The second annual Cloud Channel Summit at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA, was a tremendous success. The peer-to-peer, executive networking event brought together over 200 attendees, 40 speakers, 23 partners and 19 sponsors. And, now you can view the 10 sessions online!

Click here to view the video recordings of the keynote presentations and panel discussions with key executives from leading Cloud companies like Salesforce.com, Google, GoodData, InformaticaCloud, MuleSoft, Rackspace, SugarCRM and VMware; software and systems vendors such as IBM, Oracle, SAP and VMware; along with leading VARs/systems integrators and other important channel companies including All Covered, Avnet, Centerbeam, Cloud Sherpas, Ingram Micro, Insight, Spiceworks andTech Data.

As you’ll see in the videos, the sessions examined the following key topics of concern to Cloud vendors and channel partners:

Where’s the Channel in the Cloud? A State of the Industry
What … Read More »

Today’s leading Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies continue to steal share from their legacy, independent software vendor (ISV) counterparts due to rising demand for their cloud-based application alternatives. However, many of those offering enterprise SaaS solutions are also seeing their sales costs rise as well. This is raising some serious questions about the short- and long-term profitability of the SaaS model compared with its traditional, on-premises predecessor.

Click here to read my latest commentary in Sandhill.com about, “Why the Cost of Sales Gap is Shrinking between SaaS and Legacy Software Vendors”.

I’ve just returned from one of my most interesting and challenging speaking engagements.

I served as a the kickoff, keynote speaker at the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Innovation Business Symposium in Port of Spain, Trinidad, where I was asked to identify the critical ingredients for breeding innovation, and challenged to convince key government officials, corporate executives and academic leaders in the underdeveloped country that they can become a center for innovation as a catalyst for faster economic growth.

As you’ll see in my presentation, I started by defining innovation and showing how technological innovations can have significant business, social and cultural effects. I used a series of iconic innovators and their inventions to illustrate this point:

Thomas Edison’s invention of the light bulb inspired the broader distribution of electricity and changed the business landscape by allowing manufacturers to move away from waterways.
Henry Ford’s invention of mass production enabled businesses to scale their … Read More »

I had the privilege of participating in the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council’s (MassTLC) fifth annual unConference last Friday.

The event attracted approximately 1000 industry folks ranging from budding entrepreneurs and college students to greying high tech executives and venture investors. It was also the latest gathering that has helped to give the local tech community a renewed sense of identity, self-esteem and excitement about the amount of innovation and new business opportunities blossoming in the area.

The resurgence of the local tech scene has been brewing for a while, but it is always nice to see it come together physically at events like last week’s unConference. Much of the credit has to go to the MassTLC which has become a key catalyst for this renewal. But, it also can be attributed to other local groups, universities and publications which are promoting greater collaboration, communication and even competition … Read More »

THINKstrategies announced today that Billhighway has been named the winner of the Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Award. This program is aimed at promoting the measurable business benefits delivered by today’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions.

The BoSS Awards are part of an ongoing THINKstrategies Cloud Computing Showplace campaign to recognize SaaS companies producing tangible business benefits for specific user organizations. These benefits can include increased sales, lower costs, higher customer satisfaction, faster operations and greater profitability.

Billhighway offers a suite of Cloud-based accounting solutions for all types of nonprofit organizations to help manage their financial needs. Its goal is to change the way nonprofit and member-based organizations do business by making every aspect of their financial management as easy as possible.

An example of the measurable business benefits which can be derived from Billhighway’s cloud-based accounting solutions is the 16,000-member Tri Delta fraternal organization. The nonprofit … Read More »

Our second annual Cloud Channel Summit clearly demonstrated what a difference a year can make.

A year ago, the participants of the inaugural Summit spent much of the day discussing whether there was a role for the channel in the cloud and how to get channel companies engaged in the rapidly evolving cloud marketplace. Our event reflected the market reality at that time with only a handful of traditional channel companies actively pursuing cloud strategies and only a few channel company executives attending our event.

This year’s Summit attracted an impressive array of senior executives from major distributors, resellers, managed services providers (MSPs) and other IT services companies such as Tech Data, Ingram-Micro, Insight, Avnet, Cloud Sherpas, All Covered, Spiceworks and Centerbeam.

Click here to read THINKstrategies’ guest blogpost in Sandhill.com which summarizes what these executives had to say about today’s rapidly evolving channel opportunities in … Read More »

THINKstrategies, the Cloud Computing Showplace, and Rising Tide Media hosted our second annual Cloud Channel Summit earlier this week, giving executives from leading cloud and channel companies a peer-to-peer networking forum where they could  share perspectives on how to forge successful partnerships to capitalize on the unprecedented opportunities created by the cloud.

This year’s event attracted more speakers, sponsors, partners and attendees than our first event. More importantly, it brought together a greater mix of channel company executives to interact with those from various cloud companies. Click here to read about the key issues discussed at the Cloud Channel Summit and their industry implications.

In my latest guest blogpost for Rackspace, I delve into the key performance indicators (KPIs) for managing your SaaS business. These KPIs fall into two primary categories: minimizing the cost of acquiring and supporting customers, while maximizing their lifetime value. Click here to read my views about how leading SaaS companies are addressing these issues, leveraging Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) providers to achieve their objectives and the metrics they’re using to assess their success.

A widening array of senior executives from leading Cloud solution providers, channel companies, industry associations and trade publications will present their views and participate in roundtable discussions regarding today’s critical business challenges and exciting new market opportunities at the second annual Cloud Channel Summit on Monday, November 5 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.

The Cloud Channel Summit will be hosted by THINKstrategies, the Cloud Computing Showplace, and Rising Tide Media. The single-day, single-track, peer-to-peer executive forum and networking event will provide practical advice about how companies can create profitable channel relationships in the Cloud marketplace.

The Summit will bring together executives from leading Cloud companies such as Salesforce.com, Google, GoodData, InformaticaCloud and Rackspace; software and systems vendors such as IBM, Oracle, SAP and VMware; and VARs/systems integrators and other important channel companies such as All Covered, Avnet, Centerbeam, Cloud Sherpas, Ingram Micro, Insight, Spiceworks and Tech Data.

The Summit sessions will examine … Read More »

One of the biggest impediments to adopting today’s Cloud computing alternatives continues to be concerns about the security of these web-based solutions. Despite growing evidence that cloud services are safe and secure, many IT and corporate decision-makers continue to harbor fears that their data and in turn their businesses are at risk if they move to the Cloud.

The truth is that there are far more security threats in the traditional software and systems world than the rapidly growing cloud environment. Click here to read my guest blogpost which dispels many of the common myths about Cloud security.