Yes, I am a social media-aholic. The first step is admitting it.

I have tracked my social usage for about 6 years now. Looking at friends/followers is one of those metrics:

• Facebook has doubled over that time 
• Linkedin has gone up 3X 
• Twitter is up 14X 

The other 10 social networks are around the 500-1000 range with slow growth. Some social sites have come and gone as relevant (Tumblr, Vine, etc) while some are staples on the front screen of my phone.

Building a Channel Partner for the Year 2020

Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett made a quote by Wayne Gretzky go viral in recent years: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.” It was sage advice that Wayne’s father (Walter) gave him growing up – and landed him in the Hall of Fame with dozens of records that may never be beaten.

If you are one of the nearly 600,000 VARs, agents, solution providers or MSPs in the IT & Telecom channels worldwide – it is advice that is now more important than ever.

I have written extensively in the last couple of months about disruptions in the channel caused by the cloud and changing customer buying models. The most popular of these blogs were: 

1. Here is why the traditional IT & Telecom channel is shrinking at an alarming rate – and what to do about it

2. Where are all of these so-called “Born in the Cloud” Partners Anyway?

3. The End Of The IT Channel As We Know It. (And the start of something amazing!)

There are changes happening in the industry that require action. The good news is that they are playing out over the next 5 years - giving time to properly plan, build a strategy and execute.

As correctly predicted by Marc Andreeson in the Wall Street Journal 5 years ago, software is indeed eating the world. Every industry has been transformed, including the buying journey itself. The center of gravity for buying decisions has fundamentally shifted to cloud software and into the business units. 

5 years ago, about 80% of technology decisions were researched and made in the IT department, today it is only 28%. In fact, Gartner predicts that it could be as high as 90% of decisions made outside of IT by 2020.

This radical shift in buying process has already had a couple of major impacts on the channel:

1. By the year 2020, the spending on IT cloud environments will surpass the total spending on enterprise IT infrastructure according to IDC. Cloud infrastructure is growing by 13.1% compounded while traditional is shrinking by 1.4% per year.

2. New channels, many powered by millennials, are growing at an exponential pace. These new partners are joining ecosystems built around SaaS software companies (Salesforce, Marketo, Workday, etc.), lines of business (sales, marketing, HR, etc.), solutions (CRM, HCM, EPM, ERP, etc.), industries, sectors, geographies and even customer segments.

Back to hockey – where is the puck going to be?

With 72% of decisions now made by lines of business professionals, and growing the 90% by 2020, the obvious answer is verticals. It is actually more complex than that – I made up a term called “vectors” to highlight the intersection between industry and LOB, including other factors such as segment, sector, solution and geography.

Today, these vectors are implementing 15 different categories of solution. From largest to smallest, these are:  Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Human Capital Management (HCM), Content Management, Analytics and BI, Collaboration, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Procurement, eCommerce, Treasury and Risk Management (TRM), Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Project & Portfolio Management, IT Service Management (ITSM), and Sales Performance Management (SPM).

Perhaps more important than size is looking at the growth rate over the next few years. Some of the smaller solution areas have the most explosive growth – TPM, EPM, SPM, eCommerce and ITSM all have CAGR’s of 4% according to Apps Run The World.

Another major area is to look at the fastest growing industries. Healthcare, Life Sciences, Hospitality, Professional Services, Insurance, Media, and Education are the hottest sectors (in order) all with over 2% CAGR until 2020.

Once a channel partner lands on vector(s) that they will build skills and capacity for, the hard work begins. Deciding what vendors and distributors to partner with, understanding the ecosystem of where customers congregate, learn and engage, and building relationships in new, and sometimes uncomfortable places.

Get ready for new competition

Every potential customer is being forced to become a technology company. Whether it is a car company with Tesla sneaking up, transportation company with Uber, hospitality company with AirBNB, or any other of the 27 industries, technological disruption is threatening traditional companies with extinction. 

This means that every ancillary service or consulting company supporting these industries is being forced into technology as well.

CompTIA did an excellent piece of research in late 2015 focused on the professional services vertical. Looking specifically at accounting, legal and marketing firms they drew a couple of important conclusions:

1. These verticals are huge, rivaling the size of the IT and Telecom Channel in terms of number of firms. The best estimate for IT firms in North America is 160,000 while legal has 190,000, accounting has 133,160 and marketing has 105,180.

2. More than just size, these companies are rapidly converging into the broader IT and Telecom space. For example, 51% of accounting firms resell software today, with 33% more considering it. The numbers are similar for offering IT compliance, consulting, advisory and assessments. By the year 2020, more than 80% of accounting and marketing firms will be indistinguishable from traditional IT channel partners. Legal is slightly lower at 55%, but still heading the same direction.

Now think about every company in every industry becoming a competitor for these technology dollars that lines of business are increasingly spending.

The opportunity for channel partners in the future lies in the complexity of vectors. The permutations and combinations are somewhat endless and carving out new niches will be the new normal. Each partner must decide on “how” to get to the puck. It could be through skill and capacity development, partnering, mergers, acquisitions, or a successful mix of them all.

Technology reached a tipping point this week in America

This brutal week in America had a number of technology stories buried underneath that mark a significant shift going forward.

The first was the prevalence of live video, particularly by the victims themselves. Over the past few years, we have seen interesting things with cell phone footage and dash cams - but it has all been recorded and transferred after the fact. We are now living in realtime, and this changes everything from who owns the news (Facebook) to how we can handle it psychologically. 

The second technology story was the killing of the Dallas police sniper by a bomb carrying robot. This is the first time an American citizen was killed in this way. We have become desensitized to the daily drone killing overseas, but this marks a potential shift in how domestic terrorism will be handled by authorities (think about Orlando and if they could have infiltrated with robots immediately). This isn't Terminator as these robots and drones are human controlled, but changes the game all the same. 

