Image Gallery: Intelisys Channel Connect — Supplier Expo, Awards, Magic Johnson
INTELISYS CHANNEL CONNECT — “We are so grateful to this partner community, attracting the best of the best in this industry. Sometimes you have to pinch yourself that we’ve [been so successful] …”
That’s how Intelisys president Jay Bradley summed up his appreciation for the master agent’s sales partners in the kickoff of Intelisys Channel Connect this week. The event, which has been held in the Napa Valley for the past few years, moved south to California’s Central Coast in part to accommodate an increase in attendance.
Setting up shop in Monterey, California, through 2019, this year’s Channel Connect welcomed 1,200 attendees – partners and supplier representatives – to get educated on hot topics in the channel; network with peers; get updates on the ongoing ScanSource-Intelisys integration; and more.
Scroll through our image gallery below to see who was in the supplier expo, who took the stage during the general sessions, and who went home with awards for top sales. Plus, a special appearance by NBA legend Magic Johnson.
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General sessions were held in Monterey's historic Golden State Theatre. Some of Intelisys' top sales partners shared their best practices for success — they included Tricia Ward (pictured here on stage) of Onward Communications, the master agent's very first platinum partner.
Tips include embracing the partner community as peers, not rivals; finding creative ways to make the sale after the initial rejection; and hiring the right people.
The Intelisys executive team (left to right: Andrew Pryfogle, Jay Bradley, Rick Dellar, Rick Sheldon and Dana Topping) shared updates on the company's work with new owner ScanSource, which bought Intelisys last fall; and looked back on 20 years of annual events, which started as a few guys playing golf in the late '90s.
"We really love people and we like to build relationships," co-founder Rick Sheldon told attendees. "We never thought telecom was sexy. We didn't invent anything really cool like the iPhone. We wanted to figure out a way to buy from our customers and not sell to them."
Attendees piled into a jam-packed supplier expo for an opportunity to network and visit with vendors about their channel programs. Conversations like this one in front of the Frontier table were common.
Intelisys' personal DJ, Michael Toast, got everyone fired up in the supplier expo and at the general sessions with his blend of rock and pop favorites.
Vonage attracted attendees to its booth with some cool giveaways and a chance to talk about unified communications and business VoIP sales.
Five9 drew a lot of interest in its cloud contact-center software solutions.
"Cloud has already won the argument around contact center, yet roughly 12 percent of global contact centers are cloud-based," noted Andrew Pryfogle, Intelsys' senior VP of cloud transformation, during Wednesday's general session. "They're waiting for you to call them; they need your help to figure this out."
The team at Evolve IP, which bills itself as a cloud strategy company, made their intentions clear — if "as a service" is your thing, they've got you covered.
The Telstra mascots made the long trip from Australia. We doubt they got a direct flight. But for the one on the right, it was still just a short "hop" across the Pacific.
KORE, which is making a major push in the channel with its IoT and M2M services, set up shop in the supplier expo. We talked with the company's CEO on our podcast, "Coffee with Craig & Kevin," where he told us how partners can take the first steps to join the IoT revolution.
The Demo Lab was an open area that gave attendees the opportunity to see a showcase of the participating suppliers' products and services.
Jive, Peak 10 + Viawest, Broadview Networks and 8x8 were among those set up to walk partners through their business solutions.
Education is a major part of any Intelisys Channel Connect. Among many topics, sessions focused on regulation and compliance; cloud contact centers; security; and managed cloud, all hot technologies and opportunities that the master agent has identified as key components in helping customers with their digital transformations.
Intelisys recognized its top-performing sales partners – including its three new platinum partners – during an awards gala on Thursday, Oct. 5. Schafer Management, ROI Communications and Peak View Communications all were honored as platinum partners, along with three that had been previously announced in 2017 — LAM Technology, BroadReach Communications and Agnostic Networks.
The Laker legend was the featured speaker at the awards gala. He regaled the crowd not only with stories about playing in the NBA, but also the many successful business ventures he's taken on since retiring from basketball.
