TechData brought its traveling Software Solutions roadshow to St. Louis (September17th-18th).
Part TechData infomercial, part relationship builder for vendors and VARs, the event is quick-paced and chock full of sessions.
Vendors APC, Sony, Toshiba sponsored the opening luncheon, and after the opening welcome from Murray Wright, TechData’s Senior Vice President of Sales we were treated to “Comedian of the Year” Buzz Sutherland. I knew he was going to be funny because his first name is “Buzz”.
Microsoft, Novell and Symantec (Gold member sponsors) were on hand to speak about new opportunities and get the crowd motivated.
TechData makes sure that during the breaks we are properly fed with sugary snacks and caffeine. Apple slices on a stick dipped in chocolate (a local treat), potato chips of various flavors and power bars (for the healthconscience) kept the attendees happy and ready for the next session.
For the Roundtable session I met with groups of 5-10 attendees for approximately 10 minutes as they rotated from table to table. Call it “tech speed dating”. It’s a good opportunity to meet new people and tease them with just enough information to get them to continue the conversation later. And the attendees received gift cards just for showing up!
At the Technology Showcase (also called the exhibit hall) I had the chance to speak in depth with number of new VAR’s overlunch. I’m still surprised when a VAR comes up to the booth and asks, “What does Diskeeper do?” Meeting with existing customers is great, creating new VAR relationships is one of the reasons we continue to participate and attend. You never know who you are going to meet and what you’re going to learn.