ConnectWise Partners Share Thoughts On The Cloud And More At ASCII Milwaukee
By John Oncea, Editor
Scott Dickinson, Community Specialist at ConnectWise, was joined by Jason Guinn, IT Director at WIZ Tech, and Dave Stamm of Stamm Technologies for the ConnectWise Partner Panel at the ASCII Success Summit in Milwaukee, WI.
Both Stamm and Guinn, who each have been ConnectWise partners for years, were looking for a partner that was, as Stamm says, “More than just software.” Stamm added one of the reasons he chose to partner with ConnectWise was because “the people running the ship there were smarter than” he was. Guinn added he chose ConnectWise because, “People I admired were working with them and having success.”
Both praised ConnectWise’s support with Guinn saying it was spot on. “They always have an answer’” Guinn said. “It may not be the answer I’m looking for, but it’s always there.” Guinn also pointed out ConnectWise provides a single account manager across all products, adding, “It only takes one phone call, one email to get an answer on the product you’re looking at.” Stamm concurred, saying, “The leadership team, support … it’s always been great.”
Dickinson then asked Guinn and Stamm about the industry’s shift to the cloud, asking what their customers thought. “If we’re not bringing it up, they are,” said Stamm. “They think it’s real easy, but I don’t think sticking everything in the cloud makes sense. But it’s trendy, and if we want to service our customers the best that we can, we have to interpret the trends and be careful not to become the trend.”
Guinn acknowledged WIZ Tech is “probably five years behind the times,” but added he’s seen interest in third party apps, mobile apps, and that “everyone wants to have a hosted data center.”
The panel wrapped up with Dickinson asking what the panelists anticipate will be making an impact on the channel of the next five years. Guinn said Netflix will continue to dominate the market, then Stamm said, “As the internet gets cheaper and faster, everything will go to the cloud.” He also advised to figure out your core values and stick to those. “We’re all things to all people. Some of the marketing buzzwords and trends scare me a little bit.”
The ASCII Success Summit – Milwaukee is being held April 27-28 at the Crowne Plaza Milwaukee Airport. It is one of nine solution provider-focused conferences ASCII will host in North America in 2016. For more information on ASCII, go to www.BSMinfo.com/go/InsideASCII.