Reality Breaking News

ASAE - 10 Reaons to Attend Annual Meeting

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 19:58:16 GMT

Welcome to ASAE and The Center for Association Leadership 2006 Annual Meeting & Exposition

Top Ten Reasons to Attend ASAE & The Center’s Annual Meeting

10. So you can watch the Yankees vs. the Red Sox from the original Cheers bar
9. So you can learn to lead like Abraham Lincoln from world-renowned historian Doris Kearns Goodwin
8. Because you can get connected on the dance floor at Club Energy.
7. Three words: Boston Baked Beans
6. So you can be the first to learn what makes good associations great through the launch of 7 Measures of Success: What Remarkable Associations do that Others Don’t
5. So you can escape the summer heat under the stars at the closing night concert with the Boston Pops
4. So that a famous chef, a futurist, a maverick, an expert on play, an artist and nine others stretch your thinking at the Thought Leader Super Sessions
3. Because the best Italian cookies and Cannoli reside right there at Mike’s Pastry
2. Because the hotel shuttle buses give FREE tours of the city, as they travel back and forth to all 25 locations
And the number one reason to attend the Annual Meeting…
1. Because you can officially skip your workout all week and just walk the Boston Convention Center for exercise.

Microsoft's Mid-Atlantic SMS&P Newsletter

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 19:54:13 GMT

Microsoft's

Mid-Atlantic SMS&P Newsletter

SALES, MARKETING & TECHNICAL NEWS

July 2006

IN THIS ISSUE

Headline News

Local Partner Programs

Dynamics Sales & Marketing Programs

Platform Sales & Marketing Programs

Software Licensing News & Offers

Training: Sales & Technical

Helpful Links & Resources

Neighborhood News

HEADLINE NEWS

Want to check out the next wave?

Get your hands on beta versions of Windows Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange 2007 now!

https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/enus/ for developers/end users.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/beta/preregister.mspx for IT Pros.

Learn About YOUR FY07 Mid-Atlantic Sponsorship Opportunities

July 27 | 10 am | At the time of the call, click here and dial: 866-500-6738 pc: 8752881

The Microsoft Mid-Atlantic team invites you to join us for this special webcast to rollout all Sponsorship opportunities for the first half of FY07. This webcast will include both platform and Microsoft Dynamics opportunities for co-sponsorships. We understand that this is a critical time in your business in which you must make decisions about key investments for the coming year. This webcast is designed to provide you with all of the info you need to make smart investments in FY07.

FY07 Partner Marketing Training

August 15 | 9a-12p | Reston, VA | Click to Register

Get ready for FY07 with this deep dive into marketing opportunities and best practices. In this training you will not only learn about available marketing tools and opportunities you will learn from the MAA team how to best leverage them.

Do You Have Friends & Family Involved with a Non-Profit?

Help your favorite cause win free software and services. The NPower Technology Innovation Award recognizes a DC area nonprofit which has demonstrated an innovative use of technology to help them improve key aspects of their operation and more effectively fulfill their mission. NPower Greater DC Region, a local nonprofit that provides technology services to other nonprofits, is administering this award program. For more info and to register, visit: http://www.npowergdcr.org/education/events/detail.asp?iEve=300&iType=970

Want to receive the Mid-Atlantic partner newsletter? Visit: www.insertlinkhere.com

LOCAL PARTNER PROGRAMS

Shark Tank Blitz for Mid-Atlantic Partners

July 26 | 8am-1pm | Microsoft DC office | Click here to register

Participate in the Shark Tank Blitz and receive targeted lists of prospects according to your competency and geographic focus to drive net new services and licensing opportunities, leverage the Microsoft Caller ID to open doors and get those initial conversations, network with other partners and get focused prospecting time, and hear about the latest product innovations from Microsoft technical specialists.

Date

Focus

Dynamics topics:

· MS CRM 3.0

· Solomon for Government Contractors and Construction

Drive your Prospects to “Discovering Dynamics”

Aug 2 | Columbia, MD | Click to Register

Sept 14 | Reston, VA | Click to Register

Drive your prospects to this event to help you close the deal! Microsoft technical specialists will present Dynamics ERP solutions to drive more business for you. Email Rachel Clay (rachelc@microsoft.com) with questions and customer-ready invitations.

