Congratulations to IT Matters for their award last night at the CDN Magazine awards gala. They won the award for Best Collaborative Solution in Canada. You can read about it at http://www.stuartcrawford.com/
How about this economy in your patch? We have seen some projects held but overall no major issues yet. But I think the impact is yet to come as companies try to get financing and credit in 2009. Craig Zarley from CRN did a good article I was fortunate to participate in on the subject. You might check it out at http://www.crn.com/it-channel/211600223.
At our HTG1 meeting this week we took a block of time to talk politics. That is way outside what I normally allow in these meetings, but based on the proximity to the election and the potential impact. There was lively discussion and the main outcome was that many wished there was a "none of the above" option for many of the races that are coming. The key is to get involved and VOTE. You shouldn't complain if you aren't part of the process!
Make sure you are guarding your credit with your lendors, distributors and vendors. It is a lot easier to lose it than get it back. Pay those bills on time and guard the credit you have with diligence. I believe those with credit will have significant opportunities in 2009 to grow rapidly as others are stymied in their business.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Quack Quack
Karl Palachuk is looking for pictures of his ducks - check out the request at http://smallbizthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/10/ducks-in-wild-salecontest.html and send him the bird shots. What will he think of next??
Could win you $50 for the best picture....so if you got one of his little duckies, think outside the bird and give him something creative!
Could win you $50 for the best picture....so if you got one of his little duckies, think outside the bird and give him something creative!
Unraveling the SBS 2003 mystery
I have had quite a few emails and questions on the unannounced drop of SBS2003 from the Volume licensing pricelist which has left some in a position on how to fulfill commitments made to their clients. There now is a post you can read to get the latest:
http://blogs.msdn.com/mssmallbiz/archive/2008/10/16/9001677.aspx
Eric Ligman explains the changes that have been made to SA to allow some exceptions and give you some time to fix outstanding quotes and commitments. 12/31/08 is the cut off, so go read this blog post and take action NOW. It is a great time to be getting your clients set with the new version of SBS. Lots of great reasons to upgrade and move to the new release. Want to see why you should upgrade, check out Dana Epp's blog on the topic:
http://silverstr.ufies.org/blog/archives/001055.html
Bottom line - SBS is available. You have a window to get things the way you want - SBS2003 and add SA to get the new version, or just buy the new version via licensing. In any case - get with your customers and get them upgraded. Now is the time!
http://blogs.msdn.com/mssmallbiz/archive/2008/10/16/9001677.aspx
Eric Ligman explains the changes that have been made to SA to allow some exceptions and give you some time to fix outstanding quotes and commitments. 12/31/08 is the cut off, so go read this blog post and take action NOW. It is a great time to be getting your clients set with the new version of SBS. Lots of great reasons to upgrade and move to the new release. Want to see why you should upgrade, check out Dana Epp's blog on the topic:
http://silverstr.ufies.org/blog/archives/001055.html
Bottom line - SBS is available. You have a window to get things the way you want - SBS2003 and add SA to get the new version, or just buy the new version via licensing. In any case - get with your customers and get them upgraded. Now is the time!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
CRN Fast Growth Awards
I have been in Chicago the last couple days at the CRN Fast Growth 100 awards. HTS was fortunate to be #24 on the list this year, up from #68 last year. We spent the day in general sessions and in executive boardrooms and to be honest, it felt a bit out of my comfort zone. The combined revenue of this group is 10.9B, and our mere 17M doesn't even move the needle in comparison to the aggregate. But it is good to rub shoulders with those who are ahead, far ahead of the place we are. And this event was filled with those kind of people.
The big discussion was definitely around the economy and credit. Growth is fueled by capital and credit and this group of companies is concerned and feeling the pinch already. The learning for me was that I need to be very diligent in managing our cash and working hard to build even more credit capacity before we need it. I need to be proactive with our distribution partner, with vendors and with our banks. I need to make sure we have relationships with leasing and financing and floor planning companies so in the event we need it, credit will be available.
I believe there will be opportunities in the next months for growth and acquisitions like we have not seen in a while. The key will be having your financial ducks in a row so you can take action while the opportunity presents itself. That means preparation and planning. Never forget that cash is king. M&A is certainly a good method to growing. Most of the companies here this week have gotten where they are through those methods. But there is much to a successful transaction and being ready when an opportunity presents itself is the first step. So use this downturn as a wakeup call to get your credit capacity in order. If you think you have enough today - ask yourself what happens if you acquire someone just like you are and need twice what you use today. I think that is a logical goal and few of us are really ready for that.
The big discussion was definitely around the economy and credit. Growth is fueled by capital and credit and this group of companies is concerned and feeling the pinch already. The learning for me was that I need to be very diligent in managing our cash and working hard to build even more credit capacity before we need it. I need to be proactive with our distribution partner, with vendors and with our banks. I need to make sure we have relationships with leasing and financing and floor planning companies so in the event we need it, credit will be available.
