Alberta Business Marketing

Over the past week I have spent many hours deeply engaged with local and industry communities.  At the beginning of the week I started off at the HTG Peer Group annual summit in Dallas, TX.  HTG is a community that I was deeply involved with during my days as a Calgary Computer Support Specialist.  HTG is made up of like-minded IT firms and brings them together in large groups, small groups and special interest groups built on the sharing of best practices and getting involved in the health of each member’s business.

At HTG Summit, I had an opportunity to speak about “online marketing” to a small group of HTG Marketing Professionals on Monday.  Marketing your business and ensuring you have a strategy to keep your business pipeline full is just one of the critical success elements for all business.  Doesn’t matter if you are a tech company, selling real estate or selling hot dogs on the street corner – marketing is a must.  Great marketing is the heartbeat of any business.  What I shared with these HTG professionals is the importance of online marketing when it is balanced with all other aspects of your business marketing, you have look at your overall strategy and how the web fits into your marketing.  You can read my review of the first couple of days with HTG by visiting “The VarGuy site“.

When I returned to Calgary on Tuesday, Ulistic jumped into education mode and brought together a number of great business people for a day of LinkedIn training at our monthly LinkedIn Workshop.  This week we had an experience with a national industry peer group and also a local community of business professionals right in our own backyard.

How do communities work with your business?

Are you the type to engage with community or walk away from those you see as competitors?

I heard something from one of my friends and mentors, Dr. Leslie Roberts from Calgary small business training firm GoForth Institute about competition in our world today during my small business podcast.  Plus, I also just need to turn to what Erik and Lyf are doing in Minneapolis with their Techpulse Minneapolis event.  In MSP, Erik and Lyf come together, competitors in the same industry and they also bring their own customers and share….very powerful.  A great community of professionals led by two leaders in industry.

Here is my advice…don’t hide in the corner, sucking your thumb…get out and engage with others in your community.

Tags: Business Success, Business/Finance, Calgary, Calgary Computer Support Specialist, collaboration, Community websites, dallas, GoForth Institute, htg peer group, Human Interest, Leslie Roberts, linkedin, LinkedIn Ltd, Minneapolis, Online social networking, Real Estate, Social information processing, social media, Texas, the HTG Peer Group annual, web 2.0, web fits, World Wide Web
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Even though I don’t do much with IT services these days, much rather pass this soft of stuff over to my friends in the industry now.  If you need IT support, contact me, I have friends who can help your Calgary small business.

But, I still have a tremendous amount of respect for Erick Simpson at MSPU.  So, why not share this information for him after all he helped me big time over the past few years.

Tags: Business, Business IT, Business/Finance, CompTIA, dallas, Dallas CompTIA, Geography of Texas, Human Interest, managed services, MSP University, Professional certification, Service Delivery Boot Camp, Texas, Union Station, USD
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Three leaders and amazing Alberta IT support firms were recently recognized worldwide on the MSP Mentor Top 100 Managed Service Providers worldwide.  Since retiring from an Active IT service career I still follow what is happening in the industry here in Calgary and Alberta.  Joe and Amy do a fantastic job covering the IT industry.

My buddy Joe from MSP Mentor announces the Top 100 MSPs

First, you maybe asking…what the heck is an MSP?  Well, it is an overused term in the IT support business for those firms which simply have exceptional support services built on a completely outsourced and managed offering.  I think I am speaking out of turn, but the good service providers like the three mentioned here probably don’t refer to themselves as MSPs.  They simply take care of the needs of their clients and obviously doing a great job at it.

Did I mention that I absolutely detest that term “Managed Service Provider”.   But it is what it is.

Congrats to the three Alberta firms

SSI Solutions headquartered in Edmonton and recently expanded into Calgary with the merger of Twin Solutions ranked 49/100 (Top 50 Jason and Alex, gotta love that) plus my good buddies over at Longview Systems ranked 2/100 (Congrats Andrew, Don and Kent).  These are awesome examples of two great IT firms who definitely make a big difference in the Canadian market.

Calgary and Edmonton firm Compuvision also showed up at the 34th spot.  I believe that makes all the Canadian firms ranked headquartered in Alberta.  Congrats to Ryan Vestby and team for a great showing.

Who said the “Alberta Advantage” is dead?

Also a big thanks to Joe and Amy at Nine Lives Media for all they do in the technology industry.

Tags: 2nd millennium, Alex, Amy, Business IT, Calgary, COMPUVISION, Congrats Andrew, Don, Edmonton, Geography of Texas, Jason, Joe, Kent, Longview Systems, Longview Texas, Longview Texas metropolitan area, SSI Solutions, technology industry, Technology/Internet, Texas, Twin Solutions
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