May 21-23, 2006
TECH CONNECT
Agenda
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| Sunday, May 21 | ||
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2:00 pm - 8:00 pm |
Registration  | |
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2:00 pm - 3:30 pm |
Demo Rooms Open | |
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2:30 pm - 6:30 pm |
Exhibitor Setup | |
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3:30 pm - 4:15 pm |
World Premiere - Novell: Platform for the Open Enterprise – SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 |
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Speaker: Ladd Timpson, Global Director, Channel & Partner Marketing, Novell, Inc. &
Peter Bowen, Senior Engineer, Americas Linux Impact Team, Novell, Inc. As customers are demanding choice, Novell delivers SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 (SLE 10) gives you a low-cost, highly-profitable alternative that you can bank on. With both a desktop and server solution, SLE 10 allows you to deliver secure, reliable and manageable solutions backed by a partner infrastructure that you can depend on with world class technical support, training, marketing and indemnification. |
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4:30 pm - 5:15 pm |
General Session - Custom Systems: The Next Wave |
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Moderated by Heather Clancy, VP/Editor CRN and Jeff O'Heir, Editor of Digital Connect
What implications do technical developments such as multicore processing, reduced power consumption and the Viiv platform hold for the future of custom desktops, notebooks and servers? This panel of system builders will debate themes including factors influencing the slow but steady increase in whitebook sales, the role of managed services and custom software applications in driving a custom sale, warranty and service issues, tip-top vertical markets, evolving form factors and the burgeoning home-automation market. |
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5:30 pm - 6:15 pm |
General Session |
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Customer Retention The Key to Business Success
Moderated by Russ Lombardo of PEAK Sales Consulting Managing customer relationships, with the goal of retaining customers for life, is one of the most important requirements for a business to survive, especially in a tough economy. Developing a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) strategy, training the sales organization, and choosing the right CRM tools are critical steps to achieving this goal. This session discusses a CRM planning process, how you should develop a customer retention strategy for your business, and what needs to be done to ensure success of your customer relationship implementation. This presentation will explore how your company can develop and deploy a customer retention strategy by building a customer-focused culture within your organization and by implementing key strategies for success. It will instruct attendees on how to develop a strong, consistent and successful corporate strategy and sales organization that's focused on customer acquisition and retention. |
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6:30 pm - 8:30 pm |
Solutions Pavilion Open/Reception sponsored by Synnex | |
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8:30 pm - 10:30 pm |
LAN Gaming Party sponsored by Crucial Technology | |
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9:15 pm - 11:00 pm |
Hospitality Suites Open | |
| Monday, May 22 | ||
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7:00 am - 5:00 pm |
Registration Open | |
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7:30 am - 8:15 am |
Continental Breakfast | |
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8:30 am - 9:15 am |
General Session - The Home and Beyond |
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Moderated by Jeff O'Heir, Editor of Digital Connect
Learn how solution providers and system builders are maximizing margin, driving revenue and creating incremental business with new products, technologies and services in the home, small office and light commercial markets. Our panel of "digital integrators" will share strategies of how they choose, create, sell and install the new solutions – such as automation and control, distributed audio and video, gaming, Media Center platforms, network and premise security, etc … into these hot markets. |
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9:30 am - 11:45 am |
XChange Appointments | |
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9:30 am - 10:15 am |
Vendor Track - A Digital Connect Research Presentation |
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The Connected Market - Tapping the New, Hotttest Growth Channel
Speaker: Keith Newman, Chief Strategist, Digital Connect Convergence technology products have created many great new opportunities for the channel and manufacturers. Perhaps the greatest challenge is delivering connected solutions into the home. Driven by strong demand for new voice, data and video technologies, a growing number of system builders and solution providers are entering the home with greater sales and margin potential than ever before. Today?s challenge is understanding the new Digital Integrator channel and how to create a plan that allows you to build a winning strategy. Digital Connect Magazine presents a market research presentation on this new Digital Integrator channel, who the players are, what solutions they are focusing on and what are the keys they look for in determining their vendor partners. |
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10:30 am - 11:15 am |
Vendor Track Sponsored by MarketStar |
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Best Practices for Partner Engagement in Digital Home Integration
Digital Home Installation and Integration is one of technology's fastest growing areas for resellers. The breadth of products and solutions offered by heritage IT and home automation manufacturers provides resellers with a compelling opportunity for new, high margin product and services revenue. As the product offerings are converging, so are the reseller channels and communities. This convergence brings both opportunities and challenges for manufacturers. This panel is designed to help manufacturers understand industry best practices on how they can effectively manage and create value for both IT and home automation channel partners. |
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12:00 pm - 12:45 pm |
World Premiere - Intel: "No Boundaries" |
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Speaker: Shirley Turner, Director, North America Channel Marketing, Intel Corporation
Innovation and Partnership - a winning combination. Intel is meeting the challenges of the marketplace head on, with new platforms and continued commitment to the channel. In this session, learn how we’re thrusting beyond the limits to explore and deliver new prospectives, expand your horizons and pursue the possibilities with "No Boundaries." |
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12:45 pm - 1:30 pm |
Delegate Lunch | |
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1:45 pm - 2:30 pm |
World Premiere - AMD64: A Clear Advantage for Business |
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Speaker: Ron Myers, Worldwide Infrastructure Business Development Manager-AMD Servicer/Workstation
Today’s business environment demands AMD64 technology. With the clear edge on power savings and processing performance inside every AMD Opteron™ Processor, You can rest assured that you can meet your customers’ demands. Come see and hear how AMD is delivering performance, power savings, and reliability that will give you the clear advantage to win business from your competition. |
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2:30 pm - 4:30 pm |
Solutions Pavilion Open (sponsored by Synnex) | |
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4:30 pm - 6:30 pm |
Exhibitor Dismantle | |
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4:30 pm - 6:30 pm |
Demo Rooms Open | |
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7:30 pm - 10:00 pm |
Digital Connect DICE Awards Reception |
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The Digital Integration Channel Excellence awards honor technology manufacturers who serve the home and SoHo markets. Solution Providers and Digital Integrators are surveyed on their satisfaction of the technology vendor in those markets. Awards will be presented to the top technology vendors at this awards cocktail reception.
Sponsored by Belkin, Toshiba, and Viewsonic |
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10:00 pm - 12:00 pm |
D&H Midnight Munchies | |
| Tuesday, May 23 | ||
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7:00 am - 2:30 pm |
Registration Open | |
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7:30 am - 8:15 am |
Continental Breakfast | |
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8:30 am - 9:15 am |
General Session - Let's Get Technical |
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Moderated by Jeff O'Heir, Editor of Digital Connect
Custom system builders and integrators face a number of challenges as they choose the systems, components and technologies that form the nerve centers of digital home and office environments: which products and technologies work best for distributing, managing and protecting digital files, which system components generate the most revenue, which wireless solutions perform optimally under difficult conditions? Bring your particular challenges for discussion and our panel of experts will help you come up answers that will save you time and frustration. |
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9:30 am - 11:45 am |
XChange Appointments | |
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12:00 pm - 12:45 pm |
General Session |
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Connected Market: The Next Major Frontier in Custom Systems?
Speaker: Monty Cornell, Director of Research, CMP Channel Group By this point at XTC, you may be asking yourself: Data and analysis from different CMP Channel Group research studies will help set you on the right course. |
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1:00 pm - 2:30 pm |
DigiConn& XChange XCellence Awards | |