Advanced Sneak Preview of Microsoft Sharepoint Seminar

July 25 & 26 | 8a – 4p | Westfields, Chantilly, VA

August 1 & 2 | 8a – 4p | Baltimore Waterfront Marriott, Baltimore, MD

August 8 & 9 | 8a – 4p | Bethesda North Marriott, Bethesda, MD

August 22 & 23 | 8a – 4p | Washington, DC

Join Knowlogy for a two-day seminar offering an advanced sneak preview of Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server 2007 and Windows Sharepoint Services. Learn how Sharepoint helps you to manage content and business processes, improve business insight, simplify collaboration among co-workers, clients and partners and empower your enterprise to make a strategic impact. For more information and to register, email Donna Wood DWood@knowlogy.com.

“Human Capital Assessment” – FREE Assessment & 15% Discount

Based on our Partner Briefing theme Hiring and Retaining Great People, partners are eligible to receive a “Human Capital Assessment” from Administaff at no charge! This assessment will deliver a summary of your company’s current HR initiatives, a benchmark of your current status and programs you can incorporate for hiring and retaining great people. Effective immediately, Administaff is taking an additional 15% enrollment fee discount for all MS Partners effective immediately. For details, to schedule your assessment and to secure this discount rate, email Gil Weiser gil_weiser@administaff.com.

Pass Savings and Bonuses on to your Customers

Partner up with a local System Builder and provide exclusive Buy Local BONUS PACK offers to your customers worth up to $1200 at no cost to you. These valuable offers will help you add more value to every PC you sell. To partner up with a local System Builder and learn more about the offers and guidelines from companies like DLink®, T-Mobile®, New Horizons®, and many more please email Deana Grammo: dgrammo@microsoft.com.

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS SALES & MARKETING PROGRAMS

Find Out About the New Program Replacing BDF!

July 20 | 2-3 pm | Click to Register

We’ll take a look at the marketing initiatives and opportunities partners can leverage for the upcoming year including investments Microsoft is making to broaden and accelerate capacity within partner organizations and continued efforts in broad advertising and PR coverage. In addition, we’ll drill into details on the tools and resources partners can expect to see from Microsoft over the next twelve months – including expanded details about cooperative marketing opportunities and funding.

Sage “Switch & Save” Migration Offer – EXTENDED!

Users of Peachtree, BusinessWorks, MAS90, MAS200, or MAS500 can save $200-$500 dollars off per-seat on new Dynamics licenses.Offer extended to Sept 28th, 2006. For more info, visit www.microsoft.com/dynamics/product/compare/sagemigrationoffer.mspx

Announcing the Microsoft Dynamics Partner Playbook!

This document is a reference tool for Partners, providing you with links to essential Microsoft resources that will help them create a successful and sustainable Dynamics practice. We encourage you to download & review the playbook and share it with your sales team. The playbook is available in PDF format: https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/resources/partneressentials/mspp/dynamicspartnerplaybook.htm

Participate in the Dynamics Telemarketing Program

We are working with four established Dynamics-specific telemarketing vendors – two ERP and two CRM specialized companies – that you can choose from to generate leads for your sales team. We negotiated a discounted rate on your behalf to make telemarketing an affordable way to generate new business. Email Rachel Clay to get started rachelc@microsoft.com.

Announcing the Dynamics GP Sales & Marketing Kit & Contest

The Microsoft Dynamics GP team is excited to announce a new vertical industry sales and marketing toolkit available to all Microsoft Dynamics GP partners this May. This free kit consolidates a wide variety of customer-focused materials you can use to effectively position and sell the latest Microsoft Dynamics GP technology. Win marketing funds up to $5,000. For more information, click here.

MICROSOFT PLATFORM (Desktop & Server) SALES & MARKETING PROGRAMS

2007 Microsoft Office System Core Technical Training

September 25-26 | 9a – 5p | Washington, DC

Microsoft is offering a two day technical hands on lab course in 18 U.S. cities to assist partners in exploring the core of the 2007 Microsoft Office system. In this training, you will interact with the client-side technologies that drive information worker productivity locally and the server-side components that extend productivity to teams, divisions, and partners. For more information and to register, visit: 2007 Microsoft Office System Core Training Registration Site

Free Beta 2 Kit for Microsoft Office System

The Beta 2 kit for 2007 Microsoft Office system is free to participants of the Information Worker Partner Engagement Program. Gain first-hand experience of the new look and feel, features, and functionality of the 2007 release of Office 2007. The kit costs $10 through the Beta download site or FREE through this offer. Order your kit today.

