January 2010
Reinvesting - Rarely Easy - But Oh So Necessary

We attended two out-of-state conferences in the last several weeks. Both were costly in terms of cash outlays, human resources, time expended and opportunity cost. However both pay immeasurable benefits.

Directions 2009
The first conference was the annual Directions 2009 conference held in Austin, TX. It is organized and conducted by the Microsoft Dynamics NAV channel (organizations like ourselves that support and sell the NAV product). What makes this conference so unique is that it is completely run by the NAV channel, as opposed to the software publisher (Microsoft) as are many events in our industry. This makes for an unmatched level of passion, commitment and willingness to share and help one another. Even though Microsoft plays no role in running the conference, they commit significant resources in terms of sponsorship and human resources.

This year we sent Jeremy, Mike, Jeff (the G man) and Jeff (the old man) to Directions 2009. We all witnessed many exciting and powerful new software solutions for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV platform, as well as best practices in a number of areas. We had the opportunity to meet face-to-face with several developers of these products, and with several Microsoft executives to discuss product direction, positioning and strategies. Through this newsletter and other means, we will be sharing many of the great ideas and new offerings for the NAV product with you throughout the coming year.

Information Technology Alliance
Most recently, Chris and Jeff attended the ITA (Information Technology Alliance) conference in Palm Springs. This is always a great conference in that it brings the best of the best together from different disciplines and backgrounds. Unlike many of the conferences we attend where all the participants work with the same products in the same market environment, the ITA conference is attended by elite business software resellers and consultants, strong network infrastructure companies, and internal technology and practice leaders of large regional CPA firms.

The ITA conference introduces us to new organizations, perspectives and industry leaders. There is a strong mutual respect and appreciation amongst the members for the expertise, caring and integrity that each brings to the conversation. The relationships formed at the conference help us develop new ideas and alliances so that we may offer more robust solutions to you.

As we prepare to write the final chapter on 2009, I don’t need to tell you how challenging it has been for all our businesses and families over the past 16 months. If you believe in the glass-half-full perspective, and if you aspire to a life of prosperity rather than scarcity, then as difficult as it may be, you need to keep reinvesting in the future. That is what we here at Integrated Computer Systems Support are doing, and will continue to do in order to serve you better.

 

If you believe in the glass-half-full perspective, and if you aspire to a life of prosperity rather than scarcity, then as difficult as it may be, you need to keep reinvesting in the future. That is what we here at Integrated Computer Systems Support are doing, and will continue to do in order to serve you better.