@Vlad: I liked your pro-con blog entry… a lot.

@Arlin: Thanks for the in-depth info. I know it takes time to pull together such extensive thoughts. So thanks for articulating your thoughts far clearer than I could have captured them.

@Brad: Looks like Arlin answered your Q’s. Any other questions for us?
-jp

My next meeting with HTG is in August tied together with the Ingram Micro event in Charolette. I am really looking forward to this event. Not only do I get 2 days with my HTG group then I get a few days at an Ingram to understand there products better.

Thanks.

Steve Combs
CEO
IS Support, Inc
scombs@issupport.com
(713) 861 7870

Great memory Harry. Let me take a stab at describing the strategic alliances we have in place at HTG. These alliances are core to our mission and vision of “business and personal growth driven by execution”. Last fall we announced an alliance with Ingram Micro as our exclusive distribution partner. That does not mean members can only do business with Ingram, but the alliance gives our members a host of valuable benefits that they did not have prior to our alliance. All HTG members are now part of Ingram’s VTN or SMB Alliance affinity programs. Those bring significant value to our members through disty benefits, education, resources and a host of other things. Ingram is also helping us manage our vendor program and assisting in a number of other ways as we build a sustainable model for the future.

Early this year we announced a strategic alliance with MSPU to educate our members. Erick Simpson, Gary Beechum and team have been delivering a host of training for us at our events and group meetings around sales and service topics. As we take HTG to the next level, we recognize the need to go deeper into the organizations beyond the decision maker/owner levels. The majority of our members have a team of folks who manage the company and we need to provide training at the functional role level, which is where our alliance with MSPU makes sense.

In April we announced our strategic alliance with Service Leadership led by Paul Dippell to provide us with benchmarking. This data is critical for our quarterly meetings as we do peer review and deep analysis of each other’s businesses. It is important to have a standardized way to measure and report what is happening in each member company, and then to present that data in a meaningful way that allows us to dig deep and provide prescriptive guidance for change. Service Leadership has helped with core business training in Accounting 101, Summit presentations and guidance for increasing valuation. As an FYI, Service Leadership is also used by Ingram, MSPU and ConnectWise in serving their customers as well so lots of synergy with them.

This week we announced our fourth strategic alliance with ConnectWise. HTG is moving to a common business operating platform that will again allow us to compare and coach each other more effectively because we will all be speaking the same language and have the same levers. By getting our members on the same platform, we will be able to provide prescriptive guidance, assessments, and tools that will make driving execution much simpler. We need to equip members with actionable tasks as they leave our quarterly meetings, not a list to go back and try to figure out. So this alliance not only gives us that common platform, but it also gives us access to ConnectWise University, ConnectWiseTV, the ConnectWise people/team/expertise and a host of other resources as well.

So we currently have four key strategic alliances in place that enable us to provide significant value to our membership. They align with our business pyramid model to give us the needed resources to execute against that long term vision. It is an exciting time for HTG and it members. 2010 will be a breakout year as we execute in tandem with these strategic partners and provide much enhanced value to our membership. It is going to be a great time to be in HTG!

Arlin Sorensen
Founder / CEO – HTG

I like the comment Arlin made about where HTG as a peer group needs to go – this really needs to get deeper than the level of interactions that we are currently getting. If attending a conference might have an impact of 2 on a scale of 1 to 10, then HTG may currently be a 6 or 7 on that impact scale. I don’t think Arlin will rest until it’s a 10 out of 10; meaning when HTG can evolve to the point that my group is truly like my board of advisors and they begin to tell me what my goals need to be and what I need to do in my business … now that’s real impact, and that will drive business to a new level.

The announcement of the partnership with Connectwise is an important piece of the puzzle, and I think it makes great sense for both parties. I know it will make a difference!

Bradk

I have a dinner date (thanks to you, ironically) but I will be back with more thoughts regarding your Q.
-jp

Can you please expand this conversation to give me the context of this current news vis-a-vis Ingram Micro’s “merger announcement” with HTG last year. Is it now Ingram Micro/HTG/ConnectWise (IMHTGCW?).

Please advise and keep up the good work.

Thanks!

harrybbbb

I don’t want to paint peer groups as “perfect.” There are some challenges ahead for all types of peer groups. And I will organize my thoughts on that for a future blog post.

But I have noticed a strong correlation between (A) successful MSPs and (B) peer group membership.