Join the Microsoft Platform WIN (What’s Important Now) Webcast

Thursday, Aug 8 | 10:00 AM (Mark your calendars; 2^nd Thurs of each month)

We’ve transitioned our Rainmaker WIN Webcasts to include content pertinent to all managed partners and Get Connected platform partners. Please designate someone from your company to participate on a monthly basis so you don’t miss out on new co-marketing/sales opportunities, customer offers, local trainings, and more! Click here at the time of the meeting to join the Live Meeting. Dial in for audio: 1-866-500-6738 passcode 670886.

Accelerate Growth with Information Worker (IW) Services Offerings

If you are a certified partner looking to gain or grow your experience in office desktop deployment, business process automation, collaboration and application development services but have not yet earned your IW competency, Microsoft Mid-Atlantic has openings in the Information Worker Flight School program to assist you. For information on IW Competency see https://partner.microsoft.com/US/competency/iwsolutions/. To join Flightschool, email Lisa Ruff lisaruff@microsoft.com

SOFTWARE LICENSING NEWS & OFFERS

Learn to Maximize Value with New Software Assurance Benefits

Attend a global Software Assurance webcast series to understand the extensive value of Software Assurance and how existing and new benefits can assist your customers. Each webcast covers individual benefits in detail for your IT Professionals, including how to activate them. Click here for more webcast info and to register.

Overcome Customer Objections and Increase Sales

Address your customers' objections and remove barriers. Use these guidelines in approaching and working with customers to help them develop a Software Asset Management plan. This series of articles can help you prepare to address some of the most common concerns. Click here for more info.

Looking for an easy way to provide a licensing quote?

Use the “Licensing Configurator” tool located at www.ms-gearup.com! This tool:

· Enables you to create quick and comprehensive price quotes for any of our volume licensing programs

· Provides price comparisons that you can share with your customers

· Highlights the Software Assurance benefits your customers will receive with their purchase

· Lists current promotions and much more!

SALES, MARKETING & TECHNICAL TRAINING

Microsoft Exchange 2003:

Best Practices for Backup and Recovery, Archiving and Storage Management. Click here to register!

US Windows Vista Deployment Roadshow

Coming to a city near you! – Discounted registration available – click here!

Great Plains 9.0 Sales, Marketing and Technical Tools

As the release of 9.0 draws closer, you want information to accelerate your knowledge. From demo scripts and presentations to training opportunities and collateral, you’ll find 9.0 information and materials by clicking here. For technical readiness go to the Partner Readiness Site by clicking here: Partner Readiness Site

Microsoft Dynamics Learning Plans Now Available!

These plans help your employees focus on specific goals and access the training they need to gain in-depth product knowledge and obtain certifications on Microsoft Dynamics products. Download the PDF format learning plans to start your learning today! Click here for more info.

PARTNER RESOURCES

Top 10 List of Helpful Links and Resources:

1. US Partner Resource Desk: When you don't know where to start with a question you have for Microsoft, contact the US Partner Resource Desk at 800-426-9400 x81797 or prd@microsoft.com. For MBS questions, contact the MBS Partner Resource Desk at 800-426-9400 x81792 or mbsprtnr@microsoft.com.

2. For Microsoft Partner Program assistance: 800-SOL-PROV (800-765-7768) or partners@microsoft.com or MSPP Re-enrollment.

3. Microsoft Incentives: Be a hero! Inform your customers of current Microsoft promotions that will result in significant cost savings.

4. Licensing Configurator: Provide quick, comprehensive Microsoft product price quotes for any of our volume licensing programs, including current promotions!

5. Partner Training Center: Quickly find the Microsoft technical and sales training your organization is seeking

6. Competitive Selling: Leverage a wealth of Microsoft resources to help you win competitive opportunities!

7. Partner Events: Post your customer events on Microsoft's event web site to increase your customer reach and leverage our online registration -- free for all Microsoft partners!

8. MS Partner Direct: Check out all the great Microsoft sales and marketing content and resources you can leverage

9. Virus and Security Patch Information: Information about what to do to secure your systems against virus attacks: 866-PC SAFETY (866-727-2338) or www.microsoft.com/security

10. Customer Care Program: Submit an online form, call 1-866-MSLISTEN, or email MSFTCARE@microsoft.com: Promptly log all customer satisfaction issues you encounter on behalf of either your customers or your company.

Neighborhood News

HoopDreams Congressional Reception

On Thursday, May 11^th, Microsoft participated as a sponsor in the eighth annual Hoop Dreams Congressional Reception held in the Mansfield Room of the U.S. Capitol. An unforgettable night was spent with college bound high school seniors and many luminaries including Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Jack Reed, Sen. John Warner and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. For more on Hoop Dreams and the Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund, please see www.hoopdreams.com or contact Donna Woodall, Microsoft Community Outreach Director at dwoodall@microsoft.com.

