Microcorp is a master agent that I have dealt with since 2003. Their agent conference is this week. The focus is on Get Away from T1. Well, that's not the official theme, but that is the message.
It started with a panel I moderated this morning on Demystifying the Cloud. It's a paradigm shift to move from Layer 2 to Layer 7; to move from access to applications and hosting. Hosting is the Cloud. Amazon, iTunes, Google Apps, Hotmail are all examples of the Cloud.
Everyone has heard of Salesforce.com, the $1.3B SAAS provider of CRM software. I remember when they were at ISPCON as an ASP (with Jamcracker) trying to push the application as a service model. But this was before ubiquious broadband, 3G and smartphones. Today, SAAS is a productivity move, not a just a cost saver.
Other opportunities were introduced by a panel of agents. Marty Lyman at Compass Solutions sells Hosting, so he understands SAAS and The Cloud.
Conference calling has helped Doug Sammak of VATIC Outsourcing expand his protfolio of business. Allan Watkins of Total TeleCom Management has added TEM (telecom expense management) to get into the businesses that spend more than $15K per month.
Melissa Stafford of Converge Solutions holds the record for the most diverse carriers sold. Her business is not focused on a product set or carrier, but on whatever the customer needs in the overall telecom and IT space. She understands that today it is about getting the most share of the Total Telecom & IT Spend of the customer.
Education is available everywhere. (That thing called the Information Superhighway has a wealth of information to help you and your business).
