This week’s ConnectWise IT Nation conference in Orlando, Fla., attracted roughly 1,600 attendees. Multiple first-time attendees looked around and openly asked me: “How the heck did this conference and this community grow so large and so influential?” I’ve got a simple answer.
Here’s my thesis: ConnectWise has run a successful annual partner conference for nearly a decade. But the defining moment — the tipping point — arrived in April 2009. At that time, ConnectWise and HTG Peer Groups hammered out a strategic agreement. Generally speaking it involved:
- First, HTG Peer Groups — which includes dozens of VARs and MSPs — would standardize on ConnectWise’s PSA (professional services automation) software. The HTG members generate more than $800 million in IT-related sales and services.
- Second, HTG adjusted its year-end gathering (HTG All) to coincide with ConnectWise Partner Summit, which has since been rebranded as the IT Nation conference.
In some ways, the ConnectWise-HTG relationship has had its share of critics and challenges:
- Some HTG members were worried about being too closely aligned with a single PSA vendor; a few HTG members running Autotask apparently left the community.
- Some VARs and MSPs wondered if the IT Nation conference would become overwhelming, combining too many priorities and too many vendor-led gatherings.
Why IT Nation Is Working
Generally speaking, I think the IT Nation conference silences most critics each year. In the vast majority of cases, attendees and vendors are impressed with the event — which includes a boatload of non-vendor sessions and lots of networking time.
The IT Nation Conference works for a range of reasons:
1. The HTG member base focuses like a laser on MSP and VAR performance, growth and life-work balance. Those members include some of the highest-performance MSPs. Naturally, those top MSPs like to network with one another at a conference. And aspiring MSPs join in to learn from market leaders.
2. The ConnectWise culture is built around community. ConnectWise co-founders Arnie and David Bellini spend heavily to build user groups and the IT Nation conference. ConnectWise Director of Community Jeannine Edwards and her team work tirelessly to engage and support that community.
3. Yes, ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini wants to sell more software. But he also manages to evangelize sales strategies and business strategies to the ConnectWise community. His priorities are aligned with the ConnectWise community’s priorities: If VARs and MSPs have the proper sales education to grow, they can consume more of ConnectWise’s software.
4. Bellini has ambitious stretch goals. During today’s keynote, he compared ConnectWise’s place in the IT universe to that of Google Android, Apple, FaceBook, Skype and more. Is ConnectWise that influential across the IT market? No. But within sectors of the IT channel, it’s safe to say ConnectWise is more influential than those IT giants.
5. HTG somehow balances sponsored vendor engagements with peer group learnings. Gradually, vendor sponsors have learned to pitch fewer products and instead share more insights with HTG members.
Balancing Act
Yes, ConnectWise and HTG Peer Groups are growing more powerful within the IT channel. This week’s IT Nation conference, hosted by ConnectWise, proves that point. But with power comes responsibility.
- Even as ConnectWise strives to build a Microsoft Office-like suite for VARs and MSPs, ConnectWise must also maintain open relations and open APIs with software companies that compete with the ConnectWise portfolio.
- Even as HTG Peer Groups grows in size the organization must maintain a primary focus on MSP and VAR performance rather than vendor-dominated gatherings. With that thought in mind, I hear Sorensen and HTG have made the conscious decision to cut back on the number of deep vendor engagements the organization plans to have in 2012.
I’m not suggesting ConnectWise, Bellini, HTG and Sorensen are perfect. Designing a massive conference that attracts the right MSPs and VARs — without overwhelming those partners with sponsored sales pitches — is an extremely difficult balancing act. Plus, the IT channel needs healthy checks and balances. That’s where software rivals and independent associations enter the picture.
Still, it’s hard to argue with the IT Nation and HTG All formula so far. Can the model scale even higher? We’ll find out at ConnectWise IT Nation 2012…
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Tags: Arlin Sorensen | ConnectWise | ConnectWise IT Nation 2011 | HTG Peer Groups
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Good comments Joe. As an HTG member and a ConnectWise user/partner, I can say that I was very pleased with this week’s combined events. I think that the speakers at the breakout sessions did a good job of providing educational information, and not just trying to push their specific products or services.
As a Kaseya user/partner, when I first heard that ConnectWise Capital invested in LabTech, I certainly had concerns, as did many of my peers. It was reassuring to hear Arnie commit (this year, just as he did last year) that ConnectWise will maintain open APIs which can be used by ALL software companies. Hopefully this means that Kaseya (and other RMM vendors) will have the same integration opportunities, and that the entire community we will all end up benefiting from the specific ConnectWise Capital investments.
It’s been a long and productive week in Orlando, boy am I tired!
Lloyd,
Thanks for the note. Blogging about this stuff is always a bit tricky for me. On the one hand I understand the ConnectWise/LabTech strategy. On the other hand, I know it’s critical for MSPs to have open integration choices that link all the major RMMs into ConnectWise. Hopefully that continues to be the case.
