Conferences and events are back and in full swing. With new education, new vendors, and many networking opportunities, Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Joshua Liberman of Net Sciences, Inc. to discuss the hot shows and what they have to offer.
Video Transcription
Joshua Liberman
So the most unusual show that I go to in our field, kind of peripherally in our field is channel partner show. It’s known by most people for good reason as a telco, or at least a master type of show. But the reality is they’ve been reaching out for years to become part of to make it a more mainstream, MSP slash IT provider event. And they recently or at least in the last few years, kind of merged it with their MSP Summit, either in the same physical space, or just having a back to back next to each other. And that really happened again, this year, the signage, and the way they execute on that release to me is a little confusing, but they are becoming one show. And they do throw a big show and it was well attended. There was good, good information overall, quite good. And their show floor is large. I mean, it was the size of a small interest, show floor, they have more space per vendor than you’d see anywhere just about, and they had a lot of vendors. And because it’s not a mainstream show, you know, when they ask the channel Pro, because they are Robin Robins mainstream, it connect whatever. It’s more diverse. There are vendors you’ll see there, you won’t see it those other shows, sometimes for good reason. But generally speaking, you can meet more vendors who have not yet heard of at their show than most MSP oriented shows.
Harry Brelsford
Yeah. Yeah, it looks attractive. You know how it is you always see the photos on LinkedIn and Facebook, and it looks like a handsome audience seriously. Looks like a good show.
Joshua Liberman
Great. I’m not sure. But at some part, I was there all time. But the it was, what it’s well done. It’s well presented. There’s questions about the funny thing is the it’s always or almost always in the same venue, or at least one of two venues. And it’s still kind of confusing to figure out where registration is because it’s inside the main show floor, which kid get to to pass through all the other spaces. And I always have a great time watching people try to figure out where to go to register. So I’ll stand around help people. There’s always little charges like anybody else, but little challenges. But yes, it is a good show, show floor a lot of vendors a lot of diversity for across the crowd that we’re used to seeing, and presentations and concepts that we don’t do it. I will tell you that channel shows like this, especially the ones that tell Iris TBI, Sandler etc put on so they’re really master agent shows. Those are a lot more old school salesy type folk that were used to dealing with in the MSP crowd, nobody became a master agent, or even became a telco or a service provider, by being a techie that stumbled into having a business, that’s an MSP thing. These guys, these guys are working for 1000 person organizations, and they have their MBAs and they’ve been selling for 30 years, and yada, yada, yada. These are salespeople that now aren’t tech, as opposed to tech people who have to sell. Yeah, that way, too.
Harry Brelsford
Now, I would concur. Now, his channel partners just once a year or what they have a fall show do you know?
Joshua Liberman
So the answer is no, they’re not just and that they that’s only because they changed their calendar around. This show was always in April for years, the only ones I went to were in April. But like everybody else, they lost 2020. In 2021, they moved it to the fall and made it a cohabitated space with MSP Summit. They did the same thing this year in terms of having both shows together, but brought it back to its ordinary April date. Now give me just a second. I think they have a good look at my calendar. I think they have another show. Well, nope, I’m making this thing. Same mistake. A lot of people do it confusing them with channel futures. There is something actually right around the time of the show you’re doing. If I remember I put you have a mid September show. airing out there somewhere. Now my years is mid June. That’s right. Yeah. June Yeah, the third week of June 3, we could do my mistake. So there is a channel future show. It’s a little confusing to understand how channel partners channel pro channel futures. And then informer who’s a kind of huge, huge publisher. Yeah, and on some of those shows, channel futures and channel partners from what I understand and of course networks channel program, because it wasn’t enough channeling going on. All I can honestly say is I need to channel, my inner analyst to really be sure about who all the channels are. But I believe that they have a second show this year. If I’m confusing channel futures with them, I apologize. But the MSP 501 show? Yeah, I know. It happens in September, middle of September in Orlando. And I believe it’s a related
Harry Brelsford
show. All right, well, hey, before we go, ASCII group in Chicago, how was that?
Joshua Liberman
That was good. It was big. It was, you know, full size show back to normal that they’ve been throwing their shows since May of last year. So they’ve had a running start. And they were lucky enough to sell out. Well, maybe luck is not the right word. But anyway, they’re always sold out for vendors for the year they were before the year started from what I remember. Yeah, it’s it’s busy people were there. I mean, it was it was a full, full recovery kind of show, and everything was there. And it was also very good. A little more of the vendors, we’re used to as MSPs. Because of course, it’s an MSP show. Yeah. But yeah, it was good. We all the all the expected things from the vendors to the poker game after all things you expect to have an ASCII show. And there were you know, there were new faces and new members, which is nice, too, because that was slow for a couple of years, but it certainly recovering quickly.
Harry Brelsford
Yep. All right, my friends. Well, thanks for thanks for your continued contribution. Let’s hope we meet up sooner to show how about that.
Joshua Liberman
All right, Harry, thank you very much for your time too. All right. Bye bye
