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1. ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini
ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini hosted IT Nation, one of the largest annual gatherings for VARs and MSPs. More than a software executive, Bellini evangelizes business education to his customers -- which ConnectWise considers to be its partners.
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2. Good to Great Author Jim Collins
Jim Collins, author of "Great by Choice" and "Good to Great", told MSPs and VARs to focus on three things (1) fanatical discipline (2) productive paranoia and (3) empirical creativity.
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3. The 20-Mile March
Collins described a 20-mile march of discipline, where executives just stay focused on long term goals using short-term clockwork. An example: Moore’s Law, which called for Intel to double processing power every 18 months.
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4. Empirical Creativity
Collins told attendees: Imagine a ship is bearing down on you – a threat or a disruption. You’ve got a limited amount of gun powder. You fire and miss the ship, said Collins. Or instead, take a little bit of gunpowder, fire small bullets a few times to calibrate your shot. In other words: Make your big bets on empirical validation. Fire a few small bullets, get the information you need, then fire your big cannon.
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5. LabTech CEO Matt Nachtrab
LabTech Software CEO Matt Nachtrab (green shirt) takes in Jim Collins' keynote. In an interview with MSPmentor, Nachtrab said: “We’re not just chasing growth; I think we’re now ahead of it and optimizing for it. We wrangled in support [issues]. It’s going great but I won’t say it’s perfect yet."
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6. ANP CEO Dave Mulvey
Advanced Network Products CEO Dave Mulvey (center), leader of an MSPmentor 100 company, takes in the Collins keynote and compares notes with fellow attendees.
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7. Howard M. Cohen
Cohen, a veteran IT service provider who shares strong opinions, was first-to-microphone when keynote speaker Collins called on attendees for their perspectives.
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8. Jay McBain in the Front Row
ChannelEyes co-founder Jay McBain takes in the Collins keynote. A few weeks ago, ChannelEyes expanded its social media network for VARs and MSPs to include new mobile applications.
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9. ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini and Author Jim Collins
Bellini and Collins compare notes. Twenty-four hours later, Bellini was back onstage urging MSPs and VARs to pursue greatness.
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10. NMGI CEO Steve Harper
Steve Harper (hands on rolling case), chairman and CEO of Network Management Group Inc., is an MSPmentor 250 member taking in the Collins keynote.
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11. ConnectWise Marketplace Unveiled
Bellini vowed to keep ConnectWise's APIs open, allowing ISVs to integrate and be promoted in the ConnectWise Marketplace, a new online application store.
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12. App Marketplace for VARs, MSPs
The new ConnectWise Marketplace is an app store of sorts for VARs and MSPs seeking applications that integrate with ConnectWise. Director of Strategy Gerwai Todd, owner of the mystery hands, demonstrates the marketplace for Talkin' Cloud.
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13. SMaC Business Recipe for Success: Got One?
Building on author Jim Collins' statements, Bellini said MSPs and VARs need a specific, methodical and consistent (SMaC) recipe for success. He then displayed ConnectWise IT's own SMaC recipe for business success in IT services.
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14. Technology Certifications: One price, one place.
Bellini described how ConnectWise's online portal offers a one-stop shop for discounted certification preparation. Areas of expertise include Cisco Systems, IBM, Microsoft and VMware, among many others.
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15. End-to-end lifecycle management
Bellini promoted end-to-end integration of LabTech (remote monitoring and management), Quosal (quoting and sales proposal software) and ConnectWise (business management software). The concept: Give VARs and MSPs complete lifecycle management.
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16. That's a Wrap
ConnectWise Director of Community Jeannine Edwards credits 11 team members who pulled together the IT Nation conference. Talkin' Cloud believes the conference attracted nearly 2,000 attendees.
ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini hosts IT Nation 2012, one of the largest annual gatherings of VARs and MSPs. Jim Collins, best-selling author of Good to Great, Built to Last, and Great By Choice, keynoted the conference on Nov. 9, 2012. ConnectWise is a Top 100 Cloud Services Provider. Several other Top 100 CSPs and MSPmentor 100 companies were in the audience. The big theme: What does it take to build a great company that remains great for 20 or more years?









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