Vlad Mazek – Vladville Blog

So here I am at JFK getting ready to head home and I wanted to update you on everything that went down at SMB Nation yesterday and a nice look back at the great event that it was. No pictures, just text. 

As I mentioned, SMB Nation day two for me was all about the business track, working with the vendors and trying to find yet another way to involve IT professionals with the gurus that can help them grow the business and enhance IT skills. At one point during the day I was chatting with the guy in charge of CA’s products for small business and he was surprised that when he went into the tech session people were talking about business but when he went into the business session they were talking about technology. Paradox? Not quite. This is what its like working with the business consultants. When your professional role is recommending and supporting technology you have to evaluate both the technology and the implications it will have on the business where you will deploy it in. So when we’re talking about CA suite the guys in the room are not completely clueless as to what the product does, they are just trying to find ways to fit it into the business environment of their clients. When we’re in a business session like one Arnie gave on ConnectWise and consulting the questions tend to go in the way on how to implement the technology. IT Consultants are good at recognizing the problem because they have to deal with it every day but they are first and foremost going to have to deploy it before they take full advantage of all the process automating tools. One head, many hats.

I’ll be seeing Jeff at TechEd so I decided to skip that speech and go into a session with Ramon. Useful and very entertaining because he spoke about many personal skills everyone needs to have (or develop) to become successful. The question from the audience that really caught my attention was in regards to being personable and able to relate to people on more than technology. One of the attendees described himself as very shy and nervous when facing big crowds. He was not sure if he spoke too soon and wanted to know if these “personal” skills are inherent (something you’re born in) or if they are skills that can be developed. The response: absolutely, you can do it. 

If my personal experience will make you feel any better, I was always and perhaps will always be a systems engineer that ran networks, not people. I dealt with business people but I was first and foremost an engineer. When I was asked for advice I looked at it as an engineer: there is a problem, I am looking for a solution and I have to provide a specific response with both positive and negative impacts that are obvious. Yes, I’m shocked nobody tried to knock me out because I work with people like this today. The answer is yes, yes you can become personable. Yes, you can relate to people on more than technology. The answer is ALWAYS it depends, it is not an if..then..else..elseif {}. You do need to be persistent about it. If you doubt that, look at all the mumbles, punctuation and grammar errors and my unwillingness to use spell check. Think it stopped me from writing 500+ posts on this blog? Think its not successful? Well, you’re reading it.

After this presentation I went on to tape a few videos with the SBSers around the world. I was in some videos, they were in some of mine. Same principle as the SBS Show if you recall. The reason we even had the SBS Show to begin with was because so many people were shooting themselves in the foot with Exchange 2003 SP2 simply because they didn’t read the documentation. Well, Inside SBS by Microsoft PSS guys probably could not  level with people as effectively as we can in public: Hey, dumbass – RTFM. But we knew it wouldn’t work, so I figured “Hey, if they can’t read perhaps they can listen.” – few hundred line tests with Chris Rue and we pushed the first podcast out the door and it turned out to help thousands and thousands of people. Now I’m going to try it with video. Karl Palachuk was taping as was Beatrice Mulzer as was Harry Brelsford – I hope that you get to see these live, sooner than later. Look for the first one at some point this week. 

After lunch more business sessions followed. Arnie from ConnectWise talked about consulting. After his presentation Arnie had a dozen or more folks in front of his booth watching the ConnectWise presentation – what an amazing product. Alex from CA talked about the SMB Bundle product. I have to say that CA had almost a flawless performance until Alex started talking and he put it right over the top. I told him earlier that day to cut out the BS: “Do you think there is anybody in here NOT deploying an antispam, antivirus, antimalware solution for their customers? Cut out the BS and show them the product, you have to impress them to have it move to their customers” and he did. Matt did an encore presentation of his SLA which during the first presentation was packed and standing room only.

As I mentioned, CA was a nearly flawless host. Here are the complaints we had just to give you an idea. This is a security company – there was no Wifi – but it gave Bill from D&H to come in as a hero and give everyone that asked a free CAT5 cable. There was some confusion over which exits were to be used, but every time we had a question there was a CA person to escort us around. Could have used a bit more protein with the breakfast but I didn’t come here for free food so that’s a copout. Everything else was incredible. As I’ve mentioned over and over, this is the best SMB Nation I’ve been to. I mean, where else can you get this many experts to speak for $350 and get all the time you want to ask them followup questions, network with professionals all over the place. I was impressed. The size was just right. The location was even better – Dana and I even hiked back to the hotel one day instead of waiting for a bus – and we’re not little guys. CA guys were so nice. Honestly, for a security company they were remarkably hospitable and helpful. I wanted to record Andy Goodman and we couldn’t find a spot – CA guys gave us a room to use for the SBS Show taping. The network was down and they brought the whole thing up. Pretty much everything we asked for we got. 