Youth IT Challenge

Microsoft partners annually with the National Urban League to do our part in closing the digital divide nationwide. The Youth IT Challenge is an annual competition comprised of 20 high school students in each representative city. The students in the program create a business plan based on a business idea fueled by technology. The 10-week program culminates with a local competition in each city. One winning team from the nine cities will be chosen to receive $15,000 in cash and prizes. For more on this community program, please see www.youthitchallenge.com. Volunteers can get involved by contacting Donna Woodall, Community Outreach Director at dwoodall@microsoft.com.

GetNetSafe

Microsoft and our community Internet safety partners, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and I-Safe, kicked off an Internet Security Tour. The tour focused on Internet Safety for families. School assemblies and town hall sessions occured at select elementary, high schools, senior population community centers and two Boys and Girls Clubs in Washington DC. The outreach covers Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, MD. For information on future events contact Donna Woodall, Community Outreach Director at dwoodall@microsoft.com.

Avectra Announces Next Generation Membership Management Solution

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 19:51:31 GMT

Avectra Announces Next Generation Membership Management Solution

New Release Embraces Web 2.0 Constructs; Incorporates Comprehensive Business Intelligence Capabilities

BOSTON, August 21, 2006 – Avectra Inc., the leading provider of 100 percent web-based association management software (AMS) solutions, unveiled netFORUM 2.12 at the annual American Society of Association Executives meeting in Boston. netFORUM 2.12 exploits the enhanced platform capabilities of Web 2.0, and delivers new levels of usability, performance and functionality. In addition, the release includes a robust Business Intelligence (BI) solution to help associations better manage their member base and improve the overall efficiency of their operations. These enhancements will be available to associations running enterprise versions of netFORUM, as well as those who have embraced netFORUM OnDemand, a fully hosted, subscription-based AMS solution.

New Business Intelligence Offering

Associations have cultivated enormous stores of member history information. However, most of the data lies fallow and out of reach of end users. Traditional BI approaches have proven too costly and daunting for all but the most technically astute. Moreover, they have downplayed the time and effort required to create intelligent, subject-oriented data warehouses. Enter Avectra’s netFORUM BI.

netFORUM BI is built on Microsoft’s BI platform and includes a comprehensive, pre-built membership data warehouse. netFORUM BI enables staff members to work smarter through interactive, role-based dashboards. Staff users are able to understand member behavior and hone their acquisition and retention strategies. Event planners enjoy improved visibility into registration metrics and are able to take corrective action just in time, while marketing users are able to track the overall performance of their marketing activities. Executive directors are able to take the pulse of the association by measuring actual performance against objectives, improving the accountability and overall efficiency of the operation.

“In the marketplace, companies who make the best decisions most often have the competitive advantage,” said Bill Baker, general manager in the Office Business Applications group at Microsoft. “In the same way, associations are being asked to optimize results, drive efficiencies and be more analytically oriented in their decision making processes. Avectra knows that the only way to do this is to empower the greatest number of employees to make the best decisions they can at the right times. With the simplified user experience and low per-user price point that the Microsoft BI solution offers, netFORUM BI will enable all association users to access the information they need when they need it.”

Enhanced Functionality

netFORUM 2.12 incorporates a new user interface with dramatically improved performance, usability and interactivity. Based on the new AJAX/ATLAS framework from Microsoft, netFORUM 2.12 enables users to get access to the functionality they need with fewer clicks of the mouse. Role-based personas, new sliding menus, and a simplified user interface have received high marks from the independent Avectra Users’ Group. In addition, the release boasts significant performance improvements through more efficient usage of network resources. Screens and forms have the interactivity and performance that users desire, without sacrificing the mobility of a true “thin” client architecture.

Built on Web 2.0 Framework

netFORUM 2.12 was architected against the backdrop of Web 2.0. Web 2.0 has begun to permeate all aspects of internet-based application development. At the highest level, Web 2.0 is about making web and internet applications more inclusive, more collaborative and easier to use. netFORUM 2.12 embraces the key tenets of Web 2.0 by delivering lighter weight user interfaces with increasing levels of interactivity, including non-traditional devices, like PDAs and cell phones. In addition, the new ATLAS framework enables netFORUM to plug-and-play with third-party applications. For example, GPS information stored in netFORUM can be rendered directly through Microsoft MapPoint to create interactive “mashups” within the netFORUM application. Existing users of netFORUM can migrate to netFORUM 2.12 using the standard upgrade wizard. netFORUM 2.12 and netFORUM BI will be generally available this fall.