Third, is the power of social media in either starting or stopping another civil war (I can't decide which). We are learning that developing advanced data science around social sentiment will be critical in predicting potential danger zones (think Minority Report). 

Finally, in order to protect ALL citizens, we need to invest in research of a non-lethal, 100% effective device that immediately incapacitates a person. Similar to a stun gun from Star Trek. Tasers are not 100% effective and guns are lethal - we need something in the middle.

Jay McBain Driving a Ferrari in Albany - June 2016

My wonderful wife, Michelle, purchased a very cool birthday present for my 44th birthday on June 24, 2016.

From Motorsportlab.com she surprised me with 3 laps of either a Ferarri 430 or a Lamborghini!

I chose the Ferrari because it was the better car - and because of my life dream to own a Ferrari - more on that story here.

So here it is - 2 videos - showing the action from all angles including inside the car, dashcam and from afar. All in all, it was a really cool way to spend a Saturday afternoon in Albany, NY.

From INSIDE:



From OUTSIDE:



Highly recommend these guys:

Link:  http://www.motorsportlab.com

The Bayliner Chronicles - Cruising thousands of miles across the Northeastern United States

Michelle and I traded in a 40 foot Carver over the winter of 2014/15 and purchased a 2008 Bayliner 245 Ciera so that we could explore the Northeast United States without breaking the bank on gas and repairs.

More backstory on our nautical life, including the boats owned prior, can be found here.

After a couple of cold winters in New York, thoughts quickly changed to trip planning. With a trailerable boat, the world was now our oyster - so to speak.

Here are some of the journey's thus far...

Major Trips:

1. Jersey Shore via Manasquan River

MAY 27-28, 2016

A 206 mile drive south of Albany put us at the Manasquan River Club in Brick, NJ, where we could launch, keep the truck and dock for a few days while we explored the Jersey Shore.

We were able to jump out of the inlet and get a taste of the open Atlantic for awhile, and then jump back inside for a nice 25 mile cruise down the shore to Seaside Heights where we tied up at a Moose Lodge.

A nice walk over to the ocean side beach and then down the Boardwalk to see the home turf of Snooki and friends. On May 29th we trailered the boat to Sesame Place in Langhome, PA.

2. Washington, DC for July 4th Fireworks

JULY 1-5, 2016



The longest drive yet with boat in tow - a 360 mile drive south of Albany will put us at the Franklin Street Boat Ramp in Cambridge, Maryland. 

Fun fact: Jay-Z called Cambridge home before pursuing a music career.

We start the 5 day trip from Cambridge, into Chesapeake Bay down to the Potomac River and then back up to the Nation's Capital. On the way, we will spend the first night at Bayside Marina in Colonial Beach, Virginia making for about 100 miles of cruising.

On July 2, we head up the remaining 76 miles of the Potomac to Washington, DC and stay at the Washington Marina, just steps from the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument. We hang out to watch the fireworks on July 4th and do some navigating around the DC area (by foot and boat).

On July 5, we make the full 176 mile journey back to Cambridge and then the drive back to Albany.

Day Trips:

1. The Hudson River

2. Saratoga Lake

Major Trips:

1. Hudson River to NYC and then Long Island (and back through Harlem River)

MAY 8-10 & JULY 26-27, 2015


A short 90 mile drive south of Albany put us in Newburgh, New York and the start of a 250 mile nautical journey taking us through Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, East River and the Long Island Sound to Northport.

We had a great dinner at Water's Edge Restaurant spent the night right beside Citi Field, the home of the Mets as well as Northport in Long Island.

In July we headed back on almost the same route to see friends Melissa Kerkau and Myra Jensen and stay 2 nights at the 79th St. Boat Basin.

Great to see family and friends along the way!

2. Thousand Islands and Lake Ontario (and back to Oneida Lake)

MAY 22-24, 2015

A 140 mile drive west of Albany put us in Oneida Lake, New York and the start of a 275 mile journey taking us through the Erie Canal, Oswego Canal, Lake Ontario, St. Lawrence Seaway and then the Thousand Islands.

We had a wonderful time exploring Boldt Castle on Heart Island as well as the little towns along the way. With nights in Oswego and Clayton, it was a beautiful journey through two countries.

3. Boston, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard (and back to New Bedford)

JULY 3-6, 2015

A 200 mile drive southeast of Albany put us in New Bedford, MA, and the start of a 300 mile journey taking us through Buzzards Bay, Cape Cod, Boston Harbor, the Atlantic Ocean, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. We were joined by a great crew - my dad Jim McBain and Audrey Jackson.

We had a great time exploring Boston for 2 days including a game at Fenway Park and the July 4th fireworks at anchor!  The weather was cooperating so we took the outer Cape Cod route to Nantucket which worked well except for the last 20 miles of open water where we were battling big waves.

Staying at the Nantucket Boat Basin gave us excellent access to the town and we enjoyed walking up and down each street. It was an expensive night, but worth it because both nights in Boston were free.

The journey between Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard was calm as a small lake and the 28 miles flew right by. We found a nice town dock in Vineyard Haven (Tisbury) that was only $5 per hour and had an excellent beach to cool off.

The final leg back to New Bedford was also clear sailing and a very quick 23 miles.

4. Philadelphia & Baltimore, via the Delaware River, C&D Canal & Chesapeake Bay

SEPTEMBER 4-7, 2015

A 211 mile drive south of Albany puts us in New Jersey's capital city Trenton, and the start of a 300 mile journey taking us through Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the C&D Canal, and Baltimore, Maryland.

This was our first trip down the Delaware River. From what I read on the internet, the rocks up north are a concern and the tides can cause some interesting navigation. Not to mention the amount of commercial traffic that takes this route.

