Marc McClure, Senior Vice President, Enterprise and Mid-Market Sales at TD SYNNEX, sat down recently to answer questions about the invite-only Advanced Solutions Executive Summit (ASES) that’s coming up December 3-5 in San Antonio, Texas. Marc explains why invited partners should attend and what makes this event one-of-a-kind.
What will partners gain from attending ASES 2024?
First and foremost, we recognize that investing time to attend is going to be a commitment. But from past experiences, we’re confident that we deliver a significant return on that investment.
We operate in one of the most dynamic industries in the world, and it can be a challenge to stay ahead of that curve. At this conference, attendees will receive practical and actionable advice from leading channel experts on how to engage with the ecosystem to meet end-customer demands while also streamlining and managing business operations.
We’ll focus on foundational and emerging technologies like modern infrastructure, security, AI, and endpoint devices. These are top revenue drivers in the ecosystem as we’ve learned from our recent Direction of Technology survey.
We’re also going to discuss how AI is changing the way we do business, making the case for high-growth tech deployments. We’ll discuss some of the key trends in key areas where TD SYNNEX is helping our partners adapt and innovate.
And, of course, our intimate approach to this conference helps our partners to build lasting relationships with industry leaders and gain practical guidance on how to solve challenges that some of those in their peer group are more familiar with.
What’s your favorite aspect of ASES?
My favorite aspect is the engagement from both solution providers and vendor partners who are true experts in the world of advanced solutions.
What we today called the Advanced Solutions Executive Summit has a rich history of 20 years. At its inception, it was really a brand-driven approach, but as the industry has evolved to be more solutions-oriented and outcome-driven, the conference has evolved as well, to ensure the ecosystem is aligned to the needs of the market.
This conference has quickly become a trusted space where vendors and partners can come together to be vulnerable and transparent about where they are strong and where they need help.
We see organic partnerships emerging that augment each other’s capabilities and perhaps, most importantly, we have seen our partners move from resellers to value-added resellers to the current state of solutions providers, all while having fun and building life-long relationships.
What will your role be at ASES 2024?
I’ll be wearing many hats, and happy to do so. You’ll see me participate in several talk tracks around the industry highlights, talking about where TD SYNNEX is driving differentiated value to support both our partners and vendors around those topics.
I’ll also be spending a lot of time doing what I love the most, which is engaging directly with our partners and vendors to help develop bespoke plans of action that will help all our stakeholders capitalize on growth opportunities in the market that we’ve identified through the Direction of Technology Report and to help them meet their business objectives.
Who’s been invited to ASES 2024?
The ASES conference brings together a small group of executive decision-makers from across the advanced solutions space. These partners all come from different places and are on their own unique journeys, whether they are established around the infrastructure providers, whether they are born in cloud or are true niche providers around specific advanced solutions technologies.
There’s an opportunity to learn not just from us, but from each other. These partners tend to focus on the mid-market to enterprise space, but are often tailored to specific vertical markets, such as healthcare or manufacturing. Regardless of their focus, they’ll all have the opportunity to engage with our consultants and subject matter experts, as well as with experts who exist within their peer groups and vendors.
What networking opportunities will ASES 2024 offer to partners?
What’s unique about this conference, compared to some other ones, is we put a focus on the networking portion. We have time notched out in the agenda to focus on one-on-one meetings with vendors, with TD SYNNEX executives or subject matter experts.
These meetings will get away from the 10,000-foot overview that we cover on the main stage. We take things down to the more meaningful and actionable engagement with each other.
Our vendor lounges are there to help our partners not only work closely with the brands that they know and love, but also get a better understanding of some of the emerging technologies that are coming out, so they can learn how to embrace more solutions-based outcomes.
If you look at how most solutions get built, the infrastructure providers tend to be the brick, but these other vendors tend to be the mortar in how you drive a true solution out into the market.
How can attendees take full advantage of the opportunities at ASES 2024?
Participation is the key to this event. What attendees put in is what they’re going to get out.
Just seek to learn. And don’t forget to have a little fun along the way. Catch up with old friends and meet new ones who have walked a mile in your shoes and can offer valuable insights about how to tackle a challenge that’s really unique.
What should our attendees expect in San Antonio, Texas?
San Antonio has something for everyone. Enjoy the River Walk, experience the rodeo and don’t forget the Alamo! Or, if guilty pleasures are more your thing, the spa at La Cantera is very nice. Treat yourself! You deserve it.
Are you going to be able to have fun, or will you be working the whole time?
Anytime I’m in front of our partners and vendors, it’s a good time. It’s a vacation for me. But I’ll have fun too. You just won’t see me in cowboy boots.
The Advanced Solutions Executive Summit (ASES) 2024 will take place December 3-5, 2024, at La Cantera Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas. Please note that attendance at the summit is invite-only. For more information about this event and whether you can qualify to attend, contact Rebecca.Huguley@tdsynnex.com.