IT pros from all over the country come to ChannelCon for a variety of reasons. Some people are drawn to the networking opportunities, others look forward to the inspiring speakers and still others are attracted to the social events. But the common denominator for everyone is the comprehensive channel training. In fact, ChannelCon is the one and only CompTIA event that offers as many educational tracks in one place at one time.
Here’s an A to Z guide to ChannelCon 2014, scheduled for August 4 to 6 in Phoenix.
Agenda: The 2014 agenda features a mix of cutting-edge channel training for solution providers, vendors and distributors. Read on to learn more and start planning your ChannelCon schedule.
Business Agility: For the first time, ChannelCon 2014 will offer the CompTIA Executive Certificate in Business Agility. This recently launched executive certificate program provides a pathway for business leaders to thrive on their own terms and adapt their businesses by choice rather than chance. You’ll walk away with a plan for making purposeful changes that align your current businesses with new market realities.
Channel Management: Perhaps the most popular executive certificate program is the CompTIA Executive Certificate in Channel Management. This executive certificate offers those in channel management roles the opportunity to further develop the skills and knowledge needed to lead initiatives and investments that drive indirect sales revenue.
Debut Your Executive Certificate: If you have completed all online courses through the CompTIA e-learning platform for executive certificates in Cloud (Intermediate), Mobility (Foundations) or Security (Foundations), you may earn your certificate by attending the final Capstone Session onsite.
Executive Certificates: To earn the executive certificate, you must complete all courses and pass the assessments for each course in a specific program.
Financial Strength: Building Financial Strength is a brand new executive certificate program exclusive to ChannelCon 2014. Complete all three one-hour sessions to earn your executive certificate or pick and choose what you want to attend.
Grow Business: The Art of the Deal — part of the Building Financial Strength program — focuses on a profitable sale and a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship.
Handle Cash: Building Cash IQ — part of the Building Financial Strength program — explores the many ways that cash can be managed to put your business on solid footing and build long-term value.
Interpret P&Ls: Using Your P&L to Tune Your Business Engine — part of the Building Financial Strength program — will help you understand trends and make forecasts to see where you need to make business adjustments to maximize business performance.
Jump Start Cloud: Selling Cloud Services is a brand new executive certificate program exclusive to ChannelCon 2014. Complete all three one-hour sessions to earn your executive certificate or pick and choose what you want to attend.
Keys to Cloud Solutions: Clouds Everywhere … Which Way are They Moving? — part of the Selling Cloud Services program – will help you clarify what cloud represents and the industry standards for categorizing cloud solutions.
Lightning Quick Results: Cloud Sales Strategies that Deliver Lightning Quick Results — part of the Selling Cloud Services program — explores sales models that have worked, sales professional profiles that succeed, incentives that motivate and sales processes that work.
Manage Cloud Conversations: Talking Cloud without Creating a Storm — part of the Selling Cloud Services program — provides insight on proven sales processes from concept introduction to contract signature and best practices on driving the sales conversation to a successful close.
New Security Risks: Profiling Customer Security Risks is a brand new executive certificate program exclusive to ChannelCon 2014. Complete all three one-hour sessions to earn your executive certificate or pick and choose what you want to attend.
Observe Trends: Trends in IT Security — part of the Profiling Customer Security Risks program — looks at the most influential IT trends and how they’re impacting the IT security landscape.
Profile Customers: How Much Security is Enough Security — part of the Profiling Customer Security Risks program — explores how to gain an understanding of the environment in which your customer does business and hone in on defining reasonable security for your customers.
Quiz Customers on Security: Security as a Business Enabler — part of the Profiling Customer Security Risks program — will help you educate your customers to understand that security is a business enabler that can actually help them grow their business.
Raise the Bar: The new Track4Techs is designed for your technical staff to learn soft skills like customer service and sales best practices in addition to the hard technical skills. Your staff can choose from seven sessions including three tech sessions that are CEU approved for CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA Security+ recertification.
Skill Sets: Why Being a Geek is More Important Than Ever kicks off the Track4Techs program by looking at the changes in the IT landscape and the continuing need for workers with the right skillsets.
Trends and A+: Not Your Father’s A+: The Future of Electronics Repair is a CEU-approved session for technical staff looking to learn how A+ has evolved over the years and what to expect for the future.
Unleash Sales: Unleash the Sales Person in You and Boost Your Career — part of the Track4Techs program — is a soft skills workshop designed specifically for technical staff.
Voice of the Industry: The Voice of the Industry is a follow-up to Why Being a Geek is More Important than Ever. Panelists will give their perspective on the changes in enterprise technology and the skills that are needed to respond.
Work on Privacy: What Your Mobile Devices Says About You…Literally is a CEU-approved session that will talk about specific ways you can protect your privacy in the 21st century.
eXtraordinary Service: The Keys to Delivering World-Class Customer Service — part of the Track4Techs program — is a soft skills workshop designed specifically for technical staff.
Your Future: SDN — Moving into Our Software Defined Future is a CEU-approved session that teaches the basics of SDN, as well as some of the exciting things that it will allow networking professionals to do now, and in the future.
TrailblaZers: ChannelCon’s Executive Track is designed for business leaders and driven by the CompTIA communities and councils. The Executive Track covers topics such as security, finding new revenue streams, building hybrid solutions, the Internet of Things, recruiting IT talent and the converging telecom-IT market. Come together with your colleagues for stimulating thought leadership and discussion.
Check out the ChannelCon agenda for details and build your own schedule using myChannelCon. With CompTIA’s new open access membership model, premier members receive unlimited free registration to ChannelCon. Solution provider registered users and nonmembers can pay $250 to attend the conference and will receive a one-year premium membership at no cost. Register today.
Emily Matzelle is a freelance writer based in the Chicagoland area.