The other upshot – this conference was so incredibly social. It was business by day, party by night. CA and ASCII treated us to an excellent launch party on Wednesday night. Amy celebrated her birthday here as well. Schrag beat up teenagers in trivial pursuit at a bar. Harry treated us to dinner in Manhattan. There were people crowded around talking and having a good time at every turn. I don’t think anybody was thirsty or hungry the entire four days we were here. There were productive conversations… everywhere and about everything. Got to learn a lot about technology, about business, about video recording, about mixing audio from a radio pro and I bet you don’t know what the fellow Security MVP Dana Epp is good at in addition to security? No, not pool. $5 to the first one that can guess it.

All in all, this was well worth the time and a priceless experience to take back to Own Web Now. If you’re in SMB as a consultant, as a programmer, as a techie or even as a vendor – you can learn something from this bunch.

SMB Nation NY wrapped up a few hours ago and today was a return to business related subjects. The value of consulting. The value of SLAs, twice. The value of respecting your time and your business. It's way past my bedtime and I have a lot to say about SMB Nation East but I will leave it at the following two points which I do not make very lightly:

1. Pound for pound, this was a more valuable conference than SMB Nation 2005.
2. Even if you were not here, you will get to see it soon. 

I'll post more pictures, videos, descriptions and insights later but right now its bed time. If you were not here make a plan to be here next year and make sure you join us at SMB Nation at Redmond in September.

Day two in New York and the SMB Nation East conference finally started. As I wrote earlier today, I don't want to give you the wrong impression that SMB Nation is all about drinking and partying because it is absolutely about business (at least for me). I am quite a fan of the East event so far because it is far smaller than the big show in Redmond and really gives you a great opportunity to network, meet people, have a decent discussion with people without feeling like you're missing a ton of stuff or lost in the crowd. I'm a BIG fan of the East event, to say the least. For example, I got to speak to the CEO of Connectwise for about 15 minutes today, thats worth the price isn't it? But hey, at the end of the day this business is all about the relationships and people and Harry is THE MAN when it comes to getting that together.

The Bad 

TS2. Honestly, I'm probably the biggest fan of the TS2 seminars on this planet but I have never been more embarrassed of it in my life. Perhaps I'm spoiled by the excellent TS2 guys that I've met while working with Microsoft in Florida but I've never seen a Microsoft employee be so incorrect and so corrected (loudly) by the audience.. so many times. On the flip side, Microsoft really pulled off the representation well. They brought the bus. They brought the PCM. This was a bit of a joke subject early on and honestly, I'm not sure if the guy was new or just had an off day but TS2 presentations are generally several levels beyond what you saw today. Go out to a local event and see what its all about.

The Good

It's all about the size. In more than one way. 

Vendors –  Being a software publisher and an IT services business I'm particularly salesman-agnostic. The nice thing about SMB Nation East is that it was small enough that you really got the chance to talk to people and really have a conversation on what the products do, how they can benefit us, etc. Spent a lot of time talking to Bill Hersh of D&H and on behalf of at least a dozen of us huge thanks to Bill for hooking us up with CAT5 cables so we could get some network connectivity.

Presentations – Would you like to be able to ask a question while Dana is going through the security conversation? Do a live poll and get opinions in a room full of your peers? Well, thats what the size really allowed for today. I was a part of the MVP panel and basically fielded questions left and right and got a really good idea for what everyone is doing. Talked to several dozen people during the day and not just the biz card exchange either, we really got to chat and everyone got to talk to the presenter while the presentation was still rolling. Very smooth. 

Food –  You will not walk away from SMB Nation hungry. 

Fireside Chat – Now for the most part I had no idea what this was going to be. What it sort of turned into (for those of you that attended the presentation with Harry Brelsford and Dean Calvert at SMB Nation 2005) was quite good. To be honest, it really made the day for me and moreso made the trip worth-while for me in just one hour. It was basically senior management from CA and Harry Brelsford fielding questions from the crowd. Let's face it, its uncanny to get that much honest sharing from that high of a level and the discussion was awesome. CA got Scragged and to their credit they were quite up front about what they are trying to do, what they see as threats for us, what they see as opportunities. There was a lot of talk about the future, which is great, it shows that partners are planning. The exchange went back and forth for quite some time and it was amazing. 

The Aftermath

So with day one under wraps it was time to get together and hang out. Again, got a chance to network over dinner and catch up with some people and talk both shop and geek stuff. One of my current pains is scaling the ExchangeDefender infrastructure as it grows past the charted teritory. We were promised a party and the turnout was quite impressive. Again, more networking, more sharing.

Now how do I put this nicely… read up. Good, now read back down. If you are not here, if you are not networking and exploring partner opportunities to serve your customers in the areas where you may not have a really strong footing and experience… well… you just may not be in business long enough to see my next blog from the SMB Nation West. And look up there – this is all DAY 1! This trip was worth-while for me in less than one hour and the presentation is not even half way through.

But you want to see it, huh? Well, here are some pictures, enjoy. 

