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 TA's
Review of the Spring 2008 Channel Partners Show
By Dan Baldwin, TA Founder & Editor
What we hope to cover in or review is a literal review of all the
speakers and all the vendors for the benefit of those who missed the show
entirely or for those who just missed some of it.
Click here for a daily video summary of the show we published last
week on our video blog.
Hotel Parties Seminars
Show "Special Offers" Vendors
& Exhibitors
If you have show content that should be posted here please email it
to Dan Baldwin at
Dan@TelecomAssociation.com or call 951-245-6877.
 Hotel
The biggest noticeable change in the show was the venue. Over the last
four years the show was at the Venetian or at the Mandalay Bay. The Rio is
at least one step down from those two hotels on the "haughty taughty"
scale. On the other hand, the Rio offered two upgrades over the fancier
hotels - an empty refrigerator in the guest rooms where you could put your
dinner leftovers and a convention hall that was not nine miles walking
distance from your room. The beds were very hard though and clearly
designed to get you back out into the casino.
Bottom line? Who comes to Vegas to sleep? If it keeps the show prices
down the Rio was good enough.
 Parties
While it's nice that the speakers speak and the vendors vend during the
daytime hours of the show, my favorite part of the trade show are the
after hour parties sponsored by vendors. On the trade show floor, everyone
is towing the corporate line. After several parties and many cocktails
though, agents, agent managers and vendors start getting very loose and
very honest about who's delivering and who's not. The best time to
collect cards and information is at the parties. (Just make sure you write
notes on the cards so you can remember who said what.)
 WTG in the
Wine Cellar - One of the
reasons WTG earned TA's 2008 President's Pick award for "Agent Loyalty" is
WTG's president Vince Bradley always makes you feel special at his annual
Las Vegas party. Vince's party had the most character of all the
parties we visited mostly because the Wine Cellar really looks and feels
like a wine cellar and Vince's party was delightfully crowded.
Click here to see video.
 XO
at Antonio's Restaurant - We spent
quite some time at the XO party because we ran into many old friends we
had not seen in quite some time and because of all the tables you could
sit and relax at.
Click here to see video.
 Intercall
at the Voo Doo Lounge - Another nice
thing about the Rio is that because it's two blocks off the Strip, it
offers a great view of the Strip. the Intercall party at the top or the
Rio certainly offered the best view of the three parties we were invited
to.
Click here to see video.
Seminars
 Keynote
Address: "What I Learned From the NFL's Best
Coaches" Ron Jaworski, NFL Hall of Fame Player and Monday Night
Football Announcer.
Google Video Windows
Media Player Co-sponsored by
AireSpring & Magellan Hill. Ron gives an invigorating address that
includes what he's learned from the NFL's greatest coaches.
 Industry
Address: "State-of-the-Industry"
Carl Grivner, CEO XO Communications.
Google Video Windows
Media Player Carl gives a Spring 2008 "State-of-the-Industry"
address and shares with channel partners and telecom agents what they need
to prepare for.
 VoIP
Ventures: "Microsoft OCS - Is it Magic or
Me-Too?"
Google Video Windows
Media Player The launch of Microsoft's Office Communication Server
and unified communications software is being billed by the software giant
as "software magic" for the phone, but will it really do the trick for
channel partners selling telephony services to business customers? find
out more about Microsoft's offer, and competing software based solutions,
and whether you should recommend any of them to your customers.
Speakers: Andrew Cohen, Vice-President,
ATEL Communications
and Tom Cross, CEO,
TECHtionary.com
Additional show seminar video may be posted if and when when the
content is submitted to TA. If you were a show speaker & would like to
publish your content or Power Point slides here please contact Dan Baldwin
at Dan@TelecomAssociation.com
or 951-245-6877.
Show "Special Offers"
A+ Conferencing - Flat-rate audio conferencing
wholesale priced at 50 cents per seat (normal retail is over $3 per seat.)
Desktop video conferencing wholesale priced as low as $7 per seat (normal
retail is over $15 per seat.)
