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ThriveOn Atlanta

  • 1.  ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 11-29-2019 12:45
    Anybody attending Sage ThriveOn in Atlanta on December 5th?

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    Bob Tobey
    I-Business Network, Cloud Channel Manager
    I-Business Network, LLC
    Marietta GA
    678-627-0646 x231
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  • 2.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 11-30-2019 06:35
    I’m attending. I’ll be in on Wed late afternoon and out Friday.

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    Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
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  • 3.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-02-2019 08:09
    We are attending because we are receiving an award for achieving Diamond Tier status.  If it were not for that, we would not have gone.  The last we heard, the registration count was pretty slim.

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    Joseph Jenders
    Vrakas/Blum Computer Consulting, Inc.
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  • 4.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-02-2019 09:55
    Congratulations, Joe!

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    ==================
    Rhonda McNamara
    Customer Success Manager
    Stewart Technologies, Inc.
    rsm@stewarttechnologies.com
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  • 5.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-02-2019 10:26
    Thanks Rhonda.  Even a blind squirrel can find a nut sometimes.  :-)

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    Joseph Jenders
    Vrakas/Blum Computer Consulting, Inc.
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  • 6.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-02-2019 09:33
    ICYMI, here is the agenda for Atlanta 



    And here is the registration page - link



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    Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
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  • 7.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-03-2019 11:32
    I tried registering last Friday and received message that registration was closed.  Sure went fast.  @Wayne Schulz - when did you register? ​

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    Jeff Schwenk
    FORMER 90M Board Member
    Bottomline Software, Inc.
    Waynesboro VA
    540-221-4444
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  • 8.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-03-2019 11:52
    I registered on 11//19

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    Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
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  • 9.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-03-2019 14:27

    Gary and I signed up on 11/19 also.

     

    Sent from Mail for Windows 10

     



    ------Original Message------

    I registered on 11//19

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    Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
    ------------------------------


  • 10.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-04-2019 12:14
    We can give an update after the show on the value provided. The cost is good!

    ---------------------------------
    Gary Feldman
    President
    I-Business Network, LLC
    Marietta GA
    6786270646 x224
    http://www.i-bn.com/
    ---------------------------------





  • 11.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-05-2019 08:20
    Looks like about 30-50 registrations based on quick badge count. The event is in one of the conference areas on the 5th floor.

    I have a copy of the agenda which I don’t seem to be able to upload while on mobile.

    This is a sales kickoff and as such the partner and sales people are on the agenda. There is no other Sage management listed to speak aside from

    Nancy Teixeira
    Dianna Lane
    Kerstin Demko
    Sarah Lemon
    Jeremy Ploessel
    Tim Phelan

    Sage NA Product Marketing Team
    Phuong Nguyen- 300
    Virginia Dannelly - HRMS
    Morgan Rochofski - X3
    Timothy Harfield - 100

    Maggie Combs - Foundation



    ---------------------------------
    Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
    ---------------------------------





  • 12.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-05-2019 10:55
    We are 1/4 of the way through. So far I give this a B+. Nancy Teixeira gave a good overview of the new strategy. Points off for a a lot of this being a retread ( eliminate silos anyone ?... )....yet more sales re-org ( though this seemed more about aligning roles vs firing ).

    The ISV program still leaves a lot of questions though Sage ( again ) says they’ll ( finally ) have a marketplace to sell ISV solutions ( spoiler : this has been a goal since the Joe Langner era )...



    ---------------------------------
    Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
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  • 13.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-05-2019 11:04
    Their ISV program seems to suffer from complete paralysis. We were first asked by Sage to participate in an ISV marketplace visioning session back in 2011.  None of what was talked about then has been executed, and I'll be surprised if anything happens now.  Having a program to help partners (and Sage) win more business by promoting proven vertical and horizontal solutions paired with Sage ERP products does not have to be complicated. For whatever reason they just can't do it.

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    Paul Ziliak
    co-f0under
    xkzero
    847-416-2009

    www.xkzero.com
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  • 14.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-05-2019 11:26
    They talked about revamping the ISV marketplace and have developer day next week in Atlanta

    ---------------------------------
    Gary Feldman
    President
    I-Business Network, LLC
    Marietta GA
    6786270646 x224
    http://www.i-bn.com/
    ---------------------------------





  • 15.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta
    Best Answer

    Posted 12-05-2019 11:42
    And for about 2 seconds I thought about going. Instead I'll wait for the program announcement.


