Accelerate 2017 Roundup: Insights into Innovation, Best Practices and the Power of the SMB Channel

Last week in Toronto we were joined by approximately 100 MSPs, VARs and IT professionals from across North America who were looking to accelerate their growth. Through various workshops and training sessions given by industry experts and top speakers, that were specifically designed to accelerate their cloud journey, we gave them the tools to fast-track their strategies. It was an exciting two days, full of learning and networking. And I’d like to thank everybody who came! If you couldn’t make it to the summit, don’t worry, here is a roundup of what happened!

The Highlights

Keynote

Accelerate 2017 was kicked off with a keynote speech by Peter Cassar, SherWeb’s CEO and Co-Founder; Jason Brown, SherWeb’s VP of Product; and Pierre Emond, SherWeb’s VP of Global Sales.

Together, they gave an overview of what is happening across the industry, insights into what is happening at SherWeb and our roadmap for the future.

Cloud computing is no longer seen as ‘the new opportunity’. It is here to stay.

Jason highlighted our most successful products over the last 12 months; including, the launch of SherWeb VoIP, and what our partners can expect from our portfolio in the future: the products we will be releasing, why we chose them and what they mean for you and your customers.

But, products are only part of what makes an IT business successful, and there are many other moving parts that decision makers need to be in control of. Pierre touched on some of these challenging areas that IT providers have to deal with when running a business; namely, the availability of skilled workers, difficulties in generating leads, keeping up with the rapid pace of innovation, as well as how a partnership with the right provider can help ease these pains, and help accelerate your growth.

Thought-Provoking Sessions

The theme for this summit was acceleration, and we had sessions to help accelerate every business, no matter their stage of maturity.

The sessions reflected this by discussing how MSPs, VARs and IT pros should define their offers and marketing position, how to build solid go-to-market and growth strategies, and best practices for deploying, migrating and supporting their offerings.

There were also product walkthroughs from Microsoft on their latest innovations: Microsoft 365 and Azure Migrate. Not only did they explain the products, but they also showed how resellers can make them a profitable addition to their cloud portfolio.  

The feedback we have had so far from attendees is that two of the most well-received sessions were by Marc Gordon, Selling Happiness: How to Create Customer Experiences that Inspire Loyalty and Encourage Referrals, and Dr. Peter Jensen, Coaching for High Performance. 

“The reality of surpassing expectations? Loyalty has a plateau.” Marc Gordon, Marketing Specialist

"Imagery is the language of performance. People cannot do things they can’t imagine." Dr. Peter Jensen, Founder @ Performance Coaching

Partner Advisory Council (PAC)

On the afternoon of the first day, our CEO, Peter Cassar, and other top executives sat down with 10 of our partners to discuss the SherWeb roadmap in more detail and the future of the partner network. It was another great opportunity to get face time with our partners, to get a better understanding of the current MSP landscape, and to receive their feedback and insights. After all, the objective of this summit was to ensure that we continue to work in unison to support our common goals: your success and your acceleration.

Our Top Takeaway

The most important thing we came away with is the power of the SMB channel. There was so much passion, expertise, and drive in the room; everyone was ready to learn from the sessions and, more importantly, from one another. At some conferences, attendees can see the others in the room as their competition. However, at Accelerate, not only did the attendees share their past experiences but they also saw everyone as an opportunity. How can they help add value? Could they work together in the future on a project? Do they already have a product that would complement their portfolio? Partnering up is a great way to accelerate your business after all!

Our team thoroughly enjoyed this year’s summit and all the feedback we have had so far has been positive, with many attendees saying that their expectations of the event were not only reached, but surpassed! But why take my word for it? Read what one of our partners has to say about the event in their blog post: The Power of Microsoft for SMB: SherWeb Accelerate Cloud Summit.

What’s the Next Step?

We ended the summit with the following advice that I’d like to share with you again here:

When you leave make sure you have a clear vision of where you are headed, using the knowledge of the latest trends, challenges and insights that you have learnt over these two days. Make sure you are armed with a well-defined strategy and all the tools you need to get you to where you want to be, continually motivate yourself to achieve your goals. Finally, start applying everything you have learned!

Something one partner said to me that stayed with me was how this had been the only opportunity in a long time that he had had to actually work on his business, instead of running his business. And this is exactly what we wanted attendees to be able to do. So, make sure to book yourself another cloud growth strategy getaway next year. Stay tuned for more updates!

Marc-André Fontaine, Vice President, Marketing