Step Right Into Everything Channel's Virtual Trade Show

Check out Everything Channel's second virtual trade show, where the weather is always perfect. VARs and vendors gathered to discuss issues stemming from the theme of securing and storing customer data.

The trade show kicked off with a keynote from RSA's CEO Art Coviello, who spoke on the importance of offering both storage and security options to customers. VARs selling storage should also be selling security, or they're "just missing an opportunity," he said.

EMC's storage line, combined with RSA's security technologies, gives the company a competitive edge in the marketplace to address multilevel threats, said Coviello.

Symantec hosted a live audio presentation and Q&A session, "Symantec Protection Network Bringing SaaS to the Channel," with speakers Julie Parrish, vice president, Global Channel Office, and Jeff Hausman, vice president and general manager, Symantec Protection Network.

Susan Blocher, IBM's vice president of Storage Marketing, ran the session, "Information Infrastructure for Small and Medium Businesses." Although the session, like Symantec's, was audio only, viewers could download slides as PDF files and follow along on their computers.

Dave Roberts and David Tripier of Websense spoke at the "Websense Essential Information Protection" live audio presentation.

Everything Channel Editorial Director Robert DeMarzo hosted "Securing and Storing Your Customers Data," a live video panel discussion, with David Dadian, CEO, powersolution.com; Joseph Ploehn, principal consultant, CompuCom; and Florindo Gallicchio, practice manager, Risk Management, Melillo Consulting.

Panelists agreed that building trust between VARs and customers is key. "Customers have got to trust us and we've got to trust the customers," said Joseph Ploehn, principal consultant, professional servers for CompuCom, a Dallas, Texas-based solution provider.

In between presentations, attendees could visit the booths in the exhibit hall.

Each booth had staff available to speak with attendees via live chat.

Or, for a more casual networking experience, guests could visit the CopaCabana and chat with other attendees.

Don't forget the Prize Center! Symantec, for instance, held a drawing for a Garmin GPS system. To enter the drawing, partners had to attend Symantec's presentation, and ask a question for presenters Jeff Hausman and Julie Parrish.

Attendees could also download podcasts, brochures and white papers from the Media Center.

Closing out the tradeshow was Everything Channel Senior Editor Joe Kovar, doing a live presentation on server virtualization. "There is huge potential in server virtualization, and it's barely been scratched," Kovar said. "It's the low hanging fruit for the channel."

The biggest growth potential in the server virtualization market, said Kovar, is with small and midsized customers. Currently these customers make up 70 percent of possible sales.

The trade show is over, but readers can still view the presentations.