-jp
Joe, great to have run into at least once at the event. ConnectWise and HTG have a formula figured out. I am honoured to have been part of that decision making process back in 2009 and happy to see it work. As a Managed Services Marketing consultant who uses ConnectWise each day, it is great to see such a robust community. It is one of the two IT conference I recommend to my client base that they must attend. The other is WPC. I shared my “MSP Marketing Plan” talk this year to a packed house of MSPs all there to learn from us and each other.
Thank you Mr. Bellini for your vision.
Stuart Crawford
Ulistic Inc.
I think the other thing that is great about the HTG and ConnectWise cooperation is the ability to take the networking to another level. Networking is always frustrating when you only have a brief moment to spend with someone new, then bang, you are off to the airport.
Co-locating HTG All and ConnectWise IT Nation allows vendors and partners to spend a whole week together. Someone you briefly meet on Monday, may have 30 min to spend with you on Thursday. This allows you to go deeper on building relationships, especially between partners and vendors.
Great job to all the people at HTG and ConnectWise who make it happen.
Joe,
Stuart mentions Arnie’s vision. As an HTG member and former facilitator, I know Arlin and his team’s vision. The thing that makes the two groups such fantastic strategic partners is the fact that both visions are laser focused and the point upon which they are burning the hole is years ahead of us. Both organizations look beyond the “next big thing” or the current trend. They are leading their communities into the future, defining it as they go.
I am proud to be a member of both.
Rick Bahl
Quality Systems Solutions, Inc.
Stuart@3, Ted@4, Rick@5: Thanks for sharing your views. Aside from all the networking opportunities, I think I like the event because it gives me a chance to get a near year-end view on how the market is performing, and early priorities for 2012…
Best
-jp
Joe,
These two events together are both the most critical and tiring of my year. I have the opportunity to share time with different members of my team from Infinity Network Solutions at these events all while we learn from experts, vendors and peers about our individual responsibilities. For this one week we all can focus daily on driving forward and improving the business and ourselves. Whenever groups integrate efforts and/or vendors begin to partner more closely the greater community will worry because they feel their interests will not be served as well but as long as those partnerships are being done for the greater good and not selfish reasons then I say go for it. I don’t utilize all of the vendors that ConnectWise has invested in but those vendors that I do use are pushed to keep up with the innovation coming from these partnerships and investments so that companies like mine will not make that change. And for that reason I say Thank You to both HTG and ConnectWise for another inspiring event.
Hey Joe. You know I could write a book here, but I’m going to try not to. What I will do is tell you I think you are absolutely spot on. Tremendous insight.
I had the opportunity to hear Arnie talk a little more about the API’s outside keynotes and such, and I can tell you how serious is about the open API model. I thought he had taken a real risk in investing in LabTech, then Quosal. As a CW User Group Facilitator and HTG member I heard absolutely no shortage of concerns and comments about Arnie’s need to dominate the marketplace by force and cut everyone else off for his own selfish reasons. Over the last few months that noise has died almost completely. Again, Arnie shows his unique ability to see a step or two beyond most of us. He demonstrated that LabTech and Quosal only use the API’s, and he absolutely bettered the marketplace from a pricing and innovation standpoint from all vendors for the benefit of his partners. I happened to switch to LabTech and Quosal, but I have spoken with so many who have not and have still felt the benefit of Arnie’s actions.
For Arlin, what can I say. He is my mentor in so many ways. Not sure his humility would allow him to say this, so I will. He knew he had a gift of tremendous wisdom in life and business to share. He knew he didn’t have the capacity to personally share his wisdom with each individual, so he put in place a way to scale its distribution. I know, everyone in HTG contributes and everyone wins. I have been in HTG for nearly five years and I do understand that, but Arlin’s guiding hand is felt in every meeting. Thank you Arlin.
Robert@7: Thanks for your recap. You briefly mention a very important word — “tiring.” The week can be exhausting for sure. As a rule, I started booking all my meetings and completing my calendar two weeks before IT Nation because the networking opportunities can be overwhelming. To succeed at the event I think attendees (myself included) need an organized plan of attack before you land in Orlando…
Jamison@8: Great to see you in Orlando, and congrats on the M&A deals you’ve pulled off. I appreciate you sharing those honest insights — yes, a large number of MSPs have expressed concerns about Arnie’s investment strategy for ConnectWise Capital… and ultimately, the resulting links into ConnectWise. In recent months, I think the concerns have quieted down a bit, too. And I think you’re right: The ConnectWise-LabTech synergies have forced other RMM vendors to up their games on R&D while thinking carefully about pricing.
The key takeaway: Several RMM providers likely had their best years ever in 2011… So ultimately, the highly competitive RMM space grew in 2011 even as some pricing pressure surfaced.
Still, I realize current success doesn’t guarantee future success. ConnectWise must keep the APIs open AND offer a level playing field in terms of support response times. For instance, ConnectWise has to answer RMM support questions/inquiries/issues in an equally responsive manner for all platforms. As long as ConnectWise fulfills that obligation, Arnie will quiet most of ConnectWise’s critics.