It was also our first time in Chesapeake Bay which I know is a boaters dream. Approaching Philly and Baltimore by water was an awesome experience. Baltimore has one of the nicest waterfronts I have ever seen.

When I bought my previous boat, the Carver Mariner, I navigated from south New Jersey up the Atlantic to New York City and then to Montreal and Toronto. This time we were on the inside route!

5. Whitehall, NY to Plattsburgh, NY on Lake Champlain

SEPTEMBER 19-20, 2015

A quick 80 mile drive north of Albany puts us in Whitehall, NY, on the northern end of the Champlain Canal and the gateway to Lake Champlain. Whitehall is steeped in history as during the late 17th century, the area was a staging ground for raids between English and French colonies. I visited once before on the Carver and remember the famous Skene Manor on the hill.

The voyage up Champlain is about 90 miles direct, with a few more miles planned for visiting the Vermont side of the lake.

It is "parent's weekend" at SUNY Plattsburgh where my daughter is attending her freshman year and we will spend one night at the Boat Basin.

Day Trips:

1. The Great Sacandaga Lake

JUNE & AUGUST 2015

A quick 52 mile drive west of Albany put us on the southeastern side of Great Sacandaga Lake.  The first thing we found was a sandy island with a bunch of boats beached and having a great time. We joined them and basked in the rays.

We then drove to the farthest point in the northeast part of the lake and then watched the sunset as we cruised back down and explored the built-up western region with numerous marinas. Lucky I had my Navionics running on my iPad as the sunken islands and shoals are not very well marked!

2. Saratoga Lake

JUNE, JULY, AUGUST 2015

A very quick 32 mile drive north of Albany put us on Saratoga Lake.  A favorite spot for locals because of its proximity and clean water, this lake offers a lot of options for kayakers, waterskiers and even small sailboats.

While it is shallow around the shore, the middle is wide open and has little worry about shoals or sunken islands of any kind.

We enjoyed spending time with our friends the Godgarts, who have a beautiful property on the southwest shore.

3. Hudson River

JUNE, JULY, AUGUST 2015


Our home body of water is the Hudson River - dividing Albany, NY and our home in Wynantskill.

We were members of the Albany Yacht Club (excellent group of people - highly recommended!) which is only a few miles down the road. With a trailerable boat, we decided to keep it on the trailer this year - but who knows what the future will bring!


So there it is, how to put a 1,700 miles on a boat in only one summer!

Stay tuned for our next adventures...

Here is why the traditional IT & Telecom channel is shrinking at an alarming rate - and what to do about it

We have hit a tipping point in the IT and telecom channel.

For years we have debated the impact of new technologies such as the cloud, mobility, and now IoT (Internet of Things). In addition, we looked at partner transformations and the evolving business models that were showing signs of success (such as managed services).

So much focus was put into these things that we lost sight of the end customer. Specifically, how the end customer makes technology decisions.

So here it is - 72% of all technology decisions are now being made by line-of-business professionals. Yes, VP's of sales, marketing, operations, finance, HR, manufacturing and other business units are leading the charge and the IT department has been mostly relegated to legacy infrastructure, support and, in many cases, reduced in size and strategic importance.

This is a radical change that almost no one predicted.

To put this number in perspective, it was only 2 years ago that it flipped over to 51%. In fact, Gartner is predicting that it will reach 90% by the year 2020. In a span of only 15 years, we have moved from 90% of technology decisions made by CIOs and IT departments down to only 10%.

Behind this revolution is software. Namely, cloud based SaaS (software as a service) companies that are disrupting every function, in every company across every industry. Companies such as Salesforce, Workday, NetSuite, Marketo, and dozens of other platforms have created new ecosystems that support tens of thousands of software startups and hundreds of thousands of non-traditional technology channel jobs.

Recent data shows that cloud implementations reduce IT resourcing by over 55% - including outsourced services that our channel has lived on since hardware and software licensing margins dried up.

Vendors and partners need to understand that having a vertical focus is today's equivalent of being a generalist. I explained it further in my look into what I called vectors. The new line-of-business (LOB) power centers are creating opportunities in very specific niches across 297 sub-industries, multiple sectors and segments, a plethora of technologies and different geographies.

Traditional IT providers that have verticalized are being beat by firms (or individuals) that focus on the 5 main vectors (LOB, sub-industry, segment, geography and technology). In many cases these aren’t “born in the cloud” companies, but industry or LOB focused consultants, service providers and independent contractors that have been forced into technology as the industries they serve have made that shift.

Real-world data is showing that cloud implementations are being won by ecosystem specialists as opposed to traditional IT and telecom partners. For example, Salesforce has 695 partners world-wide that are driving over $20B in consulting and integration services.

Using data and guidance from CompTIA and CRN, my best estimate is that the channel has shrunk by 36% since the 2008 recession. This is over 100,000 less partner companies in North America and 400,000 less world-wide. For those surviving, it is estimated by major distributors that a majority of their SMB partners are technically insolvent.

Adding to these discouraging numbers is that 40% of surviving partner executives are planning exits (retirement or M&A) in the next 8 years. On the flip side, CompTIA predicted that 75% of the channel will be made up of millennials in the same time period.

Where do we go from here?

Most of us assumed that these millennials would be starting new businesses based on reseller, VAR, managed services, agent/sub-agent or solution provider type business models. We affectionately coined the term "Born in the Cloud".

The problem is, the number of born in the cloud partners being created is drastically lower than the hundreds of thousands being lost. After attending Ingram's massive Cloud event a few months ago, with 1,300 cloud partners, it was clear that these companies were, for the most part, transitioning into this world and not being born into it.

If you are looking to meet and recruit some of these “born in the cloud” partners, your best bet is to skip the over 150 channel centric tradeshows world-wide this year. They simply aren’t in attendance. You will have better luck attending Salesforce Dreamforce, a Marketo event, or specific industry LOB conferences.

