2012 Microsoft World Partner Conference Toronto, July 8-12
Applied Innovations’ President and CEO Jess Coburn joined 15,000 of his closest friends from over 150 countries at this annual event.
“There were reportedly over 500 networking events alone, nearly 150 exhibitors on the show floor, and more than 200 sessions across 26 business tracks,” reported Coburn. “It was a lot to take in, but well worth the time investment.”
The Web Host Industry News reported on the last afternoon session of the Hosting and Cloud Track at the WPC conference. Edge Strategies president Bob Kazarian delivered a thoughtful presentation about SMBs and what they expect from the Cloud in Nine Things All Partners Should Know about SMBs and the Cloud.
HostingCon 2012 Boston, July 16-18
On the second day of the conference, Jess Coburn spoke at HostingCon on a panel with three other industry veterans on the topic of “Talking to Software Startups – Sales, Marketing and Service Tactics for ISV and SaaS Customers”
The panel discussed how software startups are an incredible opportunity as a potential customer base for hosting providers. They are small, agile customers with a unique appreciation for their technology partners and the potential for rapid growth. A couple of successful startup companies with specific hosting needs can evolve into a hosting provider’s Cash Cows in no time. So the question becomes how you, as a hosting provider, differentiate yourself and standout to these startups when the hosting landscape is dominated by behemoths like Amazon.
“I wanted to share my experiences and success with other hosting providers because the industry definitely benefits by the energies and even collaboration of multiple smaller players,” stated Coburn.
The Web Host Industry Review published a nice roundup of the event in Nicole Henderson’s Weekend Reading for July 21, 2012 article.