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  • 1.  Spire Solutions - Affilliate Member/Sponsor (Publishers)

    Posted 03-09-2022 14:00
    Hello Board 

    I would really love some initial input on a conversation I had with a new Sponsor - Spire Solutions. 

    Through this conversation, I am really taking the deeper understanding drive and understanding the difference between Publishers and everyone else.  

    Spire is in fact a competitor of Sage so the sponsorship presents some questions and considerations.   They are concerned as well (and Katie is in the know in terms of our group, channel management, and reseller needs).

    This to brought up the much larger question which is - Do we want competing publishers to Sage?  And who are they?  Netsuite, Acumatica, etc. etc.   I think they will sit out sponsorship this year because ultimately they would like to see many publishers (this is a great way to expand and grow). 

    But the initial concern is Sage - will they be challenged by this move on our part?  I think actually it benefits them (and the other publishers) because of cross-referral of business (not every solution fits every client). 

    I would love to know how many publishers our group actually works with on average and who....

    One idea is to plan a one off Get To Know you virtual series and present the publishers (hopefully several) to the membership and go from there.  I think we would have to recruit through channel managers or referrals.  

    These discussions may have already happened at some point or another - feel free to bring me up to speed.  I see opportunity but it definitely takes Board involvement and strategy.  Thank you for your patience while my understanding and knowledgebase grows.

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    Anne Sawyer
    Executive Director
    90 Minds, Inc.
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  • 2.  RE: Spire Solutions - Affilliate Member/Sponsor (Publishers)

    Posted 03-09-2022 14:27
    We've had other publishers involved. Acumatica, Xtuple, SAP B1.

    Sage hasn't liked it so far. We've set policies that publishers couldn't attend each others' sessions but only Sage crashed the other publishers' sessions.

    It's definitely part of a larger conversation. 

    --
    Robert Wood
    Consultant
    www.ddfcgi.com
    352-615-5898

    --

    Eric Hoffer: "In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists."

    Sent from my portable brain





  • 3.  RE: Spire Solutions - Affilliate Member/Sponsor (Publishers)

    Posted 03-09-2022 16:46
    The 3 Robert mentioned tried us for a year and didn't renew. Acumatica might have been 2.

    IMO, the publishers weren't clear about the nature of our membership, how to recruit in such an environment, and how to get legit interest. Also, we were unable to create significant interest in HL Community for them.

    When a publisher says "we compete with Sage" that statement means little until they specify which products. Aspire lists Sage Businessvision and Sage 200. I conclude from this that they are a) Canadian, b) concentrate on the smaller-end of Sage 100 customers, c) expect new partners to do most of the market awareness work. I might be wrong on all 3 counts, but they must be clear with us just how they think they fit with our membership.

    I think early in their discovery process with us, we should arrange an interview with an appropriate BOD member or other advisor to help sort out this important "fit" question.

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    Jerry Norman
    At-Large BOD Member, 90 Minds
    Smartbridge Partners
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