Offer Flyer
Global IP Solutions -
Global IP Solutions is gaving away a utility knife/tool for those
interested in becoming a bonefide reseller for our VoIP Software
solutions. They are also offering a free "Click to Talk VoIP Icon" to be
added to their web site and provide excellent customer service for their
clientele. The ICON is fully customizable to reflect specific vendor logo.
Offer
Details
Lightyear - Special
$600 "double bounty" on all dynamic T1 circuits and a chance to
win a full years paid lease on a H3 Hummer.
Car Promo
Double Bounty Promo
Telesphere - 20% residual commissions and
$1,000 bonuses on the first three deals a partner submits.
Offer Details
Toucan Global - 8 "Snap Communicators" wholesale
priced for $31 each (normal retail is $99 each.) Offer expires 3/31/8.
Snap demo.
Demo Video
Offer Flyer
TouchTone Communications Wireless service
retailing for just $10
per month and 10 cents per minute with all features.
Printed Submission
If you have a "leftover" tradeshow special offer you
want listed here please submit it to Dan Baldwin at
Dan@TelecomAssociation.com.
Vendors & Exhibitors
Most of the agents and partners at the show come to see their existing
vendors or to find new vendors. And while many agents can't get a vendor
to pick up a phone the other 50 weeks out of the year, during the two
annual Channel Partner shows, the exhibit hall is awash in vendors on
their best behavior. Following (in alphabetic order) are video clips or
submissions of the different vendors that were at the show either
exhibiting or just walking around. (Are we missing you? Submit your
content to
KB@TelecomAssociation.com).
TA Vendors
 Access
One CLEC, reseller Channel
Partners Expo TV Access One co-founder Lance Honea
explains why the CLEC has expanded the number of channel managers.
 AireSpring
reseller, carrier, SIP trunks
TA Video
AireSpring's Daniel Lonstein shared with agents and channel partners how
they've invested great resources to roll out the best SIP trunk platform
specifically designed to service the demanding call center customer.
 American
Telesis Data/Internet, reseller
Submitted
Information American Telesis shared why for over a
decade they have been the first choice of many agents for data solutions.
At the show they explained to agents what type of customers as best suited
to take advantage of Ethernet & MPLS
 AccuConference
conferencing David
Byrd was quite pleased to tell everyone who passed their booth that
AccuConference won TA's 2008 Members Choice award for the "Conferencing"
category. In addition he was showing everyone their new desktop video
conferencing solution.
TA Video.
 A+ Conferencing
conferencing Mike
was pushing flat-rate audio conferencing and their new
www.start-video.com desk top
video conferencing (DVC) service at the show. TA members can buy wholesale
flat-rate audio conferencing for 50 cents per seat per month & DVC
as low at $7 per seat per month.
Special Offer Mike also submitted
three videos. Click the following links to lean more about A+'s
operator conferencing,
flat-rate
conferencing &
conference bridge business unit.
 The
Conference Group conferencing
Channel Partners Expo TV The Conference Group's
Greg Plum highlights the company's new desktop video conferencing product.
TA Video
 CTG3
TA Video
master agent
TA Video Owner Dave Laskowski shares why CTG3 is unique
among Qwest master agents in that CTG3 subagents can sell all the Qwest
residential products in addition to Qwest business products. Many Internet
service providers are CTG3 subagents for this very reason.
 Excel
Telecommunication CLEC,
carrier, SIP Excel provided the following four videos to
show off the strength they bring to the marketplace that no other provider
can match. The
first video highlights their REAL All-in-One-Bundles that
includes unlimited local, long distance and
unlimited toll free 800 traffic. The
second video highlights how their virtual bundles eliminate
"line size guessing". The
third video reveals the strength of their network design.
The
fourth video shows how they've eliminated channel conflict.
 Line
Systems Inc. CLEC, reseller
TA Video LSI's Chris Bonavita talks about why LSI is
excited about their new MPLS roll-out and why agents love LSI as a
mid-Atlantic CLEC and a national reseller of voice and data services.
 Primus
Telecommunications carrier,
hosted VoIP
TA Video Primus' LeAnne Edgeton shares why agents have
loved Primus for a decade for all their products and services and how they
now specialize in VoIP services.
