it was rigged; he's not too impressed with the result.

In this latest edition of the wildly popular Channel Partners podcast, the guys sit down with 4Voice founder Amruth Laxman, for a deep dive into business VoIP. And what 4Voice has in store for partners who drop by the company's booth at Channel Partners Evolution. You'll also get the lowdown on the brand-new Business Transformation Station inside the Channel Partners Evolution expo hall. Leaders from Sandy Beaches Software and Inteserra share their thoughts on the significant steps needed to transform all aspects of your business--expertise you'll be able to tap from multiple vendors in one stop on the show floor. Oh, but that's not all. In honor of telecom agents and MSPs working together, the guys talk about some of their favorite "duos" of all time!

It's that time of the year again. As the kids and college students go back to school, so do Craig and Kevin. The guys welcome Melissa McCoy, vice president of channel sales at Flexential, to the show. She talks about her new position and the combination of the former ViaWest and Peak 10 channel programs into one. Also on this week is Ben Edmond, founder and CEO of Connected2Fiber. While fiber is a hot topic, Edmond explains why you should also consider getting "SaaS-y" with his company and what you can expect from his team at Channel Partners Evolution. Oh, and we mentioned "back to school," right? We have fun with all of the education you'll be able to get in Philadelphia in October.

Big M&A news in the channel broke this week and Craig and Kevin were all over it. In this edition of the Channel Partners podcast, the guys welcome in Brian Leonard, the new vice president of marketing at RapidScale, to talk about his company's acquisition by Cox Business. They'll also talk about his new role and the stakes RapidScale is claiming in desktop as a service. Also on the show is Melinda Templeman, head of VIP relations for Channel Partners and its sister brands, to discuss what we'll be doing for our partners and customers at Channel Partners Evolution, as well as the burgeoning IoT opportunity. And all of the big summer blockbusters on theater screens around the country have Craig and Kevin wondering, "What if this podcast were a movie?"

It's podcast time again! In their latest episode, Craig and Kevin welcome the team from Sprint Business to talk about the exciting changes to their partner program and the slew of products and services they're hitting the channel with this year. Also on the show is Holly Garcia of ATEN Technology, a distributor that is making waves and becoming a bigger player in the industry. And to commemorate their 42nd episode, the guys remember Jackie Robinson (who wore No. 42) and talk a little baseball with the All-Star Game just around the corner.

In this edition of the Channel Partners podcast, Craig and Kevin welcome Rob Rae, vice president of business development at Datto. Rae breaks down his company's recently completed DattoCon event, answers partners' questions about Datto's merger with Autotask and talks about the growing importance of cybersecurity for MSP businesses. Also on the show is Ed Basart, chief strategist for InSpeed Networks. Basart takes us on a ride through telecom history, describing how he came to found ShoreTel and, more recently, InSpeed. You'll learn about the unique opportunities you'll have at the company's booth at the upcoming Channel Partners Evolution. All that, plus Kevin lives out his dream of anchoring the evening news!