While the IT and telecom channel numbers are declining, this new generation of SaaS platform partners are exploding. Before jumping feet-first into this new vector-based, millennial-led world, you will first need to understand how your company and products play with line of business executives:

• Do your products integrate seamlessly with the major SaaS ecosystems mentioned above? 
• Are they priced in a per-person, per-month recurring model that can be added to the rest of the stack?
• Are they packaged in a way that consultants and integration specialists can profit?
• Does your channel program have finders fees and technology integrations as an option? These new millennial vector specialists don't tend to resell product in the traditional sense.

The current cloud opportunity stands at $204B according to Gartner, growing by double digits for at least the next decade. Almost inexplicably, 67% of current channel firms are reporting that cloud demand has outstripped their capacity, whether that is technical capability or bandwidth, while a new generation of non-traditional partners are growing and profiting in this new world.

Here is a profile of one of these firms - Bluewolf. They were founded sixteen years ago, specialize in all things Salesforce, quickly grew to over 600 consultants and just sold to IBM for over $200M. They are not the largest Salesforce partner either - in fact, they barely crack the top 10. There are 694 other potential Bluewolfs in Salesforce' ecosystems alone. Now multiply that by dozens of other line-of-business specialized platforms and you start to get the idea of where the new value channels are being created.

Ready to dive in? Check out how to execute a Go To Market plan for these new markets and use Dandelions & Blowfish marketing tactics to achieve quick success.

Response to Orlando Mass Shooting

We all want to frame this tragedy in our own worldview - and then spend the next few weeks talking about political will, mental health, gun control, religion, better parenting and other useless rhetoric that won't stop the next mass shooting.

What if we talk about preventive technology instead? Unfortunately safety is going to mean giving up your personal freedoms when entering a public place - but that is the cost. No idea is too wild - airport style metal detectors on every public door? Personal digital location trackers? Approved, non-lethal stun guns for all? Body scanners as prevalent as street lights? Knockout gas dispensers with fire alarm type pull downs? 

I am not sure the right angle, but I do know that I am sick to my stomach.

Excited to be the opening keynote at Channel Visionaries 2016

Excited to be the opening keynote for the Channel Visionaries event in Santa Clara on June 2, 2016.  

http://www.channelvisionaries.com/channel-chief-series/day-1-agenda/

 

Channel Visionaries is the fasting growing community of senior technology channel executives looking to network at a dotted line and share best practices. Our community members gain a competitive advantage by collectively revolutionizing their channel ecosystems in order to adapt to a new era of radical channel transformation. 

In today’s business environment, companies are more dependent than ever on partners as their extended sales and support teams. Winning with partners is key to winning with customers, and this raises the stakes for effective channel management.

Join us at our world class series of content driven conferences spanning the globe from the Silicon Valley to Singapore. Leverage our online community portal between events to keep the conversation and collaboration flowing. If you're a channel leader, Channel Visionaries will give you the tools you need to elevate your personal brand and to keep on top of the latest industry trends so that you can be much more effective as a channel leader.

Channel Chief Conference Series

JUNE 2ND & 3RD, 2016 SANTA CLARA MARRIOTT, CA

In today’s business environment, companies are more dependent than ever on partners as their extended sales and support teams. Winning with partners is key to winning with customers, and this raises the stakes for effective channel management. Building and managing a channel ecosystem is critical to improving your company’s efficiency and effectiveness. At this conference, we’ll explore the latest strategies to consider for achieving amazing results in revenue acceleration and maximizing partner performance. It’s not enough to seek operational excellence from your partner efforts. You must seek a competitive advantage. Sadly, many companies are failing to achieve this type of success. By some estimates, as many as 70% of alliances fall short of expectations for both the channel partners and for the companies selling through those channels. But, how can you tell if you are one of these companies? Here are some of the telltale signs that a company’s channel management is under-performing:

• Poor alignment between how sales, product teams and the partner program define “best” partners
• Weak performance by significant numbers of top-tier partner
• Unclear ROI due to a lack of understanding of how partners deliver value
• Unsuccessful attempts to drive new partner behavior through existing partner relationships
• Passive execution that reacts to rather than fuels business outcomes

Often, the root cause of a company’s channel management problems is not its people or its positioning, but its approach. Your channel investments should focus on how you will win with partners in a competitive context.

Our agenda has a mix of current Channel Chiefs passionate about channel transformation and leaders of world class suppliers to the channel industry that consistently help channel organizations gain a competitive advantage in the Technology industry
.

NuoDB Offers Cloud Computing Across Different Platforms

No matter what type of device you are using or the platform that it is on, you will be able to use NuoDB to make sure that you are getting what you can out of the experience. When it comes to NuoDB, the company has made sure that they are offering the database opportunities to all of their clients so that they will be able to take advantage of different aspects of a professional cloud. It is something that has truly set them apart from their cloud competitors and has given them the chance to make a name for themselves in the industry.

NuoDB is a take on the new cloud database opportunities that are provided for cloud users around the globe. It is something that can be easily accessed no matter where you are at as long as you have wi-fi. Included with the NuoDB is the ability to make sure that you are secure. The products are all compatible with different coding languages and even different types of cloud that you may want to input into the cloud. There are many major cloud companies that use the capabilities that NuoDB has and the company feels that you should be able to take advantage of what NuoDB has to offer everyone.

Cloud computing has seen a huge surge in the past five years and that is something that has been able to happen thanks to an increase of different technological advances that are now available. In the past, people had to rely on things like flash drives and external hard drives to save their information. These devices would get filled up quickly and they would not have the amount of storage that is necessary to make sure that they are getting everything that they need on them. It was a bad situation and something that truly changed the way that people were able to do different things.

