Autotask Community Live: On the Agenda
By Gennifer Biggs, security, storage, and managed services
As the opening reception for Autotask Community Live 2011 rocked in the background, I spent some time with Jay McBain, SVP of strategy and market development at Autotask, and Bob Vogel, executive director of demand generation for Autotask, who added additional details to our sneak peek at the event. Autotask CommLive opened Sunday, May 22, with nearly 800 people in attendance, with a strong focus on community as it opens the doors to its private online community — it's been tucked inside the software tool since 2007 — and McBain and Vogel were clearly excited about the impact the Autotask community could have as it goes "live from Miami."
In fact, the undercurrent of change runs very strongly through this event, even in the first few hours. McBain says attendees should expect to see a lot of firsts at this event, including the public unveiling of the vendor's new CEO Mark Cattini, who will provide the keynote on Monday, May 23. Although Cattini took office about six months ago, he's been in a quiet mode. Monday should be the day when he shares his vision for what stays, what changes, what's coming down the line for Autotask.
Other news at the event is the availability of a Cloud+ Certification from CompTIA, who is partnering with Autotask to offer that cert program during Autotask Live. Among the presentors is Dave Sobel, CEO of Evolve Technologies, one of the thought leaders in the cloud and MSP space.
On the theme of community, McBain says the partners in attendance will learn more about the 17-city Autotask World Tour, geared toward taking the momentum of CommLive and spreading it throughout the partner base worldwide. Kicking off in the fall, the road show is open to both current and potential partners, and will feature three modules within the day -- a breakfast introduction to the company followed by a product information and usage session, and closing with user group interaction.
Last but not least, attendees will hear Monday about the new MVP program, recognizing Autotask channel though leaders, and the new referral program that rewards sharing your positive experience with your peers.
On the agenda Monday: CEO Mark Cattini