NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release          For More Information Contact:

Aug. 18, 2015                                        Brent Hoskins

          Executive Director

Business Technology Association

          (816) 303-4040

 BTA Managed Services Workshop Scheduled for Sept. 23-24

Attendees receive free registration to BTA’s Grand Slam district event

Kansas City, MO — On Sept. 23-24 at Continuum Managed IT Services headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, the Business Technology Association (BTA) will present the BTA Managed Services Workshop as a front-runner to the association’s Grand Slam district event, hosted by BTA East. Attendees to the workshop will receive free registration to Grand Slam.

The BTA Managed Services Workshop has recently been updated to include the Managed Services Business Model v3.3. The Managed Services Business Model is the first of its kind, specifically for BTA dealers, and has been developed by workshop instructors Mitch Morgan and Chris Ryne of Growth Achievement Partners (GAP), and Continuum. GAP has been assisting dealers in making this important transition since 2009. Continuum is a large, experienced provider of managed services operations to dealers, and currently manages more than 500,000 endpoints. The companies' combined knowledge in the managed services space will allow dealers to walk away with a "time-tested" business model and key metrics to guide success in this important strategic area. The business model includes an action plan and covers such topics as:

• Revenue: The appropriate targets, mixes and types, and how should those change over time to include items like hardware-as-a-service (HaaS) and cloud services brokerage.
• Contracts & Account Expansion: Seats under management, revenue per seat and growth expectations via additional products and services over time.
• Activity & Pipeline: Sales cycle duration, pipeline metrics and activity targets to achieve business model revenue targets.
• Head Count: Productivity measures for sales and vCIO personnel, target      head-count levels based on seats managed and customers under contract, and personnel mix between sales and operations.
• Compensation: Who to pay, how to pay and when to pay, as well as target compensation levels as they relate to gross profit and revenue.
• Profitability:      Target contribution level and operational levels to enhance      performance.
• Operational      Metrics (Core NOC/Help Desk): Key drivers of managed services profitability      and customer satisfaction, including productivity measures, availability      metrics and response times.

In addition to the updated business model, participants will be trained on the Managed Services Sales Process. This three-phase sales process provides clarity to the important components in closing manages services opportunities and has helped GAP clients achieve a four-times-higher sales rate than non-GAP clients.

As an additional bonus to attendees, for the first time, GAP will be detailing the critical elements in developing and maximizing the office technology dealership’s vCIO resource. The effectiveness of this position is key to the overall success of a managed services program.

Morgan, a partner at GAP, founded the Connectivity Dealer Program from NIA in 1991. After his business was acquired by IKON Office Solutions in 1996, he led its Technology Services division. In 2001, Morgan formed the Professional Services division for IKON. He has been consulting with CEOs on strategy, operations, organizational development and sales since 2005.

Ryne, a partner at GAP, brings significant experience in driving growth and profitability, possessing a comprehensive understanding of the industry that includes traditional and emerging markets from both a sales and operations perspective. His tenure includes 10 years with IKON, where he built and led a successful professional services business unit from startup to a well-integrated team.

BTA member tuition for the BTA Managed Services Workshop is $995. Non-member tuition is $1,425 and includes a one-year BTA dealer membership.

For more information or to register for the workshop, visit www.bta.org/MS or call (800) 843-5059.

Founded in 1926, the Business Technology Association serves office technology dealerships, resellers, manufacturers, distributors and service companies. Its core members — office technology dealerships — consult, sell and service hardware, software and supplies with the goal of helping businesses maximize their investment in devices and technology. Through the association's various educational programs, information, research, legal services, publications and guidance, BTA member dealerships are positioned to be the premier source of the office technology used by businesses throughout the United States every day. For more information on BTA, visit its Web site at www.bta.org or call (800) 505-2821. The fax number is (816) 941-4838. You may also write to: BTA, 12411 Wornall Road, Kansas City, MO  64145.