Thanks to advanced technology and more options that were coming available for different people, the cloud was born. This was something that made it much easier for people to access the data that they needed. Cloud computing is easy to handle because people were able to get all of the data that they needed. If you're going to a business meeting, you no longer need to bring along your laptop and three different jump drives. You just need to make sure that the information is on the cloud and you can access it from a desktop computer, your laptop or even someone else's device.

The idea behind the cloud is to make life easier for people but it also comes with something that many people are also benefitting from. The security of the cloud is something that most people are able to enjoy because they know that their data will be protected from different things. Most cloud companies, like NuoDB, have special security measures in place to help save the data in the event that there is a virus or something else happens. Most have several failsafe methods and backup options for people to be able to enjoy feeling safe with their opportunities.

Anyone is now able to use the cloud. As long as you have an Internet connection, you can access the cloud on any device. Products like NuoDB have made it possible to access your data whether you are using a tablet, a computer or even a cell phone. This is something that has made it easier for people to get what they can out of different things and with the opportunities that are used within the different types of computing.

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ChannelEyes CEO Recognized Again as a Top 20 Channel Visionary

ChannelPro-SMB, the premier source of business and technology insights for I.T. channel partners serving the small and midsize business market, has announced its second annual list of 20/20 Visionaries for 2016.

ChannelPro 20/20 Visionaries - Jay McBain

TROY, N.Y. - May 13, 2016 -  The ChannelPro 20/20 Visionaries are comprised of 20 influential, go-to authorities in managed services, cloud computing, and partner support and education from the vendor, analyst, and consulting communities, as well as 20 of the most far-sighted resellers, MSPs, and community leaders from the SMB partner community. These are the IT professionals who not only serve their SMB clients with top solutions and services, but move the industry forward with innovative ideas, a commitment to continual improvement, and a willingness to share what they know to help others succeed in the market.

Jay McBain represents ChannelEyes who continue to drive thought leadership in the global channel community by introducing forward-looking software to help vendors communicate, engage and drive more revenue with their valued partners. After success with Social and Mobile products, ChannelEyes recently introduced OPTYX - a Predictive Analytics platform that assists Channel Account Managers with the complicated task of managing a territory, prioritizing activities, and improving interactions with alliances and partners.

"We are proud to reveal this year's class of smart, insightful thinkers," said Cecilia Galvin, executive editor, ChannelPro-SMB. "Many of the honorees, such as McBain, who made the grade in 2016 did so last year as well, but there are some new faces too. What they all have in common is a deep understanding of the channel and how to thrive in it."

OPTYX is a predictive alerting, scoring and prioritization solution that helps channel organizations increase indirect sales by optimizing partner interactions based on data science. Designed as a workflow tool that runs seamlessly with Salesforce and other CRM systems, it automatically and intelligently processes internal and external data signals to help channel sales account managers work smarter, close more deals faster and continuously grow revenue.

Jay McBain - ChannelEyes

To develop the 20/20 Visionaries for 2016, the editors of ChannelPro-SMB turned an eye to the channel players and channel pros they have spoken with, listened to, and sat with face to face over the past year to compile a broad list of possible honorees. After much debate, the list of this year's visionaries emerged. Each year this process will be reprised, with honorees selected from many worthy channel candidates.

A complete list of the ChannelPro 20/20 Visionaries for 2016 appears in the May print edition of ChannelPro-SMB as well as on the ChannelPro Network website at http://www.channelpronetwork.com/article/introducing-2016-channelpro-2020-visionaries



About ChannelEyes Corporation:

Founded in 2011, ChannelEyes is a global software company that is reinventing how vendors drive partner sales and indirect channel and alliances growth. The SaaS platform includes ChannelCandy, the world's largest mobile-first product for partners, as well as OPTYX, the first indirect sales workflow product to help sellers with predictive analytics and leverage big data science to drive more sales. ChannelEyes has received numerous accolades for its technology including being named a Cool Vendor by Gartner and one of the fastest growing companies in New York's Capital Region by the Business Review. Learn more at: http://channeleyes.com/ and follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/ChannelEyes) and Facebook (facebook.com/ChannelEyes).


About the ChannelPro Network:

The ChannelPro SMB 20/20 Visionaries is part of the ChannelPro Network. Our network includes websites, events, awards programs, research, and the monthly magazine ChannelPro-SMB. The ChannelPro Network provides targeted business and technology information for IT channel partners who serve small and midsize businesses. The network delivers expert opinion, analysis, news, product reviews, and advice vital to a channel partner's business success. No other media company focuses on the small and midsize marketplace like The ChannelPro Network. ChannelProNetwork.com

Channel Focus (Baptie) Webinar - 5 Future Channel Trends You Should Be Planning for Today

The pace of change in the indirect sales world has been mind-numbing over the past few years. There are new business models and partner types popping up seemingly every day - driven by technology, economic challenges and customer behavior.

Combine this with an unprecedented demographic shift coming in the next few years, and the job role of the Channel Professional will radically shift - both inside the organization and out.

We will explore what this demographic shift means, as well as predict what Channel Management will look like when there are more vendors in the world than partners.

Here is the full 45 minute webinar:




If you don't have the time, here are just the slides:

Future IT Channel and Alliances Trends from Jay McBain

The End Of The IT Channel As We Know It. (And the start of something amazing!)

While exploring the question of where are all of these so-called “Born in the Cloud” partners are coming from, a bigger and more complex issue surfaced. Perhaps the competition isn’t coming from “within” the channel but somewhere else?

When Marc Andreessen wrote “Why Software is Eating the World” in the Wall Street Journal 5 years ago, a major shift was taking place in every industry. Infrastructure was firmly in place and technology was finally at a maturity level to start disrupting every business, across every sector.

What Marc didn’t predict is that the center of gravity for these decisions would fundamentally shift into the business units. In those days, about 80% of technology decisions were researched and made in the IT department, today it is only 28%. In fact, Gartner predicts that it could be as low as 10% by 2020.