“netFORUM 2.12 is a significant achievement,” says Barry Malek, CEO of Avectra. “We have been listening to our customers and monitoring the marketplace. Associations are looking for new ways to measure and manage their performance and improve their insight into member behavior. They are also pushing these solutions to a broader audience, so the solution has to be 100 percent web-based. netFORUM 2.12 is the only product in the marketplace that delivers against this set of requirements.”

About Avectra

Avectra is the leading provider of membership management software solutions. The Avectra family of products is designed to fit any size organization and budget. Our solutions are the result of more than 13 years of experience serving more than 40 million individuals and 750 member-based organizations. Avectra’s netFORUM is the industry standard in association management software. Using netFORUM OnDemand, organizations can quickly and easily deploy a subscription-based solution taking advantage of the same world-class netFORUM technology. Avectra is headquartered in McLean, Va., and has offices in Chicago and Los Angeles.

Media Contact:

Carrie Dorsey

For Avectra

703-208-1112

cdorsey@avectra.com

netFORUM OnDemand showing at ASAE Annual Conference

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 19:39:44 GMT

At the upcoming ASAE Annual, please feel free to confirm the following rumor...netFORUM OnDemand is the fastest growing membership management solution in the market.

I expect each of you will speak with multiple association executives and industry influencers in Boston--do not hesitate to share the following netFORUM OnDemand facts.

netFORUM OnDemand continues to grow at a record pace--It is only the 16th of August and August is already our most successful month ever--10 new accounts. Off the record, we have over 50 customers and 100's of people are using the solution (I combined paid customers + trials).

Almost 20 percent of current OnDemand customers came to us from a referral--a great testament to Avectra, the solution, and our Customer Success Manager team.

OnDemand's customer base includes professional societies, hobby groups, trade organizations, academic societies, special interest groups, AMCs and more. We have customers from New York to Florida to California to Hawaii and many spots in between.OnDemand is appropriate for any type of organization--regardless of staff size or budget.

OnDemand customers have staff sizes from 1 to 50+. We have mulitple clients with 10+ licenses. netFORUM OnDemand is not just for smaller organizations.

We converted two of Avectra's legacy customers to OnDemand--Pool and Spa + Animal Health Institute.

In the Fall, we'll introduce the ability to sync data between OnDemand and netFORUM customers.

We introduced a netFORUM OnDemand AMC Certification program. Through this innovative partnership, AMC's leverage Avectra’s domain expertise in on-demand membership management solutions to build market differentiation, improve operational efficiency and help their customers realize their full potential. Our charter member, Hauck and Associates, will be at ASAE and on the cruise. In less than a month after completing their certification training, Hauck has converted two customers to OnDemand.

OD has 4 AMCs on our customer roster--3 of the 4 are using OnDemand to run multiple organizations under their management. Kim Robinson, President of Frontline Public Strategies and ED of the IL Society of Professional Engineers, will be at ASAE and on the cruise. Keep an eye open for any executive from KSG (KingStringfellow Group) as we are currently in final discussion with this AMC. If you meet them, find me. Thanks in advance.

OnDemand is the chosen/recommended chapter solution at the National Society of Professional Engineers (a netFORUM customer) and the American Subcontractors Association (NOT a netFORUM customer). We have live chapters with each organization on OD and are currently rolling out OnDemand to each organization's state and regional chapters.

OnDemand was presented to the state-level chapter leadership at the NSPE Annual conference (July '06) + OnDemand will be on the agenda at the upcoming ASA Chapter Leadership conference (September), the NGCOA Chapter Retreat (August) and the Tennessee Society of Association Executives annual meeting (September). We are available to attend similar conferences and annual meetings. Don't hesitate to offer our speaking and demo services to an appropriate audience.

Over a third of OnDemand customers signed mutli-year contracts and went live in days or weeks--not months or years.

In the Fall, we will introduce the 1st wave of partners (VoteNET and Integral7--certification) participating in the OnDemand PartnerNET.

We hold quarterly Best Practices Workshops (OD's version of a user group meeting), host weekly webinars and offer a complimentary 10 day trial. Unlike many traditional AMS solutions, OnDemand has few (if any) barriers to entry, just barriers to exit.

Do not forget to pack your OnDemand golf shirt--if you need an OnDemand t-shirt to wear during non show hours, see me ASAP.

Welcome to Breaking News

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 15:58:57 GMT

We will be keeping all users update via this breaking news alert feed.