 Smoothstone
IP SIP, carrier
TA Video Smoothstone's Cris Assif shares the top
three things agents and partners want to know about Smoothstone: When
should agents bring Smoothstone into an opportunity, why has Smoothstone
positioned itself where it has, and, why Smoothstone over larger carriers?
 Telarus
master agent Channel
Partners Expo TV Telarus co-founders Adam
Edwards, president, and Patrick Oborn, vice president of marketing,
discuss their master agency’s unique business model.
TA Video On this second video Adam shares why Telarus won
TA's 2008 Members Choice award in the "Master Agency" category.
Submitted Information Sheet
 Telecom
Brokerage Inc. (TBI) master agent Channel
Partners Expo TV Ken Mercer, senior vice
president, Telecom Brokerage Inc., discusses the current economic state
and advice for agents.
TA Video Ken discusses why agents and partners love TBI.
 TMC
Communications reseller Channel
Partners Expo TV TMC Communications' Ron Ireland
showcases the company's agent incentive program as well as its call center
capabilities.
 TouchTone
Communications reseller,
wireless, CLEC Printed
Submission Among many exciting service offerings,
TouchTone generated the most excitement with their first-ever true
pay-per-minute "SpeakEZ" wireless plan. Available in all 48 states for
just $10 per month and 10¢ per minute, the plan offers all the benefits of
wireless service including Voice Mail, Call Waiting, and Caller ID, but
without the complicated technology or expensive monthly service charges.
 World
Telecom Group (WTG) master
agent
TA Video 1 WTG President Vince Bradley discusses the many
reasons WTG has recently won so many master agent awards.
TA Video 2 vince welcomes agents & partners to WTG's party
at the Wine Cellar in the Rio.
 XO
Communications CLEC, carrier,
hosted VoIP
TA Video XO's Tom Gorey welcomes agents and partners,
thanks them for a great and profitable year and then draws for some great
door prizes at the XO party held at Antonio's Restaurant.
Non-TA Vendors
AITech Submitted
Information AITech shared with telecom agents and
channel partners the benefits of AITech's SIP line replacement products
and their hosted PBX-Centrex service.
Attorney Mark Del Bianco
TA Video We met attorney Mark Del Bianco at the show
in tow with a couple successful telecom agents including SaveToWorld.com's
Rajeev Agarwal. Rajeev said Mark had helped them get back commissions owed
them from a carrier.
Cbeyond
Channel Partners Expo TV Cbeyond’s Dave Wallace,
vice president of channel sales, and Rob Consolazio, vice president and
general manager of channel development, describe the benefits of SIP
trunking services, the SIPconnect standard and its new TechData
partnership.
Color Broadband
TA Video Founder Fran McGrath shares why color
broadband deserves a look if you need fixed wireless, Internet T1s, IP-PBX
or hosted VoIP in and around Southern California.
Covad Wireless Channel
Partners Expo TV Dave McMorrow, general manager
of Covad Wireless, offers an update on the company’s acquisition by
Platinum Equity and discusses his company’s new broadband wireless backup
offer.
csf Corporation
Submitted Information csf touted itself as a sensible
software based alternative for agents and carriers looking to help their
customers reserve and administer toll-free numbers without granting them
direct access to the SMS800 database.
8x8 Channel
Partners Expo TV 8x8’s Dave Immethun, senior
director of sales, explains why his company exhibits at the Channel
Partners Conference & Expo even though a lot of his business is direct.
FreedomVOICE Channel
Partners Expo TV FreedomVOICE Systems President
Eric Thomas differentiates FreedomIQ from other hosted PBX offerings.
Global IP Solutions
Submitted Information Global IP shared with booth
visitors information about their VoIP software solution that provided
partners with: 50% profit margins, Technical and sales/marketing training,
Free Demo software of our Solution Suite, Free lead generation & a
Quarterly bonus.
High-Tech Digital Networks
TA Video HDN's Rick Legner shares why many larger
carriers call on HDN to do on-site customer installations and why that
makes them a good fit to work with other resellers and agents as well.