The BBC made quite a stir last year when it predicted that technology could replace most workers in the next couple of decades. “Will Machines Eventually Take Every Job” walked through numerous industry segments from truck drivers to farmers, from factory workers to service delivery, and from knowledge workers to professional services.

If you wrap these articles together the irony is deafening: 

Line of Business professionals are busy stitching together the very software stack that will one day replace them! 

I don’t subscribe to the armageddon-style predictions, but do believe it will have one of the most profound effects on society since the industrial revolution. Anyway, enough meandering.

The biggest threat to the IT Channel today (already 36% down since 2008) is not the cloud. Nor is it internet of things (IoT), consumerization, mobility, or a host of other emerging technologies. It is the changing dynamic in how customers decide and purchase IT.

The 72% of all technology decisions that are now being made (or highly influenced) outside of the IT department aren’t traditional IT decisions. The Finance person isn’t buying a router. The Marketing Executive is not implementing security protocols, the Sales leader isn’t buying new servers for the rack. They are stitching together a software stack that drives business value for their department.

This myopic view could grow to be dangerous as costs are accelerating, duplication is happening across the organization, holistic security is nearing impossible and interoperability is challenging with the permutations and combinations of disparate solutions. However, I don’t see power shifting back to the CIO anytime soon. In fact, a magazine focused on CIO’s was reporting a trend where they were being demoted out of the boardroom altogether.

In the late 90’s, as PC and other hardware margins were plummeting, the rallying cry for the channel was to verticalize. Find that industry niche where you could get deeper into the business issues and understand nuances such as regulations, legislation and industry solutions. By bundling consulting, software, and focused services, more profit and customer stickiness would result.

By the mid 00’s, managed services were all the rage where individual hardware, software and services could be creatively bundled and profit could be generated by remote access and economies of scale.

Fast forward to today and 90% of companies are leveraging the cloud. In fact, 60% of companies have replaced more than 1/3 of their IT infrastructure already (Gartner). Only about half of that was with the assistance of some type of channel.  Even worse, over 2/3 of the current IT channel report that cloud opportunities have outstripped their capacity.

Yes, you read that correctly - the current channel is beyond capacity (either under-skilled or over-worked) while only touching half of the opportunity.

I reported before my feelings that “verticalization” is being replaced by hyper-focused “vectorization”. The new line of business (LOB) power center is creating opportunities in very specific niches across 287 sub-industries, multiple segments, plethora of technologies and different geographies.

Traditional IT providers that have verticalized are being beat by firms (or individuals) that focus on the 5 vectors (LOB, sub-industry, segment, geography and technology). In many cases these aren’t “born in the cloud” companies, but industry or LOB focused consultants, service providers and independent contractors that have been forced into technology as the world has shifted that way.

-          Transportation logistics consultants are now selling end-to-end technology solutions.

-          Insurance compliance consultants are pitching big data and predictive analytics.

-          Healthcare advisors are now integrating EMR solutions with customer care technologies.

-          Oil and Gas consultants are leveraging technology to recommend hydraulic fracking and horizontal drilling to change breakeven economics.

-          And there are thousands of more examples.

The difficulty is that these new technology plays leverage very little of traditional IT hardware, software and services. Today's solution partners don’t have the relationships, experience, skills or capacity to engage at these levels.

Without these vector skills, IT providers are on the outside of these opportunities looking in. 

Traditional vendors are attempting to position themselves for this future. It has been painful to watch IBM shrink for 16 straight quarters, HP to split up, Dell to combine with EMC and go private, and Cisco to struggle in core areas. The top-line revenue for these companies will be significantly disrupted as the days of selling tons of big iron, monster software license deals and outsourcing are numbered.

For channel partners, it is important to recognize new battle areas for revenue growth and build, buy, partner, merge or acquire their way to success. Standing still is also ok in the short term as none of this will happen overnight.

Understanding the magnitude of vectors is mind-blowing – simple math is to multiply 287 sub-industries by 10 LOBs by 6 size segments by 20 technologies and hundreds of geographic areas (states, countries, regions, etc.) and you are dealing with 50+ million vectors.

We are nearing 100,000 SaaS vendors today and that number will continue to rise by an order of magnitude to capture the demand. I can see a world 20 years from now that over a million technology companies will compete across these 50 million vectors. Many of these companies will spawn from our current IT channel world-wide.

I do know that none of these technology companies will be happy swimming in their own lane for long. They will look at adjacent LOBs, nearby geographies, different sized customers or similar behaving industries for growth. They will also look for partners in those swim lanes where they can participate instead of reinventing the wheel each time.

Buckle your seatbelts.

Where are all of these so-called “Born in the Cloud” Partners Anyway?

This question was posed to me at the Ingram Cloud Summit this week in Phoenix. We all know that the cloud is quickly redefining IT, with over 90% of companies using some mix of public, private and hybrid cloud solutions. In fact, 60% of companies have replaced more than one third of their IT infrastructure with cloud products thus far (Gartner).

With 1,300 attendees at this cloud-focused conference, I asked the question: “How many of you are born in the cloud?” Only a couple of hands went up. The same result happened at CompTIA Annual Members Meeting last month.

With the cloud representing $204B in opportunity (Gartner), there must be some big-time winners right? 

Some are theorizing that cloud and “as a service” vendors are selling solutions direct to customer. The reality is that over 55% (and growing) of cloud sales are going through a channel (IDC).

Another theory is that traditional IT Channel Partners are not plugged into cloud demand at their customers. This is also untrue. CompTIA reports that 67% of channel firms are experiencing demand for cloud services that has outstripped their capacity. It could be a combination of technical capability and bandwidth – but they are seeing sufficient opportunities nonetheless.

