This is the final report that also included part one, part two, and part three, regarding my participation at the 2013 IBM PartnerWorld Leadership Conference.
Datatrend Wins IBM Beacon Award!
We at Datatrend were honored on Wednesday morning at PWLC with the awarding of the IBM Beacon Award, the highest award given to IBM Business Partners. You can read our press release and check out the picture of Charlie Cox (President, Datatrend Technology Infrastructure Solutions) accepting the award.
The North America Perspective
PWLC is a global event, and on Wednesday afternoon, they held geography forums where participants from the various regions of the world gathered together for region-specific updates, information, and awards.
The North America Forum was hosted by Phil Guido (General Manager, North America) and Bill Donohue (Vice President, Business Partner and Mid-Market Sales, North America). A few highlights:
- Walk in the client’s shoes and understand what expertise they need to innovate for success.
- In this new era of computing, front office IT is outpacing back office IT. And we need to engage CMOs to help them succeed.
- Coming off the heels of our Beacon Award, Datatrend was also honored with two North America Geography awards: Top Performance Leadership Award and Growth Leadership Award. This is a testament to the great people at Datatrend and our partnership with IBM – all working together to make a difference for customers, because when they succeed, we succeed.
On the Path to Social Business
I stopped by the “Video Podcast Lounge” for an on-camera interview with Paul Gillin, a noted author, industry journalist, and social media advocate. Paul interviewed me about Datatrend’s experience entering the social realm. As the video interview indicates, Datatrend is in the early stages of getting active in social channels. Our goal is to simply (and humbly) engage customers, prospects, and partners in dialogue where we can share insights and hopefully exchange value-added conversations. And where we mutually identify an opportunity to do business together, great!
Day Four
The last day of PWLC was once again kicked off by Mark Hennessy. Here is a summary of the presentations at the Day Four General Session:
- Stan Litow, Vice President, Corporate Citizenship and President, IBM Foundation – Stan introduced the day’s theme, small business. His presentation centered on how small to medium sized businesses can learn from their large enterprise counterparts via tools to encourage partnerships, business building, and supply chain linkages.
- Karen Mills, Administrator – US Small Business Administration – Karen, a member of President Obama’s cabinet, explained how the Small Business Administration (SBA) helps smaller businesses succeed in the marketplace. She highlighted a new program called the American Supplier Initiative which is designed to increase capacity in the small business supply chain and encourage large companies to access the innovation of small suppliers.
- Ben Mezrich, Best-selling Author – The session concluded with the author of The Accidental Billionaires. Ben encouraged us to be bold and take risks. On behalf of Datatrend, I can unequivocally state that we are deeply committed to going the extra mile to help our customers succeed and get the most out of IBM technologies.
Social Enterprise – Boot Camp and Beyond
Last year, a colleague of mine and I participated in a “Social Media Boot Camp” where we learned how to get started in social channels from a business perspective. We learned how to create profiles, look for places to engage in dialogue, share information, and build credibility. Mostly, it is about “listening” and seeing if we can add value in any way in the hopes of meeting new people and forming new relationships.
At PWLC, I had the opportunity to participate in a class that served as a refresher of my Boot Camp learning and also meet with peers to share experiences and insights, ask questions, and learn some best practices. The class was hosted by Leslie Reiser (Program Director, Worldwide Digital Marketing, IBM General Business) and the aforementioned Paul Gillin. Here is some of what I garnered:
- Blogs are a great way for companies to share their expertise. Of course, right now you are experiencing the Datatrend blog Optimize IT, so please let me know what you think.
- Keep blog entries short for the most part. Frequency is more important than quantity.
- Some of the keys to success and credibility in social channels – Develop a habit/routine. Consistently listen and add value. Be helpful.
By the way, if you are interested in learning more about social media for B2B, Datatrend can help you build your own social business. We can work with IBM to host a workshop on social marketing. I cannot speak highly enough about the value you will get out of embracing the use of social media for business. It’s a journey, not a destination, so keep that in mind. It will take time, but I promise it will be worth it if you and your organization are willing to invest in learning how to do it the right way. Please let me know if you are interested.
Summary
The conference was one of the most productive (and busiest) in years. We at Datatrend are committed to taking the information we garnered and translating it into practical application. As one of IBM’s top partners, Datatrend is well positioned, both in terms of our customer base as well as strong relationships with key IBMers, to relay key customer concerns and questions to IBM and also bring back the actionable insights that will make a difference for our customers and partners in the organizations they run.
I’d love to hear your feedback. Please post your comments below.
Top Takeaways from the 2013 IBM PartnerWorld Leadership Conference – Part 4 was posted at Optimize IT. | http://www.datatrend.com/optimize-it