Read Software Trends

Monday, April 28, 2008

Great Opportunity For Learning

It is not very often that a whole organization can take advantage of trade show education. Normally, only the top executives get to go and listen. This time it is different. Every company can attend the education sessions at the Virtual Technology Show (www.virtualtechfair.com) for free, right from your own office. Here is the chance to spread the education around your whole organization.

On April 30 and May 1, the Brown Smith Wallace Consulting Group will host the third Distribution Virtual Tech Fair®. It grows each year and while the booths are worth seeing and the environment worth exploring, it is the education I want to focus on.

My suggestion is to review the programs that will be available and then schedule a time for you and your staff to listen to the speaker. You might bring in lunch and then have a discussion of what you heard. This is a wonderful opportunity that does not come along that often.

Let me highlight the two keynote speakers. All of the other programs are listed on the website, but these two are special.

First there is Richard Hadden who focuses on Employee Relations and Creating a Great Place to Work. He is the co-author of Contented Cows Give Better Milk: The Plain Truth About Employee Relations and Your Bottom Line. His live presentation will be on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 12:00 p.m. central. Followed by a Question and Answer session with the audience.

Richard will discuss why creating a great place to work is one of the best things a company can do for its bottom line. It's no accident that the organizations consistently identified as winners also happen to be some of the best places on earth to work. This occurs not as an afterthought, but as a vital, premeditated element of business strategy.

Especially for any company about to enter (or considering) a conversion, our experience is that contented employees have the easiest conversions. Whatever change is coming to your place of business, this is an important program.

Then we have Ed Oakley, Enlightened Leadership Solutions. He is extensively published and recognized for his work on quickly turning managers into more effective leaders. If you are planning on taking your company through a major change, then you and your staff need the skills and capabilities of leadership. Ed’s live Presentation and chat session will be on Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 12:00 p.m. central.

This presentation puts the challenges of a changing organizational environment into an enlightening perspective. It differentiates management and leadership. Ed clarifies why we must bridge the gap from management to leadership when the environment is changing rapidly. His presentation provides an empowering perspective of personal leadership and guides us through a definition of a model leader.

Remember to register in advance (www.virtualtechfair.com/registration-center/default.htm). You will receive a reminder the day of the show. Do not forget to check out the other education sessions. They are full of valuable information that will help you succeed.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Distribution Virtual Tech Fair, Hosted by the Brown Smith Wallace Consulting Group

Does your technology system have trouble keeping up with your business? Knowing where you were yesterday does not help with the speed of business today. You need business intelligence about your operations, suppliers and customers at your finger tips. No matter how many work-arounds you develop or how many repairs to your system you make, your competitors are already passing you by. So in essence you are working for your system instead of your system working for you. Having the right system in place, allows you to spend more of your time making great decisions.

While you may have a hunch that you are spending more than you should to support customer’s questions and compete for their business, it may be hard to say at what point the cost of maintenance and upgrades would exceed the cost of a new system. How do you compare budgeted maintenance costs against the unknown costs of a new development? Fortunately, there is an industry-full of expertise that works through the fix-or-buy issue.

You have committed to moving forward and selecting a new system. So, which system should you choose? And how will you decide? Have you ever started searching for a product but did not know where to begin or who to contact? The Distribution Virtual Tech Fair can ease your pain by making it easy to research software and technology solutions online. This event gathers the industry leaders, the up-and-comers, the niche players in one place to answer your questions. Get access to the experts, virtually, and find out how others in your shoes have quantified the risks and benefits of migrating to a new system.

For two days only, April 30 and May 1, 2008 from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm Central Standard Time, attendees can meet with leading technology companies and industry experts from the comfort of their office -- live, online, interactive and 100 percent free. This complimentary, event takes the most successful elements of a live trade show and translates them into the virtual world of the Internet. Attendees can enjoy booths filled with Brochures, Fact Sheets, Literature, Whitepapers, On-Demand Presentations, Podcasts and Product Demos. Attendees can select content of interest, view it immediately or upload to their virtual briefcase so they can view it at their convenience.

Communicating and networking at the show is easy. Exhibitors and attendees can email, chat through IM, blog and exchange vCards which can be downloaded directly into Outlook. You can also start a discussion with others in the Show’s Lounge.

During the show, attendees can earn points for great prizes just by participating. The Virtual Auditorium includes educational presentations designed to provide proactive, industry-leading solutions and advice from industry consultants, IT managers, application experts and vendors.

To Register:
Register online at http://www.virtualtechfair.com/

Learn More By Taking A Virtual Tour:
Click here to begin http://www.virtualtechfair.com/virtualtour.html
Add to Technorati Favorites