I have heard some argue that “shadow” or “rogue” IT demand is being claimed by an unseen force. This is actually partially true. Half of traditional IT partners claim to have lost a sale to a non-traditional IT solution provider, such as a industry-specific consulting firm, vendor, distributor, or telecom carrier. This is happening with much more frequency than in previous years.

Here is my theory on “born in the cloud"

1. The biggest threat facing the traditional IT channel (36% decline in firms since 2008) has nothing to do with technology or transforming business models. It is the changing dynamic in how customers decide on IT. It almost sounds unbelievable, but 72% of all technology decisions are now being made (or highly influenced) outside of the IT department. Only 18 months ago I was blogging about the “Tipping Point” when 51% of decisions were outside of the CIO. In fact, Gartner is predicting that the number will grow to 90% by 2020.

2. Every company is being forced to become a technology company. Whether it is a car company with Tesla sneaking up, transportation company with Uber, hospitality company with AirBNB, or any other of the 27 industries, technological disruption is threatening traditional companies with extinction. This means that every ancillary service or consulting company supporting these industries is being forced into technology as well.

3. “Verticalization” is being replaced by hyper-focused “vectorization”. With 72% of decisions now being made by Executives in lines-of-business (LOB), specialization is diving deeper into sub-industry, geography, segment, technology and LOB. For example, traditional providers that may be specializing in a certain industry such as healthcare are losing to firms that hyper-specialize in lead generation marketing at mid-size, ambulatory care hospitals in New York State (5 vectors). The customer Executive likely doesn’t know (or care) about things like security, regulation, changing legislation, network capacity, backup, disaster recovery, uptime, support and dozens of other foundational skills the IT Channel would bring. They care about a business problem of generating more leads – and that is what born in the cloud firms are pitching. They are part of a marketing cloud ecosystem representing solutions such as Marketo, Pardot, Eloqua, Hubspot and hundreds of other software-as-a-service companies.

4. The Cloud is inherently unprofitable. The vast majority of cloud vendors are not making money (some of it by design). Even some of the cloud superstars such Salesforce and Amazon have only recently flirted with profitability. This doesn’t bode well for cloud resellers, looking to take a margin on these low-priced, recurring revenues. Successful born in the cloud firms have leveraged their hyper-specialization into rich consulting and service contracts. Last week, IBM bought one of these firms, Bluewolf, who specializes in Salesforce for over $200M. If you check Salesforce’s partner program, they have 695 of these type of partners generating $20B in services. This is over 3 times more revenue than Salesforce itself – and almost 10% of the world cloud opportunity ($204B) I mentioned above.

So if you are looking to meet and recruit some of these “born in the cloud” partners, your best bet is to skip the over 150 channel centric tradeshows world-wide this year. They simply aren’t in attendance. You will have better luck attending Salesforce Dreamforce, a Marketo event, or specific industry LOB conferences. While the IT and Telco Channel numbers are declining, this new generation of partners are exploding.

Interestingly enough, I have attended a number of these conferences in the past few years. The joke about well-dressed, skinny jeans wearing millennials making up this new generation of channel actually turns out to be true.

Their definition of break-fix is the Apple Genius Bar. 

Their definition of networking is finding a WiFi hotspot at Starbucks. 

Their definition of security is whatever the big guys like Amazon, Salesforce, Google, Microsoft and IBM are doing to protect their respective clouds.

However, if you want to know what the latest hacks are in nurturing marketing leads in mid-sized ambulatory care hospitals in Upstate New York – they will talk your ears off.

My housing story - Across Canada and then the USA

The year was 1972, Jim and Gloria McBain along with their baby daughter Tracey had just moved to Edmonton, Alberta so Jim could pursue a new accounting opportunity at Imperial Oil.

They lived in a fourplex on 12937 - 125th Street when James Robert (me!) came along on June 24th at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital.





When I turned 2, they made the big move to the suburbs - 52 Finch Crescent in St. Albert, Alberta. Located just northwest of Edmonton, St. Albert was a quiet city that offered a reprieve from the hustle and bustle of Edmonton:





Eight years later, when I was 10, Dad decided to pursue an opportunity with the provincial government as an auditor, ensuring proper taxes were being paid by the big oil companies. This job was located 3 hours south in the City of Calgary.

The move to 19 Brookpark Bay was in the southwestern quadrant of Calgary and offered some excellent hockey opportunities as well as a stunning view of the Rockies from my bedroom window:

The college years began in 1990 in Lethbridge, Alberta. Staying in the dorm for my first year gave me the lay of the land. The following years were spent off campus in 3 different apartment complexes. Nothing remarkable other than the daily Mac and Cheese and chinese noodles.





My final year of University was spent back and forth from Calgary and Lethbridge as I interned at IBM Canada in downtown Calgary. Three other places I lived in Lethbridge include Columbia Blvd. and MicMac Blvd:

Landing a permanent job at IBM after college meant another move to downtown Calgary, in my first paid apartment on the 27th floor overlooking the bow river and the famous 3rd Ave. (not famous for good reasons)





Later in 1995, at the age of 22, I decided it was a perfect time to stop renting and make the move to the suburbs. I decided to build a house in Airdrie, Alberta, located about 30 minutes north of downtown. Finding the perfect plot of land on a golf course, I broke ground on a place where I could customize to my hearts content:






Move in day was scheduled for December 15, 1995. That was until a fateful call from my manager at IBM, Michael Kerr. I accepted my first transfer on the same day I was supposed to move in to my first house.

The move to Winnipeg was a lot of fun. IBM sent a big 18 wheeler moving truck to my apartment and the guys laughed when they saw my worldly possessions - a bed, couch, table, tv and computer.

They came back with a small cube van and made the move to 147 Norcross Crescent on the southeast side of Winnipeg. A nice new suburb, I was still able to choose the color and some options in the new home.