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    Paul Ziliak
    co-f0under
    xkzero
    847-416-2009

    www.xkzero.com
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-05-2019 11:53
    So far the event is well ahead of schedule. The cool aid is about room temperature as much if the content is good but doesn’t move the needle very much.

    The SaaS presentation perhaps will have more support to it with three upcoming webinars on how to transition your practice. It pretty much said the same IDC information which was at Summit a couple of years ago.

    I am waiting to hear more about their industry bundling initiative. This is also not a new concept but one other Publishers have done a better job at promoting. For example SAP rolled one out for its SAP B1 Cloud service which landed with a thud and without all the marketing and sales support they promise will be coming.

    Good to see some familiar faces though!

    ---------------------------------
    Gary Feldman
    President
    I-Business Network, LLC
    Marietta GA
    6786270646 x224
    http://www.i-bn.com/
    ---------------------------------





  • 17.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-05-2019 12:32
    All in all, pretty good information flow.  Reorganizing makes a lot of sense.  I thought Sages sales strategy to attack with Intaac and defend X3, Sage 100 and Sage 300 is good.  They recognize the market share for these more mature products.  The IDC Info Brief looks very interesting.  Sarah Lemon, VP of Partner Programs, didn't go into it indepth (it would have consumed the conference and but it is available to everybody.  Tim Phelan mentioned that there's been a 36% drop in resellers saying that young people are not gravitating to reselling software.  40% of the channel will be retiring within 5 years and 5 years from now, 75% of the resellers will be millennials!!!  God help us all!  (ha-ha)

    From a presentation point of view, this is a "talk at you session" and it so easily could be a interactive.  The partners in the room enjoy talking to one another and enjoy speaking to their success, why not team the attendees into small discussion groups to discuss:  1)  How do you think Sage can help more, 2) what immediate things can they fix, 3) how has your company embraced SaaS, what problems do you see/encounter, etc., etc.  Each presenter should have an attendee exercise of some kind.  

    Also, I have a new pet peeve and that's asking if there are any questions and then not waiting for the audience to think of a question.  Remember, in every demo, every product presentation (or Sage's new term "Success Presentation"), you're training your audience from the start.  You're either training them to be quiet and listen or training them that they have to participate.  In this presentation, it's all talk at you so attendees don't feel obligated to ask anything.  Case in point why this is so important, when have you been around a lot of partners when they didn't have something to say, ask or pontificate about.

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    Bob Tobey
    I-Business Network, Cloud Channel Manager
    I-Business Network, LLC
    Marietta GA
    678-627-0646 x231
    ------------------------------



  • 18.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-06-2019 11:55
    The afternoon sessions were good.  Here's the recap:
    • 68% of customers are doing their own research before engaging a sales person.  The good news is you still need sales people but they are getting involved later in the buying cycle than ever before.  More good news, sales people get involved at the presentation stage through closing which is what they like to do anyway.  
    • With everyone moving to SaaS or subscription models it's important to understand the Rule Of 78.  https://www.bing.com/search?q=rule+of+78+revenue&form=EDNTHB&mkt=en-us&httpsmsn=1&msnews=1&rec_search=1&plvar=0&refig=00edb2347406470e9b1edffa3ea064a9&sp=2&qs=AS&pq=rule+of+78&sk=AS1&sc=8-10&cvid=00edb2347406470e9b1edffa3ea064a9&cc=US&setlang=en-US
    • Over the years companies/we have trained customers to wait until the last week of a month, quarter or fiscal year to make a buying decision because they know they're going to get larger discounts.  This drastically affects your yearly subscription revenue.  From my chair, this will never change as pannick ensues the higher you get in an organization  when revenues are reported.
    • Sage can help sell the entire "stack" of ISVs.  I think this is a great offer of help IF the Sage people are willing to be coached on the best approach for our clients.  
    • Sage Foundation is very impressive in terms of the money they donate and get donated.  Kudos to DSD for providing $15,000 to be donated and split between Soldiers Angels, Feeding America and Tutormate.  This would be a worthwhile foundation to piggyback on and I believe it's even worth mentioning in presentations when you talk about Sage Corporate.
    • Very brief product updates for Sage 300cloud, HRMS, X3, and  Sage 100cloud  were discussed.  They really didn't allow the kind of time needed to do anything in depth so nothing was really new.  Timothy Hartfield did a stand up job with Sage 100cloud.  Noticeably missing throughout the day was Sage 500.  Cherry Williamson put it best in one of the saddest, true and funniest statements of the day:  "What am I supposed to tell my Sage 500 customers...it sucks to be you!!??"
    • The Sage 100cloud Distribution bundle and the Sage 100cloud Manufacturing bundle looks fantastic.  Again, hats off to Timothy...nice job!
    • I was disappointed in the marketing presentation, not from a content point of view but from a presentation point of view.  That said, I wish they would have had more time to discuss "Brand Evolution"  That would have been really interesting.  Sage is spending money on print media and it's very professional looking.  There will be a Sage Partner Summit and a Sage Summit next year along with an X3 Summit which was surprising to me because there was a slide that said there are 500+ X3 users.  
    • I learned a ton about Sage in the Jeopardy Game at the end of the day and it truly was a highlight.  I don't have any notes as it was actually funnier that Saturday Night Live's Jeopardy sketches.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zq3KCBed5Q
    All in all, this is a very worthwhile conference for all Sage Partners to attend.  