I believe there will be opportunities in the next months for growth and acquisitions like we have not seen in a while. The key will be having your financial ducks in a row so you can take action while the opportunity presents itself. That means preparation and planning. Never forget that cash is king. M&A is certainly a good method to growing. Most of the companies here this week have gotten where they are through those methods. But there is much to a successful transaction and being ready when an opportunity presents itself is the first step. So use this downturn as a wakeup call to get your credit capacity in order. If you think you have enough today - ask yourself what happens if you acquire someone just like you are and need twice what you use today. I think that is a logical goal and few of us are really ready for that.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
HTG Goes Across the Pond
HTG is moving to a new level next week - with our first transatlantic group meeting in the UK. Here is the press release and details about the meeting.
Heartland Tech Group (HTG) (http://www.htgmembers.com/) today announced that the organizations first United Kingdom (UK) affiliate will convene its inaugural member meeting near London on October 13-14, 2008. Dave Sobel, CEO of Evolve Technologies and a veteran HTG member, will facilitate this group. This initial meeting is meant to introduce new U.K. members to the HTG peer group experience as a unique forum for technology industry resellers to develop and implement successful strategies to grow their businesses through sharing and collaboration of best practices.
UK peer group members will network with similar companies based on their size, number of employees, relative lines of service, ownership structure and markets served to find unique solutions to common problems.
“We’re thrilled to witness HTG’s expansion overseas. As in the United States, technology solution providers in the U.K. can utilize HTG to make substantive improvements to their business by collaborating and tapping into the knowledge base of industry peers,” said Arlin Sorensen, Founder of Heartland Tech Group. “For HTG, the opportunity to offer practical, useful and implementable knowledge to our fellow IT professionals--especially in today’s tenuous economic climate--is extremely rewarding, both personally and professionally.”
Great things are happening in HTG. First Canada, now the UK. Who will be next? We are excited about all the great things happening.
Heartland Tech Group (HTG) (http://www.htgmembers.com/) today announced that the organizations first United Kingdom (UK) affiliate will convene its inaugural member meeting near London on October 13-14, 2008. Dave Sobel, CEO of Evolve Technologies and a veteran HTG member, will facilitate this group. This initial meeting is meant to introduce new U.K. members to the HTG peer group experience as a unique forum for technology industry resellers to develop and implement successful strategies to grow their businesses through sharing and collaboration of best practices.
UK peer group members will network with similar companies based on their size, number of employees, relative lines of service, ownership structure and markets served to find unique solutions to common problems.
“We’re thrilled to witness HTG’s expansion overseas. As in the United States, technology solution providers in the U.K. can utilize HTG to make substantive improvements to their business by collaborating and tapping into the knowledge base of industry peers,” said Arlin Sorensen, Founder of Heartland Tech Group. “For HTG, the opportunity to offer practical, useful and implementable knowledge to our fellow IT professionals--especially in today’s tenuous economic climate--is extremely rewarding, both personally and professionally.”
Great things are happening in HTG. First Canada, now the UK. Who will be next? We are excited about all the great things happening.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Looking for Something to Watch
Aaron Booker and team at VarVid posted a number of videos taken at the recent ConnectWise conference in Orlando. He took video of a number of key HTG vendors but also found time to record a couple of video interviews with me discussing HTG. The first one captures some of my thoughts on the basics of HTG. Sort of a primer on the reason HTG exists and what it is designed to accomplish. You can catch it at: http://www.varvid.com/2008/10/arlin-sorensen-from-htg-peer-groups-speaks-with-aaron-booker-of-varvidcom.html
Aaron also captures a discussion we had around how HTG views our vendor partners. It is a critical part of success in the channel today - building relationships with those companies that produce the products that run our customers IT environments. We have to learn how to effectively work with these folks in order to really grow and succeed. Catch the interview at: http://www.varvid.com/2008/10/arlin-sorensen-speaks-with-aaron-booker-of-varvidcom.html
While on the Varvid site - you can check out other HTG members and our vendor partners being interviewed by Aaron. Thanks much for all that you are doing to help capture the message of HTG and let people understand what we are all about. Aaron is a proud member of HTG3 and we are grateful for his support and dedication.
Aaron also captures a discussion we had around how HTG views our vendor partners. It is a critical part of success in the channel today - building relationships with those companies that produce the products that run our customers IT environments. We have to learn how to effectively work with these folks in order to really grow and succeed. Catch the interview at: http://www.varvid.com/2008/10/arlin-sorensen-speaks-with-aaron-booker-of-varvidcom.html
While on the Varvid site - you can check out other HTG members and our vendor partners being interviewed by Aaron. Thanks much for all that you are doing to help capture the message of HTG and let people understand what we are all about. Aaron is a proud member of HTG3 and we are grateful for his support and dedication.
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