 Pictures above (you can click on them to pull up a bigger one) are of the SBS security (Firewall Dashboard and ISA 2004). To the right is a group picture of a few CEO's you might now. From left to right: Me, David Schrag, Karl Palachuk, Jeff Middleton and Amy Luby. Yes, Schrag exists. 

 Dinner time: Dana Epp, Andy Goodman, Chad Gross, Jeff Middleton. On the left, Arnie Belini of Connectwise and Steve Luby of Mobitech. 

 Steve Luby and Scott Buchanan. On the left (starting with just a piece of her face) is Paula Kingsley, Barbara Dove, John, Chad Gross, Jeff Middleton.

 Above is a pic of me and Paula Kingsley,fellow Exchange MVP. Yes, Exchange MVP(s). Yes, very cute. Very geeky.

Picture of Chad Gross and David Schrag. Me and Schrag. To give David full credit here, he took the time to introduce himself to me first thing in the morning and handed me a brand new business card, fresh off the inkjet.

 Off to the party. There is a pretty funny story here (apparently they had to reroute the bus to an alternate location because the first one fell through)

 Beatrice Mulzer. Matt the SLA man.

 Pool party. You know these folks by now.

 Pretty picture of Nancy for the Vladville audience. Enjoy. And ladies, ladies, ladies. Don't say I forgot you. Here is some eye-candy for you, me and Dana. You know you love it, come on.

 Beatrice making fun of me. Harry Brelsford calling the evening festivities to an end. Not quite "You ain't gotta take the bus, but if you miss it you can walk back to the hotel."

 Now so far this is the pic of the conference for me. It's funny in a few ways. First, notice how happy Karl and Jeff are – completely oblivious to whats going on. I'm obviously cracking up, both inside and with the shirt out of my pants, having dragged Amy over to take a pic with Schrag. Finally, Amy sizing up Schrag. Ding, ding – Let's get ready to ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuumble!

SMB Nation East  pre-conference kicked off today with much fanfare and even more alcohol. We're all currently in the Hyatt directly opposite Computer Associates in New York (Islandia). I was lucky enough to catch a ride with Levent Onen today from JFK to Islandia. I've totally lost my respect for the GPS systems. We got in and saw Mobitech's Mobilize SMB presentation that has been talked about in the community and the SBS Show. Very good stuff, if you liked what they brought to the SBS Show you need to see this roadshow. 

From there we got to lunch. Myself, Jeff Middleton, Andy Goodman, Scott Cayouette, Steve Luby, Chad Gross, Ken Edwards and Harlan got together and couldn't get any service for quite some time. Eventually the rest of SBSers followed in with Levent Onen and Amy Luby. I had to jet to do a CA focus group.

Thats I guess the cool part if you're a party animal. CA and ASCII Group sponsored the SMB Nation pre-meeting with snacks and free alcohol. Below are some of the pictures of what happens when SBSers have a good time. I won't get into details: 

Karl Palachuk reenacting Harry Brelsfords comedy routine. On the left are Andy Goodman and Harry Brelsford. 

Same as the above. Really good time. 

One more pic of Beatrice for the sobriety wall. Scott Cayouette, Ken Edwards, Andy Goodman, Nancy Williams. 

Chad Gross from behind, Karl Palachuk, Steve Luby and extra #1.

So far so good, having a very nice time with fellow SBSers. Tomorrow the event kicks off, as promised, there will be blogging and vlogging and pics and more.  

Update: Well the party time is over, the conference just started about an hour ago. Sitting in the conference room watching a presentation on SBS R2. Everyone seems accounted for and I've got to admit I like how things went off. If you're going to the big SMB Nation West you need to get there a day early and bug Harry to throw a party before the event, its a great way to meet your peers in a comfortable environment and have some fun before business stuff starts.  

Update 2: That was Beatrice's only beer of the evening but she always has a red nose so its such an easy shot to take. She has so much stuff she can blackmail me with that I have to take every pot shot I can.  

In a few hours I'll be taking off for New York City to attend SMB Nation East. SMB Nation is an event series started and managed by Harry Brelsford with the major focus on small-to-medium business IT. Harry is the guy that was a recent guest on the SBS Show and to his own credit has written dozens of books and given opportunities for others to write, myself included. Despite that particular lack of judgement, this is the event you need to be at if you're trying to transition your business from providing or even thinking small to serving medium-sized business. Last year was the first time I attended SMB Nation and I've brought back home pages upon pages of things we could implement at Own Web Now – and we don't specifically target SMB to begin with. I'm somewhat ashamed to say that we haven't implemented even half of what I wrote down but we're working on it.

So whats the big deal? Well, this year Harry is putting on a show on the east coast and I wanted to go ahead and actually mingle a little. Last year I spent most of my time in the conference room soaking in the info, I doubt this year will be any different. I'm going to NYC and promise you a ton of pictures, audio/podcasts and even some video up on Vladfire 🙂 It will be as if you're at the conference.