Over the next 4 years, I was able to fill up the house of furniture and add 2 kids, some cars and a boat. The movers weren't laughing late in 1999 when they sent the cube van to move me to Toronto.

Another fateful call by my then manager, Joe Mardini, transferred me to the 'big smoke', center of the world, Toronto.

The house prices were outrageous which again put me 30 minutes north in a nice town of Newmarket, Ontario. 273 Herridge Circle was a nice home in Leslie Valley Estates with a walkout basement.





I will always remember getting up Sunday mornings to go play football with the guys in the neighborhood.

In 2003, I made a speculative move to Bradford, Ontario. This was 20 minutes north of Newmarket, and a full hour commute into Toronto. I built the home from scratch at 74 Gardiner Drive and decided to put the master on the main floor.





6 months later, I realized I speculated wrong and the commute was killing me. I made the move to Markham, Ontario where IBM's Canadian headquarters was located. The house was small, packed together with others and only had a single garage. It was the most expensive home I had ever bought!

The multicultural environment was wonderful, and the girls and I will remember being one of only two white families on our entire street. The neighbors were fantastic and we spent weekends out front with hockey and basketball nets - and loud music that could be heard blocks away.

We lived at 113 Brock Ave in Markham from 2003 to 2009 until another call from the manager, Michael Bruemmer, came. I will stop calling them fateful calls now - they are quite routine.






The opportunity to move to Raleigh, North Carolina was on the table - the home of Lenovo's headquarters. The girls were excited as we found a neat community in Durham called Grove Park. Having a lake in the back yard and a golf course in the front was a wonderful experience.

Being outdoors for 11 months of the year was a real change - and not having to winterize my boat which sat on the Atlantic Ocean year-round was amazing. I still own this house and rent it out today - 514 N. Waters Edge Drive:





After only a couple of years, a call came from Bob Godgart in Albany, New York. Leaving IBM/Lenovo after 17 years was a difficult choice, but the chance to be an entrepreneur and start ChannelEyes was too good to pass up. 

Soon after I was joined in Albany by my magnificent wife to be - Michelle Ragusa! I still can't believe she gave up the weather in North Carolina to move back up to her birth state of New York.

Michelle left behind 2 houses in Durham and Cary, NC which she rents:





The move to Albany in January of 2011 reminded me of my cold northern roots. After renting a colleagues house for a few months, I moved into 5 Sliters Lane in Wynantskill, NY, on April 1st. Michelle joined me on June 1st, a few months later.





The house sits on 2 acres that needs to be cut, and a long driveway that needs to be plowed. The great thing is a 4 car garage so none of the toys sit outside.

On April fools day 2014, Brooklyn Marie McBain was born, and then 20 months later in late 2015 Cali Rose McBain was born. With the 9 of us (Michelle, Danica, Mila, Brooklyn, Luka (Black Sheppard), Mirage (Red Greyhound), Austin (Grey Cat) & me were having a blast! 

Unfortunately we lost all three pets in the course of 12 months. We were devastated. In the summer of 2017, we adopted August Rush McBain (Auggie Doggy), a crazy, rambucious, Siberian Husky.

Around mid-year in 2017 we learned of a great opportunity for Michelle at Office Depot in Southern Florida. In December, we packed up our things, sold the Wynantskill house, and set our sights down south!

After living in temporary housing for 5 months, we bought a beautiful home in the Boynton Beach community of Canyon Isles. With our first pool and some great neighborhood amenities as well as the beach close by, we were living the Florida lifestyle!

By the way, my car story over these same years is here.

And so the story continues...what's next?

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Read some other stories from A Few Thoughts - Jay McBain:

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My Life Story - Have you ever thought about the impact of big decisions that you made in your life? How about the small ones or the ones made for you? How would have your life turned out if things went the other way?

My Love Story - Michelle and met on October 15, 2010 in a serendipitous way. We were both part of a charity in Raleigh, NC and one night at a dinner struck up a conversation about many things - including our love of travel.

My Car Story - I have the dubious honor of getting speeding tickets on all 6 driveable continents - lucky that there are no cars in Antarctica! Did I ever tell you the time I passed the Polizia in Italy with my mom?

My Travel Story - The story started with a "Rollerblades and Red Bull" journey to 100 countries. It is now expanding in every direction after hitting 7 continents and the 7 wonders of the world (most with kids in tow).

My Nautical Story - I am pretty sure the love of water started in 1972 when I was six weeks old and my grandparents Bob and Dona McBain retired to Shuswap, British Columbia, Canada, and built a log cabin.

My Crazy MBA Story - In the summer of 2017, while climbing Machu Picchu, Peru as part of my wife Michelle’s International MBA from Manhattan College, I thought – why not me?

My Hockey Story - As long as I can remember, I have been playing hockey. Over four and a half decades and thousands of games later, I still lace them up a couple times a week, year-round.

My Cycling Story - When the Covid-19 pandemic first took hold in March 2020 we responded quickly as a family - including strict stay at home orders and no outside contact until we could get a handle on the risks. My attention now turned to exercise - and biking across North America (virtually).

My Retirement Story - I have no interest in disconnecting fully from the work that makes me so fulfilled. I could never see myself  in bingo-playing retired life. I want to stay curious, engaged, and adding value past the (very specific) date in 2034 that I am aiming for.

My Christmas Story - Whether traveling to see family, or going to Disney or Hawaii, or simply staying home - the season is packed with memories of family and friends.

My Music Story - My favorite music can be best defined as sad / emotional / multi-level slow music. Oddly, it is opposite of my worldview - which is normally overly-positive and optimistic.

My Movie Story - Oddly enough, I think Pretty Woman made me very interested in business. I named my cat Austin Powers - oh, and yes, "Danger" is his middle name. Our current dog is named August Rush (Auggie Doggy). Movies such as Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Forrest Gump, & National Lampoon's Vacation have become soundtracks to my life.