Lightyear -
Submitted Information Lightyear's shared with agents
how their Dynamic T1 and Enterprise IP are perfect for small to
medium-sized businesses ranging from 10 to 100 employees.
they also discussed their special $600
"double bounty" on all dynamic T1 circuits and a chance to win a full
years paid lease on a H3 Hummer.
Car Promo
Double Bounty Promo
Intelisys Channel
Partners Expo TV Jay Bradley, president of
telecom services for master agency Intelisys, explains what he means by
“raising the ocean” for the communications channel.
Intelliverse Channel
Partners Expo TV Intelliverse’s Frank Paterno,
vice president of marketing, shares developments with the company’s
callEverywhere hosted IP telephony product.
Intercall
TA Video Intercall's Anne Guenther & Andy
Goethals welcome agents and partners to their reception atop the Rio at
the Voo Doo Lounge.
M5 Networks Channel
Partners Expo TV Jeff Silbert, vice president of
channels and alliances for M5 Networks, announces that his company has
signed 200 IT consultants to sell the company’s voice as a service product
and it has rolled out a national partner program targeted toward.
McGraw Communications
Channel Partners Expo TV McGraw Communications'
Cody Calhoun and John Cunningham discuss the CLEC's Black Card program and
getaway trip for agents.
MegaPath Network Channel
Partners Expo TV Dan Foster, senior vice
president channels and SMB markets for MegaPath Networks, has returned to
head channels after two years. Find out what he’s been up to and how the
company’s program has changed in 2008.
Ngenx Channel
Partners Expo TV Bob Bye, executive vice
president of Ngenx, discusses the SaaS opportunity for agents.
o1 Communications Channel
Partners Expo TV o1 Communications' Dustin Young
discusses the company's new MPLS product, certification and disaster
recovery philosophy.
PAETEC Channel
Partners Expo TV Chris Bantoft, executive vice
president of channels and president – West region for PAETEC, shares
post-merger restructuring and integration status, including a new agent
quoting tool and onboarding processes.
Premiere Global Services Channel
Partners Expo TV Premiere Global Services
Angelina Beitia, senior vice president – indirect channel, discusses what
sets her company apart from other conferencing providers.KeaneTel.
RAD-INFO Inc.
TA Video RAD-INFO's Peter Radezeski talks about how
as a telecom industry "blogist"
it's important to come to the show so he can go back home and tell
his audience
the "real scoop".
SecureCARE Technologies
TA Video SecureCARE's Dennis Nasto talks about their
unique position in the marketplace as a provider of HIPAA compliant fax
services for the medical industry and others and how agents can profit by
selling into this needy industry segment.
SES Americom Channel
Partners Expo TV SES Americom's Stephen Barr
talks about bringing satellite to the indirect channel.
Spectrum
Channel Partners Expo TV Spectrum’s Trent
McCracken, president, and Troy McCracken, CEO, discuss telecom expense
management and the master agency’s TrueVue offer.
TalkSwitch
Printed Submission An IP-PBX vendor, TalkSwitch
provides an equipment solution for locations with 2 to 64 phone stations.
Their big push at the show was to promote their new 6.0 software release
that allows users to toggle between English, French and Spanish language
phone system prompts which TalkSwitch claims is "an unprecedented
development for systems of this size".
TelePacific Channel
Partners Expo TV Ken Bisnoff, senior vice
president of strategic opportunities for TelePacific and finalist for
Channel Executive of the Year 2008, discusses the move the managed
services and his company’s new managed firewall offering.
Telesphere
Submitted Information A supplier of hosted VoIP &
IP-PBX service, Telesphere promoted their high 20% residual commissions
and their $1,000 bonuses on the first three deals a partner submits.
Time Warner Cable Channel
Partners Expo TV Mike Prendergast, vice
president of national sales for Time Warner Cable, talks about his
company’s new nationwide channel program for master and direct agents.
Toucan Global
TA Video Toucan Global's John
Willenborg describes how their new "Snap Communicator" sells itself and
how agents can add them to their portfolio as a great new "door opener".
End-User Sales Demo Video
Show Special - 8 Snaps for $250
If you have show content that should be posted or added here please
email it to Dan Baldwin at
Dan@TelecomAssociation.com or call 951-245-6877. |