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    Bob Tobey
    I-Business Network, Cloud Channel Manager
    I-Business Network, LLC
    Marietta GA
    678-627-0646 x231
    ------------------------------



  • 19.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-06-2019 12:27
    Thanks for the info here,  Bob!

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    Jerry Norman
    President, 90 Minds
    Smartbridge Partners
    512.419.1444 x112
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  • 20.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-06-2019 12:29
    Thank you so much for this recap, @Bob Tobey!​

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    Beth Bowers
    Mom to Samson, Peanut, ChiChi, Canton, Cagney and Daisy (NO Oxford comma - shriek!)
    Beth Bowers
    269-445-1625
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  • 21.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-06-2019 17:06
    In the end, I agree with Bob that it was a good investment of our time and if travel is not too expensive I would recommend going.

    It is good to see a little continuity amongst the sales, marketing, product and North American leadership groups. They seemed open to ideas in private discussions and more focused on partner satisfaction than recent history. The combination of sales and renewal teams with a statement indicating that everything will be on partner paper seem very much in alignment with intent.

    The marketing team is trying to be more proactive and dedicated to event planning and a budget for marketing is being expanded. This is also in alignment with their stated intent of growth through new customer accounts and win backs.

    As with any publisher meeting designed to excite and inspire, the proof will be in the actions we see over the next few months.

    ---------------------------------
    Gary Feldman
    President
    I-Business Network, LLC
    Marietta GA
    6786270646 x224
    http://www.i-bn.com/
    ---------------------------------





  • 22.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-10-2019 12:08
    Any thoughts on the Dec 11th Sage Developer Conference in Atlanta?
    If you happen to have that registration-link, please post.

    Thanks

    ------------------------------
    Lee Graham
    Friendly Systems, Inc.
    ------------------------------



  • 23.  RE: ThriveOn Atlanta

    Posted 12-10-2019 14:58

    I don't have a registration link and they didn't really say where it was.  I would suspect it's on the portal but I'm sure registration is closed.  If it's like the Atlanta ThriveON, it was only for Diamond Partners and then they opened it up to all Partners and then they shut the registration down shortly thereafter.  I wonder if they only invited our ISVs???   I was disappointed at the ThriveON when I saw many open seats in their meeting room.  They probably could have had 25 more people attend had they left it open.

     

    Bob Tobey | Channel Manager

    o    678.627.0646 x231   |   f  678.627.0688

    m  770.356.9395____________________

     

    image001.png@01D0D8E8.C07C5390 

    2617 Sandy Plains Rd., Ste B, Marietta, GA 30066

    www.I-BN.com

    Powerful Business Technology Made Simple

     

    image004.png@01D40FA5.5A10ADD0

     



    ------Original Message------

    Any thoughts on the Dec 11th Sage Developer Conference in Atlanta?
    If you happen to have that registration-link, please post.

    Thanks

    ------------------------------
    Lee Graham
    Friendly Systems, Inc.
    ------------------------------