-jp
Joe, I didn’t see you at either HTG or IT Nation. I guess that’s a testament to the size of the event. I just joined HTG (after 11 years in TPG). I was extremely impressed with the depth of financial analysis provided by SLI. I also so appreciate the balance that HTG attempts to bring to the workplace. Thinking through business, leadership, life and legacy plans is important, and something most of us forget to do. As for IT Nation, I find this conference to be extremely refreshing. The focus is on learning and growing your business. Yes, we all need vendors, but what I appreciate is that we have a forum to see and speak with the vendors we want. It’s different than at other conferences. Of course the networking is always where much learning takes place, and with 1,600 attendees there is ample opportunity for learning.
Hi Ted,
I was locked in hourly meetings most of Thursday and Friday, but surfaced for the keynotes and a few breakouts, plus the evening gatherings. Reinforcing your point: SLI, I assume, is Service Leadership Inc.? I believe SLI’s Paul Dippell is the only third-party coach/guest speaker who has presented at every ConnectWise Partner Summit/IT Nation since inception…
-jp
Joe: What is really unique about both Connectwise and HTG is their focus on giving back to the community they serve. You could view the CW capital moves as selfish for Connectwise, but after listening to Arnie’s keynote, you realize that they are just trying to raise the bar for all of us.
With both HTG and CW, you see their growing influence in the market and this influence helps us as service providers navigate this quickly moving marketplace.
What Arnie and Arling have managed to do together is create a community and an ecosystem that has an underlying positive ethic about helping their participants succeed. It is not lip service. I believe that they have done something unique which is to give a “soul” to this endevour. As an active participant, you can feel that you are part of something unique and exciting and that both HTG and CW are interested in your interests and not just theirs.
Through my participation, I have been able to develop key relationships with vendors, consultant and mentors that have helped Axcell grow.
Congrats to Arlin and Arnie on what I think was the best industry event I have ever attended! (Too bad I didn’t get any sleep for 5 days!)
Oh, and let’s not forget Jeannine Edwards the CW community team! They really are the ones that tie this whole thing together!
Rick@12: I suspect 1,599 other attendees are also feeling sleep deprived after last week as well.
-jp
It’s all about “COMMUNITY” and exactly why HTG & IT Nation are now, in my opinion, the best SMB channel industry events today. These forums offer the ability for solution providers and vendors to come together in a true ecosystem relationship to help shine the light on potential opportunities and address today’s business challenges together. Cisco is completely focused on and committed to HTG and ConnectWise partners to help us develop the roadmap for our new OnPlus Service.
Lisa: Thanks for that additional info. Keep us posted as OnPlus evolves.
-jp
JP
Thanks for pointing out that I’m not perfect. I was afraid someone might have that impression.
I certainly am not, nor is HTG or our team for that matter.
But we do have some things on track, and definitely our relationship with ConnectWise are at the top of that list. When we made the strategic decison back in April 2009 to align completely with ConnectWise – we were taking some bullets. But it was the best decision we could have made and it has allowed us to separate our group from all others in our industry. Our members are able to provide laser focused feedback with the exact methods to implement since all of us are on the same business platform.
I also have to give ConnectWise credit for believing in our mission and providing support during those early years as we were trying to find our path and get our program working well. That support, along with the community team which has helped us with recruiting, has been significant in propelling our growth.
As I wrote in a recent blog post for HTG members, we recognize the impact of Arnie and David Bellini, not only on the IT Nation community, but also on HTG. Their vision along with the needed support to make it a reality, has been a significant help to those of us who are impacted. Throw in Jeannine’s leadership around building a very functional and fun community and you have magic. We are glad to play a small part in that.
There is much more coming in 2012/2013. We are working more closely than ever with ConnectWise, and the best is yet to come!
Arlin Sorensen – CEO/Founder HTG Peer Groups
Arlin,
Thanks for a closer look at the relationship. I know hitching your wagon to a specific vendor required careful consideration. As the old saying goes: You can’t please everyone. As long as HTG and ConnectWise have aligned goals I think you’ll continue to have a healthy relationship.
-jp
Without investing in CW, I’d never have come across HTG. And without both HTG and CW, my business wouldn’t be anywhere near where it is today – more than twice the size.
So thanks to Arnie for his vision and to Arlin for his unwavering and wholehearted commitment to his members.
I am proud to be associated with both.
Mark Williams
CEO, Pensar (London, UK)
Mark,
I’ve heard some momentum updates about the UK group and will be sure to share some details with our readers in the days ahead. Thanks for reading MSPmentor.
-jp
Joe,
I think the HTG success story can be simply articulated into one word: “giving” . It is more about “you” and not “me” It was also great to hear Arnie say that over and over again from the front of Connect Wise devotees.
I invest heavily in HTG and Arlin because at the end of the day it is more than profits and productivity (as important as they may be), it is all about giving back — to our customers, our company, our channel community and our cherished families. Arlin and Arnie, a winning combination!!
Lester,
I applaud the “giving” message. But deep down — my person opinion — is the success is more about alignment and common goals. As HTG members succeed, they’re more inclined to give back and engage even more with the community. As ConnectWise partners succeed, they are more likely to grow their need for software and engage more deeply with the company.
-jp