ConnectWise IT Nation 2017 Key Takeaways -ITPN-23

My Big Takeaways
In this episode of the IT Provider Network, I want to share with you some of the top takeaways from the massive ConnectWise IT Nation conference in Orlando last week.
3500 IT Peeps and plenty of cocktails
Over 3500 attendees attended the two-day conference put on by ConnectWise, makers of ConnectWise Manage, Automate, Connect and Sell and the newly announced ConnectWise Unite.  As always it was an outstanding conference for anyone in IT.
My Crew
I took Brian and Alan my Chief Revenue Officer and Service Manager to the conference this year.  We started the conference with the IT Nation Gives event where about 30 of us spent the morning at the Primrose Center, a home for disabled adults.  We divided and worked on several projects to improve their lives.  Painting, Yard Work, Baking Cookies with the Residents and of course delivering some technology to help the residents!   It is such a great event and Heather Ptak from ConnectWise does a great job putting together the IT Nation Gives event.  Thank you, Heather, for being one of the good ones!

David Bellini, Terry Rossi, Brian Atchison and Heather Ptak -IT Nation Gives 2017

For me, this year was my TENTH IT Nation and boy has it changed since the first one I attended in 2007.   Back in 2007 the conference and the hotel were paid for by ConnectWise.  I remember attending the first one and thinking that it was one of the best conferences I had ever attended.    Just for the record, I attend a lot of conferences, and not just in IT,  I attend Social Media, Digital Marketing, ERP, Podcasting, and other conferences if the topic interests me – I am a constant learner.

 
The IT Nation Meetup of Podcast Listeners
I caught up with a bunch of IT Provider listeners at the Off the Grid party.  It was really great to be able to put a face to a name and to hear the podcast is making a difference for real people struggling to build, grow and scale their business.  Thanks so much for taking the time to seek me out.

I also want to thank everyone for the emails and questions.  I am going to do a Q&A show next so make sure you call or write and I will do my best to help you solve your challenges.

So back to IT Nation, IT Nation is still one of the best shows you could possibly attend.  Go next year regardless of the PSA or RMM you use, it totally doesn’t matter.
About the Company
For those of you that are not ConnectWise partners,  let me tell you a little about the company ConnectWise.     Started by Arnie and David Bellini, two brothers, who had and still have a small MSP in the Tampa area.  ConnectWise has become a powerhouse in the IT and Managed Services Arena because of its domination with their PSA software.

I remember back in 2007, I was looking for a PSA system, although I had no idea that was what it was called back then, and I stumbled across ConnectWise and the whole managed service industry.

It has everything I was looking for in the software and it opened my eyes to another industry that I could launch into that would replace the MRR or monthly recurring revenue that was fading from our ISP, our Internet Service Provider Business.
The Product(s)
Anyway back to ConnectWise,  they have been killing it for years and the software, at least the in-house developed software, key to the success of our business.  Their product suite includes:

ConnectWise Manage – A PSA or Professional Services Automation suite
ConnectWise Automate – A RMM or Remote Management and Monitoring tool
ConnectWise Sell – A quoting tool that integrates with the tools I mentioned.
ConnectWise Control – Screen Sharing and Remote Control

At during the keynote, they announced ConnectWise Unite which I’ll tell you about in a minute or two.

The conference kicked off with Arnie Bellini giving the Keynote to the audience of over 3000 people.  The main stage presentations are always impressive.  The stage and A/V setup is first class.